Halifax Visit and Exhibitions

Please note that I was not able to copy photos from the exhibitions mentioned in this post, but I have included links to the artists' web sites.

I was happy to be able to see several exhibitions, attend an opening and visit another grad student last weekend in Halifax while also meeting with my mentor, Suzanne Gauthier.

I returned to see "Canadian Pioneers: Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, J.W. Morrice and the Group of Seven, Masterworks from the Sobey Collections." The works in this exhibition are on public display for the first time. The list of prominent Canadian artists is much longer than the title of the show implies. The painting that impressed me the most is a large oil study of a grey rock outcrop, with several brilliant red maple saplings in front of it and mist blue hills barely visible in the background. Almost the entire composition is in shadow, with subtle gradations and variations of grey modelling the rock face in large brushstrokes. The color relationships are outstanding, The red is brilliant, but judiciously used against the nuances of the stone. I sat in front of this work for at least twenty minutes absorbing it as there are no reproductions of it available.

There were other fantastic paintings as well. High Water by A. J. Casson is very memorable also. I always enjoy seeing work by Emily Carr. I think I have adopted some of the greens she used in her paintings of the forests of British Columbia.

Canadian Pioners Exhibition

After Suzanne and I discussed my current work, we headed downtown to NSCAD to visit another grad student in his studio. Conor Fagan was working on a new canvas and a small study in preparation. He uses man-made and organic small objects under spotlights and creates whimsical scenes where ceramic boiled egg-holders become floating ducks or laughing monks. It was interesting to talk to him about his work and then show him my blog.

The gallery, Studio 21, has moved to a new and much larger location. The opening on Friday night was very well-attended, even crowded and I ran into two friends from my undergrad years whom I hadn't seen for a very long time. One was Susan Wood, one of the featured artists in the new Studio 21 exhibition. Her drawings are sensitive, beautiful and restrained. Susan has developed her own way of using collage under her drawings, which seems to convey a sense of timelessness and nostalgia.

Susan Wood

Another show I was fortunate to see is "Synchronicity" at the Secord Gallery. I particularly responded to Leya Evelyn's abstract paintings. Suzanne had recommended that I look at her work online, which I had done during the summer. It is never the same, however, as seeing the actual artwork. Leya creates textures on her canvases with what seem to be sand and fibrous materials as well as rectangles of canvas. Over this surface, she adds small accents of collaged patterned fabric and paper and rich, textural colors in oil paint. 

I wanted to rush home and take out my oil paints right away. Never mind the odor or the slow drying time! I will put up with it. I haven't been able to duplicate the subtlety of oils using acrylic paints. Hopefully I will be able to work in oils without aggravating my asthma.

Leya Evelyn

Sculpture by Brad Hall was also interesting. Brad combines several elements together with ease, such as wood, copper, steel, and aluminum, utilizing their individual textures.

View the show online at:

Synchronicity at the Secord Gallery

On the way back home, I stopped at a metal recycling establishment, otherwise known as a junkyard! My next painting may have bits of discarded machinery amongst the lush undergrowth of my imaginary back yard. Suzanne sent me there and along with directions from the gas station attendant and my GPS, I arrived at the right place. The yard is open on weekdays only, so I took a few photos. Maybe next time I am passing by, I will stop in and pick up some rusty treasures for my studio. I find having a few concrete objects in front of me while I am painting to be extremely useful. There are also the junkyards of Moncton to explore, a little closer to home.

Jones & Son Metal, Truro, NS

This place has a huge metal crusher. I was kind of glad it wasn't in operation while I was there! It does create some interesting folds and permutations in the metal, however.

Harmony Acrylic on Canvas 8" x 10"

I stained the canvas with acrylic inks, and then interrupted the strokes with black paint. I like the contrast between the watery pigments and the thick paint.

Aqua Dream  and Pink Flow Acrylic on Canvas 8" x 8"

Here I was trying out several ways of applying opaque acrylics over a medium grey. I probably need to work on these more. Perhaps I will experiment with oil glazes over the acrylic.

Today I began working on my 72" x 40" canvas, applying modelling paste in some areas and texturing its surface by patting it with a large palette knife. I am planning to sand down the spiny points a bit before washing pools of paint over the canvas. 

Symposium d' Art Nature 2012

Michael Belmore with "Residual."

"Residual" seems to glow and flicker in between the stones.

"Pawakan" by Ned Bear.

Paul Griffin discussing "Sarcophagus for an Elm."

The third Symposium d'Art Nature took place in Moncton September 28 - October 7, 2012 at the Parc écologique du Millénaire, adjacent to the Université de Moncton campus. Although I was not able to take in all of the lectures and activities offered during the week, I attended the artist talk given by Rose-Marie Goulet who works in conjunction with architects in designing large public art works. Her most well-known piece is "Nef pour quatorze reines," the memorial to the fourteen women killed by an armed man in their classroom at the École polytechnique in Montréal, December sixth 1989. Another notable work was installed in the Palais Montcalm and Salle Raoul-Jobin, featuring lettering and musical scores. It was interesting to hear the process of planning at the initial stages, when the architects are developing plans for the project. This way, the cost of materials, production and installation are included in the overall budget for construction. It seems that many of Ms. Goulet's projects are funded through the 1% regulation for public buildings in Québec.

Following the lecture, I visited the nine sites outdoors where nature art projects were underway. On Saturday, I returned to see them finished. I was very impressed with the subtlety of Michael Belmore's "Residual." On an overcast day, the effect is more pronounced, as if the stones are glowing with magma inside. Michael creates this with copper leaf, a material he has used on at least 19 other previous projects.

