Vera Frenkel facts for kids

Vera Frenkel RCA FRSC (born November 10, 1938) is a Canadian artist. She creates many different kinds of art, like video art, performances, and art you can walk through. Her art often explores ideas about people moving to new countries, how we remember things, and how rules and paperwork affect our lives.

About Vera Frenkel

Vera Frenkel was born in Bratislava, which was part of Czechoslovakia. She spent her childhood in England. Later, she moved to Canada, where she has lived most of her adult life.

She studied Fine Arts at McGill University and graduated in 1959. After that, she continued her art studies in Montreal with famous artists Arthur Lismer and Albert Dumouchel.

Her Art and Exhibitions

Vera Frenkel has shown her artwork in many places since the early 1970s. Her art has been displayed in Canada and all over the world. Some famous places include the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She has also shown her work at big international art events like Documenta IX and the Biennale di Venezia.

Important Art Shows

Vera Frenkel has had many solo exhibitions, which means shows featuring only her work. These include Likely Stories in 1982 and Raincoats, Suitcases, Palms in 1993. Her well-known work, ...from the Transit Bar, was shown at the Museum Fridericianum in Germany in 1994. It also came to The Power Plant in Toronto and the National Gallery of Canada.

More recently, her art has been seen at the Centre Culturel Canadien in Paris (2002) and the Freud Museum in London (2003). In 2014, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art held a special show called Ways of Telling. This exhibition featured her art from the 1970s up to her newer pieces. These newer works included ONCE NEAR WATER: Notes from the Scaffolding Archive (2008) and The Blue Train (2012–2014).

Group Exhibitions

Vera Frenkel has also been part of many group exhibitions with other artists. Some of these include OKanada in Berlin (1982–83) and Vestiges of Empire in London (1984). Her work ...from the Transit Bar was also part of the famous Documenta IX exhibition in Germany in 1992.

Key Artworks

Vera Frenkel is known for creating art that uses new technologies and tells interesting stories.

String Games

In 1974, Frenkel created String Games: Improvisations for Inter-City Video. For this project, she worked with Bell Canada Teleconferencing Studios. This was the first artwork in Canada to use telecommunications technology. It was an early example of what we now call Internet art. It was like an early video call used for art!

...from the Transit Bar

One of her most important works is ...from the Transit Bar (1992). This is a large art setup that includes a real, working bar. On video screens, you can see people telling their personal stories. These stories are about moving to new places, learning new languages, and understanding different cultures. This artwork was created with help from the National Gallery of Canada and The Power Plant. It was first shown in Germany and has been shown again at the National Gallery of Canada in 2014.

ONCE NEAR WATER

ONCE NEAR WATER: Notes from the Scaffolding Archive (2008) is a video artwork. It tells the story of a city that has lost its connection to its lake. The artwork uses scaffolding, which are temporary structures used in building, as a symbol. It represents both hopes for the future and things that have been lost. The video begins with a voice saying, "This report is about a lake, and about longing. Also about greed, and about ways of bearing witness."

Awards and Recognition

Vera Frenkel has received many important awards for her art. In 1989, she won the Canada Council Molson Prize. She also received the Toronto Arts Foundation Visual Arts Award in 1994. In 2005, she was given the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts by the Canada Council for the Arts.

She has also received special honorary doctorates from art schools. These include the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1996) and the Emily Carr Institute (2004). She is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2006, she was also welcomed into the Royal Society of Canada, which recognizes important Canadian scholars and artists.