Opening Reception: Saturday, March 8 from 2-5pm; artist in attendance

In the new work, INFINITE FLUX, my ongoing attraction to the Buddhist aesthetic/philosophy of Wabi Sabi still pertains.   Nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, nothing stays the same.

Time, space and matter are perpetually swirling and shifting to new dimensions and forms.  In each mixed media piece, I first fix attention on the appearance of an organic form; either a seed, a pod or a bloom of some indeterminate origin. In a meditative trance of careful drawing, I reflect on the apparent perfection of those forms at a single moment in time.

However wondrously beautiful this particular arrangement of molecules may be at first glance, there is no perfection either in the thing itself or in the drawing.  Other forces are acting on the thing and the image constantly, in both cosmic and painterly ways.  So I aesthetically interject.  My intuitive gestural strokes and vibrational textures interact with the carefully rendered drawing, pushing the whole piece into new, unexpected provisional states that beg for further response.

Small drafted elements of scale and measurement are a counterpoint to the large gestural dark areas. The matte black, with its subtle patterns and textures, alludes to the infinite potential in the dark void of matter, roiling constantly toward a manifestation in form, alive or otherwise: or its opposite, toward the last moment of entropy where nothing at all happens, ever.

The small scale and measurement iconography offers small reassurance to a mind rattled by the inconceivable vastness from which all this accidental magic and matter have evolved.

Preview Thursday and Friday, March 6&7.

Opening reception: Saturday, April 5 from 2-5pm; artists in attendance

A play on the geographical location of these two artists; Stokes is from Grande Prairie and Laycock is from Calgary. These two artists come together to celebrate the diversity of the Alberta Landscape from north to south; prairie to mountains and beyond.  Both artists have a unique painterly quality to their work which leaves you to explore your impression of our surroundings and get immersed in the landscape.

Preview Thursday and Friday, April 3 & 4.

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 3 from 2-5pm; artist in attendance

Lemay explores the wonders of his garden in this exhibition that immerses the viewer in a barrage of colour.  Peonies being his favourite flower; these magnificent blooms will be a focus in the exhibition.  The macro aspect of the works allows you to immerse into the bouquet, flowers, and summer; a perfect departure from the drab winter colours and months we have endured.  His delicate hand and attention to detail bring the flowers to life.  And just in time for Mother’s Day, to boot!  Please join Robert Lemay at the opening reception in celebrating “From the Garden” on Saturday, May 3 from 2-5pm

 

Preview Thursday and Friday, May 1 & 2.

Opening reception: Saturday, May 31 from 2-5pm

This year marks the year of Ronald Bloore’s 100th Birthday.  In celebration of his centenary, this exhibition will cover a vast selection of Bloore’s works. A complex and diverse artist, Bloore made a large mark on Canadian art history, not only with his artwork but as an educator, and past director of the Mackenzie Art Gallery.  This exhibition aims to explore the vastness of his art-making career, with careful attention to paintings, drawing, and sculptures from as early as 1961 to the 2000s. 

“Art is a serious, not a casual activity. It cannot be approached simply by the recognition only of the spectator’s past experience. Any truly creative work should be a revelation to the beholder, an extension of his experience in life, not a confirmation of that which he already knows.” – Ron Bloore (speaking at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in 1958)

 

Born May 29, 1925, Brampton Ontario, Canada, became a professor at the University of Regina in the 1950s. Ronald Bloore was instrumental in helping bring about the Emma Lake works shops in northern Saskatchewan.  He received an honorable doctorate from the University of Regina (along with his compatriots (the Regina Five)) in 2001.  
Abstract painter, sculptor, graphic artist, muralist and educator, Ronald Bloore, along with four other preeminent Canadian artists – Kenneth Lochhead, Arthur McKay, Ted Godwin, and Douglas Morton, was a member of the Regina Five – an artistic community, which made a deep and lasting impression on Canada’s art scene.
He received degrees in art and archaeology from universities in Canada, USA and Europe, and later held positions as an instructor in art and archaeology at universities of Toronto and Regina.

 

Preview Thursday and Friday, May 29 & 30