Ned Bear has carved directly into the living tree, which has become somewhat controversial. he has been making these carvings for some time in different locations, presumably the trees are not harmed as long as he doesn't carve too deeply. I am interested to return after the winter to see the effect of weathering on the exposed wood.

Paul Griffin's elm tree trunk is encased in roofing nails, totally changing its appearance. The plan was to set it up vertically once the nails are complete. I fund it more interesting when part of the trunk was exposed without nails. The bark of the tree had been removed prior to hammering in nails. Paul described how his studio had burned down and the wood he salvaged actually led to a new body of work.

Gilbert LeBlanc created a labyrinth based on the maze in Chartres Cathedral, using straw found on site and clipped grass. The idea is to follow the maze while contemplating or meditating. It is fascinating because you cannot see where each path will lead you, although there is a concentric symmetry to teh whole.

The permanent installation by Bob Verschueren is also very captivating. The official unveiling of "Renaître" was taking place with a crowd, so I plan to return to take photos. White stone os various dimensions has been carefully arranged in a low hollow with a pathway through it. When you descend the path, you are enclosed in this mini-environment.

Other installations from previous years encourage contemplation and meditation within the park.

EXPERIMENTING with my NEW CAMERA 

I have also been trying out my new camera at the nature park and in my back yard. I must read the detailed manual before going out again with it, but I am pleased with the results so far! In my studio work I am finding that I am more successful if I use my sketches and drawings as sources. However, I enjoy photography, and sometimes it serves to bring ideas to the fore which I later pursue in drawings and sketches.

Wood has been rotting away in my back yard, becoming an art material!

Peeling paint creates interesting shadows.
Next summer we will have to have this part of the exterior basement wall re-painted!

I've always been fascinated with horse chestnuts and their strange casings.
This one looks like an alien being springing from its interstellar pod.

Butternut trees are a protected species in New Brunswick, Canada.
If only I'd known when I pulled a few out of our lawn!
The neighbourhood squirrel has been busy planting nuts.

Ivy again and peeling paint.

Frostbite?

"Abundance" changes

Abundance Stage 5 Acrylic on canvas 36" x 48"

This painting has gone through some radical changes! The work I am most satisfied with this term was created using chance effects of my materials. Stage 4 of this painting was still very controlled, with the flower shapes very predictable. Suzanne, my mentor, had suggested using splatters to break up the even pattern of the drips. I decided to drop paint onto the canvas off brushes, a strategy I used with drips on a canvas last year. I used a large paintbrush over some of the drops to join them. Thinking of creating some light within the painting, I used transparent white to suggest mist and space behind the main shapes. I can add to the light source with a few more glazes and I may work on a few of the "petal" shapes. Two in particular seem to lack interest. They are not amorphous enough nor are they defined enough; I must emphasize one or the other.

The painting was still wet when I photographed it. I may have a different idea in mind when I look at it dry! This painting can be viewed upside down also. It reminds me of underwater scenes.

Upside Down - Under the Sea!

Stay tuned for the next version of this project!

Ehryn Torrell - Self-Similar

Ehryn Torrell- I Florence Trust, Summer exhibition July 2011. London, England

Ehryn Torrell - In amongst the ruins (detail). 2005. Acrylic on canvas.
19' x 5'6" Photo by Guy L'Heureureux

Ehryn Torrell - Atfernoon Old Town. 2009. Acrylic on canvas. 58" x 68"

Ehryn Torrell - I installation view, Self-similar. February 17 to April 26 2011.
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Canada

This week I was fortunate to attend Ehryn Torrell's artist talk about her work and then see her series "Self-Similar" at the opening at St. Mary's University Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Ehryn visited China five months after the earthquake of 2008. The devastation and resilience of the Chinese people became her subject. However, she views these works as reflective of her inner states of mind.

Her work is impressive and large, painted loosely, but includes interesting details. Each work encompasses its own world of debris, which Ehryn described as composed of various elements derived from multiple sketches and photos.

Ehryn Torrell writes about her series "Self-Similar":
Using the lens of the built environment to explore personal and universal conditions of human experience, my paintings examine empathy, contingency, loss and vulnerability. The title of this body of work, Self-similar, borrows in equal part from mathematics and film. In mathematics, an object or thing is described as self-similar when one or all parts are smaller copies of a larger shape. In Jean-Luc Goddards 1967 film "Two or three things I know about her," protagonist Juliette Janson describes feelings of alienation from the city and longs to re-experience a moment when she felt connected.

http://www.ehryntorrell.com/artwork.php?di=1iselfsim&fi=1mongkokm


While in Halifax, I visited the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I particularly enjoyed Elizabeth Enders exhibition "Painting...Place." These works were painted and drawn while Enders traveled and while she resided in her cottage on the Nova Scotia coast. I appreciate the simplicity of her landscape work and its evocative power. Perhaps I will be able to tame the "baroque" tendency in my work so that it can exist alongside such simplicity in the same work. 

My mentor, Suzanne Gauthier, suggested I inquire about the Art Sales and Rental Gallery in the AGNS. I plan to submit a few pieces when I am back in Halifax in October.

My visit also included visits to commercial galleries Studio 21 and Page and Strange Gallery. I dropped into the faculty exhibit of NASCAD next door to P & S. Three artists in the show used plywood in three different ways - food for thought! Suzanne gave me a tour of the new NASCAD campus by the waterfront near Pier 21. It is huge with great facilities for ceramics, metal work and sculpture.

I am anxious to get back to work on my canvas and bring it to some sort of resolution and I am looking forward to working on plywood again.