Don Mabie

Biography

Mabie graduated from the Alberta College of Art (Calgary) in Fine Art Painting in 1969; he did post graduate work at the Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 1970. He lived in Toronto from 1970 through 1974; during this time he spent six months touring extensively in Europe. He returned to Calgary in 1974 and lived there until 2006 when he moved to Nakusp, BC.

Mabie has been drawing, performing, assembling, trading and mailing art for almost four decades. He has had more than twenty solo exhibitions in Canada and Europe, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions and performance events across Canada, in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Japan. As a member of the international performance collaborative The Nomads he performed at the arts festival documenta 8 in Kassel, Germany in 1987. He also performed in Zürich, Switzerland; at the INTER DADA Festival in San Francisco, USA; and on numerous occasions in Calgary at the Glenbow Museum, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Nickle Arts Museum, Muttart Gallery (now Art Gallery of Calgary), Truck, Ten Foot Henry's, The Night Gallery and The New Gallery. He is credited with presenting the first performance work in Calgary in 1968.

Mabie has been an active participant in the international mail-art network since 1971 and has organized some 25 mail-art exhibitions as well as participating in hundreds of mail-art exhibitions and publications. Mabie adopted the name Chuck Stake in 1972 when he became involved with Correspondence/MailArt (CMA) and founded Chuck Stake Enterprizes in Toronto. It's the name he uses for most of his art activities including Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). He has focused his attention on Artist Trading Cards since 1997 and has helped initiate a vital Artist's Trading Card network in Calgary, Canada and internationally. In 2002 Mabie took The First International Biennial of Artist Trading Cards to South Australia (SA) and toured SA in February 2003 and presented a series of ATC Lectures/Workshops.

In 2000 he was nominated for the Canada Council for the Arts Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

In May, 2001 Mabie was a recipient of the Alberta College of Art & Design Board of Governors' Award of Excellence for his lifetime contribution to the arts in Alberta.

In June, 2002 he received one of the 75 Anniversary Alberta College of Art & Design Alumni Awards of Distinction by Alberta Lieutenant Governor the Honourable Lois Hole.

In August, 2006 Mabie had a one-person exhibition entitled ART and LIFE at the Kootenay Gallery of Art, History and Science in Castlegar, BC. In January, 2007 he participated in HIT OR MISS: An Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing, a group exhibition at the Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts in Calgary.

His contributions to the Calgary community have been varied: he was a co-founder of The Parachute Centre for Cultural Affairs, spent ten years operating The New Gallery (then, Clouds 'n' Water/OFF CENTRE CENTRE); he published Image and Information; he has taught at the Department of Art at the University of Calgary and currently at the Alberta College of Art and Design; he has initiated a vital artist's trading cards network; has had numerous exhibitions including a retrospective at Illingworth Kerr Gallery in Calgary, Alberta.

Mabie has presented lectures at various institutions, including: Ontario College of Art, University of Manitoba, University of Saskatchewan (Regina), University of Lethbridge, Edmonton Art Gallery, Glenbow Museum, University of Calgary, Alberta College of Art & Design, Medicine Hat Museum, Dallas Public Library (Dallas, Texas) and The Kootenay Gallery of Art, History and Science.

He is represented in numerous private and public collections in Canada, the United States and Europe.