One day in the recent past, Peter told Rita he was inspired to try some abstract colour painting, having seen some of her work in her studio on an earlier occasion. After Rita saw Peter's experiments, she declared, somewhat facetiously,
“We should have a show together!”
They decided it would be fun to co-exhibit, presenting recent works, older pieces, collaborations, and site-specific creations. An exhibition was born.
Rita Sirignano was born in Los Angeles, CA and grew up in Freehold, NJ. She has a BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design, and has been the recipient of several awards and residencies, including the National Studio Artist Program at MoMA P.S.1, and The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work is in the collection of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts as well as private collections across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
Sirignano has had a parallel career as a journalist, writer, curator, and arts administrator. While her paintings have been shown in New York and Ottawa, this is only the second time she’s publicly exhibited since moving to Calgary over twenty-five years ago. To see more of her work visit her on Instagram @mostly_untitled, which she admittedly needs to update on a more regular basis. She would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Peter Moller for his support and stewardship in making this exhibition happen.
Peter Moller has run Egg Press Co., a graphic and sound design enterprise, since before you were born, probably.
While on a summer break from the Alberta College of Art (now AU Arts), he learned how to run an old offset printing press sitting idle at the back of his father’s sign shop. At summer's end, Moller promptly became an Art College dropout and, in the company of a remarkable cadre of individuals, witnessed and participated in the growth of a local cultural zeitgeist grounded in a DIY ethos. That was 50 years ago.
Recently, Moller took part in The New Gallery's exhibition Dreaming Asleep Dreaming Awake by displaying a selection of Egg Press' graphic output named INK PAPER PRESS.
This is his third exhibition at cSpace and he's truly pleased to be showing with his good friend Rita Sirignano.
PETER’S WORK
RITA’S WORK
RITA + PETER WORKS
INK PAPER PRESS, part of Dreaming Asleep / Dreaming Awake, an exhibition at The New Gallery celebrating 50 years of existence by both The New Gallery and Peter Moller’s Egg Press Co. August 22 - October 11, 2025
Egg Press Co. began its odyssey when my brother Soren and I, on summer break from attending the Alberta College of Art in it’s brand new building, decided to learn how to run an old offset printing press sitting idle at the back of our father’s silk-screen and sign shop. At the end of that summer, my brother returned to his studies and I remained at the shop to start Egg Press. The year was 1974 and I was 19.
In the beginning, Egg Press Co. supplied inexpensive printing and design to the burgeoning Calgary arts scene. This led to an early connection with Don Mabie through his Images and Information Magazine. Don introduced me to The Parachute Centre For Cultural Affairs (the forerunner to The New Gallery) and the artists involved with it. Then, my world expanded.
For 50 years, it has been my great good fortune to have been involved with many remarkable individuals who took it upon themselves to explore and create a cultural zeitgeist grounded in the DIY ethos. This exhibition is an homage to that time. Calgary is a richer place for it. The odyssey continues.
Peter Moller, August 2025
Part of The New Gallery’s exhibition Dreaming Asleep.
Many of these posters and prints can be seen here: Graphic Design
Here’s a short video shot by Winona Julian at the opening for Dreaming Asleep / Dreaming Awake. It’s my performance of “GuitarSmash”, the title of which pretty much tells what happens in the piece. The guitar graphics were based on Woody Guthries anti-fascist slogan that he had painted on his guitar.
TEN FOOT HENRY’S
Richard McDowell, founder of Ten Foot Henry’s, reading a copy of Heather Elton’s Last Issue
The final poster for Ten Foot Henry’s, 1985
Throughout Egg Press Co.’s existence, I have worked as a musician: from the early days of musical improvisation at The Parachute Centre to the punk heyday of the ‘80s and on. In those punkier times, Richard McDowell showed up at Egg Press one day to have me design and print some flyers for a band he was managing named Cutz. We became fast friends. In no time we were the bass and drums rhythm-section for Calgary band Rip Chords.
Around 1981, I was with Richard in Copenhagen when we discovered a student club named Den Hus (The House). Richard was so taken with its heady combination of music and art that on the flight back to Calgary, he told me, “Pete, if I don’t open a club like that when we get back, I’m leaving this fucking town!” Amazingly enough, upon returning, Richard found that the lease for a late night club called The Funk Plaza Disco was available. He snapped up the lease and presto, Ten Foot Henry’s was born at the corner of 5th avenue and 9th street SW.
Rita McKeough’s Urban Scroungers Mural, outside Ten Foot Henry’s
Rip Chords rehearsed at Henry’s, which became the alternative-culture hot spot during one of Calgary’s many downturns. We played there tons, often filling in for bands that were on their way to Henry’s from out of town until a mechanical, personal or medicinal catastrophe sidelined their arrival.
