Zachari Logan
The weight of the world is light as a leaf
November 12 - December 23, 2021

The weight of the world is light as a leaf 1, 2021
installation view
Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present new and recent works on paper and a wall drawing by Zachari Logan. Many overlapping themes in the exhibition parallel those found in Logan’s recently released poetry book, A Natural History of Unnatural Things. Logan will be reading from this book on Saturday, November 13 at 2pm. The exhibition also includes works on paper produced in collaboration with celebrated American painter Ross Bleckner.
The Weight of the World is as Light as a Leaf
Another discarded cat claw
on the sill,
to be placed
in the antique candy bowl.
Stale-air witch’s brew
of whiskers,
claws,
fortune cookie scrolls,
dried orchid blooms,
daffodils
and a leaf.
Thanatos grips
the piling of twigs,
onto leaves,
grass,
stones;
bedskirts for many frozen
months.
A long ago thought
you birthed,
manifests as a drop
in temperature.
A brisk wind
causes a condensation,
cataract on the window
panes; light and movement
divined
through the gaze
of an augur.
— Zachari Logan, from the book of poetry, A Natural History of Unnatural Things, Radiant Press (available here).
Zachari Logan (b. 1980, Saskatoon, SK) received his MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (2008). Through large-scale drawing, ceramics, painting and installation practices, Zachari Logan evolves a visual language that explores the intersections between masculinity, identity, memory and place. In previous work related to his current practice, Logan investigated his own body as an exclusive site of exploration. In recent work, Logan’s body remains a catalyst, but no longer the sole focus. Employing a strategy of visual quotation, mined from place and experience, Logan re-wilds his body as a queer embodiment of nature. This narrative shift engages ideas of beauty, empirical explorations of landscape and overlapping art-historic motifs.
Logan has shown extensively in North America and Europe. Collections include the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Remai Modern (Saskatoon), McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinberg, ON), Mackenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK), Leslie Lohman Museum (New York, NY), the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, Kansas) and the Schulich School of Business, York University (Toronto, ON). Corporate art collections include TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank and Cadillac Fairview.
Individual Works:
Zachari Logan Dandelions (Roots) 2021 chalk pastel, graphite, blue pencil and watercolour on pink paper 10 ½ x 10 inches private collection, Toronto
Zachari Logan Remains 1 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 7 ¼ x 6 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 2 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 9 x 8 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 3 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 8 ½ x 8 inches
Zachari Logan Remains 4, Daisy at the Cottage 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 7 ¾ x 8 inches private collection, Toronto
Zachari Logan Remains 5 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 6 ¾ x 5 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 6 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 7 x 12 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 7 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 8 ¾ x 7 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 8, Fall Aster at the Cottage 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 9 ¾ x 7 ½ inches private collection, Toronto
Zachari Logan Remains 9 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 8 ¾ x 10 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 10 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 10 ½ x 7 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Remains 11 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches
Zachari Logan The Weight of the World 2021 chalk pastel on blue paper 45 x 25 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Disappearing Sky 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 49 x 60 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Dead Carnations 2019 chalk pastel on blue paper 17 x 20 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 1 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 5 x 6 inches
Zachari Logan Shell 2 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 10 x 8 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 3 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 6 x 7 inches
Zachari Logan Shell 4 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 6 x 10 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 5 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 6 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 9 ½ x 5 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 7 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 7 ½ x 8 ¾ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 8 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 6 ½ x 8 ½ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 9 2020 chalk pastel on blue paper 5 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Shell 10 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 5 ¼ x 6 inches
Zachari Logan Shell 11 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 8 x 7 inches
Zachari Logan Shell 12 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 8 ¾ x 7 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Summer Bones 2020 chalk pastel on brown paper 69 ¼ x 50 inches
Zachari Logan Fallen Leaf No. 1 (Lungs) 2020 chalk pastel on tan paper 10 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan Apparition Black Mould 2021 chalk pastel on blue paper 27 ¾ x 49 ¼ inches & Nomenclature #8 2021 graphite wall drawing
Ross Bleckner Untitled 2007-2018 aquatint and oil on paper 28 ½ x 27 ¼ inches
Zachari Logan In Between Series No. 16 2018 blue pencil on Mylar 8 x 8 inches
Ross Bleckner & Zachari Logan Collaborative Series No.5 (Meditations 1) 2018 etching, Mylar overlay, and mixed media 41 x 27 ½ inches
Ross Bleckner & Zachari Logan Collaborative Series (The New York Times Obituaries 4) 2018 lithograph, oil and pastel 39 ½ x 27 ½ inches
Zachari Logan From Cut Flowers, after Mary Delany (No. 2) 2019 vitrified clay, acrylic, paper and chalk pastel 10 x 4 ¾ x 1 ½ inches