In true DIY fashion, Richard kept the doors open and artists paid through a combination of nominal cover charges and the support of a diverse community of like-minded Calgarians... as well as returning the empties from the bar every week or so.
Rita McKeough (drummer, artist, conceptualist and, you know, everything-ist!) had the space in the basement and created, amongst many, many cool things, the massive mural of her ‘urban scrounger’ dogs that graced the outside of Henry’s.
ARTIST RUN CENTRES
The Parachute Centre For Cultural Affairs, 1975
In the early 1970’s, the Canada Council began an initiative to create artist-run centres across Canada under their ‘Parallel Galleries Program.’ The Parachute Centre for Cultural Affairs was the brainchild of Clive Robertson and Paul Woodrow’s Fluxus performance and publishing collective W.O.R.K.S (We Ourselves Roughly Know Something). It sprang to life in 1975, supported by a collection of like-minded artists and originators: Marcella Bienvenue, Eugene Chadbourne, Charlie Fox, John Hall, Randy Hutton, Don Mabie, Walter May, Ron Moppett, Grant Poier, Leila Sujir, Wendy Toogood, Windsor Viney… amongst many.
The Parachute Centre was so named because, at that time, many artists and musicians would simply create and perform in Montreal or Toronto (the supposed centre’s of Canada’s cultural universe) and then fly straight to Vancouver to finish their ‘Canadian tour.’ The idea of The Parachute Centre was to interrupt that flight pattern and ‘parachute’ those artists into our burg, helping to foster and enrich the local cultural scene.
The musicians and artists who travelled through The Parachute Centre provided eye-opening and conscious-expanding experiences: free form musical improvisation, amazing art installations and events, a recreation of Joseph Beuys’ Explaining Art To A Dead Hare, Ron Moppet and John Hall’s Rose Museum, concerts by Anthony Braxton, CCMC, New Dalta Ahkri, Leo Smith... all pointing to a way less travelled, filled with riches.
The Parachute Centre eventually morphed into Artons which morphed into Off Centre Centre which amalgamated with Clouds ’n’ Water and RADIO/RADIO to wind up as The New Gallery, still an artist run centre.
RADIO CORA / RADIO RADIO
Around the time The Parachute Centre was beginning, I had the opportunity to become involved with the volunteer-run community radio station Radio CORA through my friend Brad Struble.
Radio CORA, begun in 1972, eventually became RADIO/RADIO. It was a vivid example of what a little group of like-minded individuals could achieve through sheer will and commitment. In time, it became apparent to those involved with RADIO/RADIO and Off Centre Centre that they shared a common purpose. In 1980, they joined forces.
The station continued broadcasting from the shared space for many years.
RADIO/RADIO still exists and can be found and enjoyed online at radioradio.ca.
New works of paintings, drawings, sculpture-installation and a selection of digital illustrations from the Egg Press archive. March 25 - April 29, 2024 at cSpace
THE ARTWORKS
Tales O’ Calg’ry & S’roundin’ Reejuns November 2 - 16 2020
Artist Statement: I live and create near the confluence of the Elbow & Bow Rivers in the Calgary community of Ramsay. I’ve been running Egg Press Co., a graphic and sound design establishment, since 1974. When the press began, the goal was to supply inexpensive printing and graphic design for the burgeoning Calgary arts scene of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The posters displayed as part of this exhibition are some personal favourites from those times.
Since then, the Press has morphed from analogue to digital and I have continued to be involved with the Calgary arts scene; creating graphic designs, theatre sound designs, and peforming as a musician.
For the past six years I have been creating large format artworks based on my past, some of Calgary’s alternative history, and the creative colleagues I have befriended over many years of cultural barnstorming.
November, 2020
Recent works by Peter Moller at cSPACE, November 2 – November 30, 2020. Includes the series Tales O’ Calg’ry & S’roundin’ Reejuns plus the series How I Spent My Pandemic Break. Also on display are select pieces from Moller’s Cultural Portraits series including related vintage posters from Egg Press Co.
cSPACE King Edward, Level 1 • 1721 29th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2T 6T7 • Open Monday-Friday from 8am to 8 pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, closed Sunday
THE ARTWORKS
THE POSTERS
An Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings by Peter Moller, 2018
An exhibition of drawings and paintings were displayed at the Hotbox Studio YYC from October 19–20 & October 25–27, 2018.
The slideshow below represents some of the artworks from the exhibit. My thanks to all who came to see the work, and to Eric Sundstrom for his support
