ARTISTS BUSY IN SAINT JOHN, FREDERICTON, MONCTON, TORONTO, BURLINGTON, WINNIPEG & GLASGOW

Fall is almost upon us, and with the fall season come various exhibitions at our gallery and elsewhere. I’m in the process of installing an exhibition of new work by Toby Graser that opens here next Friday, September 6. In the meantime, other gallery artists are busy opening exhibitions, installing public works and beginning artist residencies in various locations on the globe.

TOBY GRASER – SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES

Toby Graser is an intuitive painter, exploring myriad possibilities of line, colour, shape and texture. With this new series of paintings, Toby Graser eschews colour, something that has been a significant element in her work over the years.  Yet, there is a richness to be found in this absence. In this series, the lack of strong colour forces the viewer to contemplate line and texture, and to muse about what lies beneath the surface of these highly charged paintings. The viewer comes to the surface of these paintings much like one approaches a fine piece of music, knowing that there are layers to be discovered through prolonged exposure.

Toby Graser says,  “Like a musician I feel no obligation to mirror the realities of the physical world in my creations, but as in music, the necessity exists to make any artistic statement coherent, complete and a vehicle of communication.”

Exhibition opens at the Peter Buckland Gallery on Friday, September 6, 5 – 7 pm.

PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS PUSH PETER POWNING TO FOREFRONT OF CANADIAN SCULPTURAL WORK

Peter Powning has completed two major installations this month, one in Toronto and one in Burlington, Ontario. In Toronto, he has installed an extremely large piece, Strata, which is actually the portal into Cinema Tower in downtown Toronto. Measuring sixty feet across, eighteen feet high and fourteen feet deep, Peter says that Strata is meant to evoke a sense of geological time that puts the human era into perspective. It will include impressions from historical artifacts cast in bronze in one statum, what the artist calls an “archeological crust”

The other work, Spiral Stela, has been installed in front of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre in Burlington, Ontario.

UNB ART CENTRE EXAMINES A DECADE OF PAUL MATHIESON

The UNB Art Centre, in Fredericton, will open an exhibition of paintings by Paul Mathieson that span the years 2002-2013. The Centre’s press release says, “Paul Mathieson’s Notes from a Visual Song and Dance Man is an exhibition of acrylic on canvas paintings inspired by contemporary culture that portray the human condition with wit and precision. Although primarily depictions of the city of Saint John, they have a distinctly cosmopolitan character presenting the artist’s take on the urban landscape. Whether interior or exterior, they act as theatrical sets for scenes filled with the frenetic life of the highly stylized and urbane city dweller. Sophisticated and complex, the canvases are filled with symbolic references and strange juxtapositions that carry multiple layers of meaning.”

1. Paul Mathieson, Paradise Row – The Island Is Closed, acrylic on canvas

2. Paul Mathieson, An Exchange of Gifts, acrylic on canvas

ELIZABETH GRANT AT THE GLASGOW COLLEGE OF ART

Saint John artist, Elizabeth Grant is participating this month in an exhibition in Glasgow, Scotland. She has recently completed her Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice from the Glasgow College of Art, an institution that is considered one of the most important fine art colleges in the world.

This exhibition is the culmination of an intense twelve-month programme at the school. Working within the pathways of painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture, the artists on this course have produced diverse and exciting new work that plays with the boundaries of these disciplines.

I received images for two of Elizabeth’s new works: 1. Trotsky the Chicken In Exile In Mexico 2. Lenin The Chicken With Turkey Nurse. 

MATHIEU LEGER’S DRAWINGS: A CULMINATION OF FIVE YEARS OF PRACTICE

Building Transects (Drawings, 02008 – 02012)

This exhibition of drawings is compiled from 5 years of production by artist Mathieu Léger. All drawings were produced during residencies in Austria, Canada and Finland between 2008 and 2012. These drawings are a series of ideas on paper, a sketching space, a place to assemble concepts and reflect on the act of drawing itself. Chronologically, the drawings relate to a period where the artist used drawing as a means to reflect on video editing processes and narratives, the deconstruction of sculptural and drawing elements, and finally how scientific concepts can be analyzed through mark-making. All the works are transected by the artist’s cautious use of space and brevity of trace.

The series represented in this exhibition are:

Graz (Austria, 02008), ReMaking Through Trace (QC, Canada, 02009-02010), Untitled (Works at Sillis) (NL, Canada, 02010), Blank [Form] Stundars (Finland, 02010), Blank [Form] Cast (MB, Canada, 02011), Photosynthesis Group 1: Radiolarian Set (QC, Canada, 02011), Fiscus (NB, Canada, 02012)

This exhibition is on display at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre in Moncton until early October

At the time of this writing, Mathieu Leger is on route to Winnipeg to begin his latest artist residency.

LOTS MORE TO COME FROM PETER BUCKLAND GALLERY THIS FALL 

– MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY SAINT JOHN ARTISTS (a joint venture with Citadel Gallery) Includes: JACK HUMPHREY, FRED ROSS, ARCHIE HARPER, AVERY SHAW, FRANK ALLISON, JOSEPH KASHETSKY, TED CAMPBELL and more

– AMBER YOUNG: NEW WORK

– DEANNA MUSGRAVE: NEW PAINTINGS

One of the tasks I truly enjoy is the installation of an exhibition at the gallery. Whether it is new work from a single artist or artwork from a group of artists, I take the placement of work seriously. Where work is placed is important. Often the juxtaposition of two pieces is critical to the ultimate success of both. The placement of two works of art, side by side, is a factor in how either work is received.

Artists make important decisions when creating a work of visual art. I believe we must give serious thought to how and where work is placed once it comes into our possession. We have a role to play in the successful presentation of a work of art.

Lately, I have become preoccupied with the ways in which two works can communicate with one another. When the marriage of different works of art is done with careful consideration the result can be quite powerful.

With the summer gallery hop approaching (August 16) I have decided to give myself a challenge. I intend to create 10 pairings of art by different artists, using work that is currently within the gallery’s inventory.

The two works above are by James Wilson and Bruce Pashak. On the right, the new painting by Bruce Pashak arrived just three weeks ago. It was such a dramatic piece, so well executed and with the additional bit of wit from the framing. I wanted to include this, but what could I possibly place next to such a powerful work. Then I remembered Jamie’s San Miguel Madonna Over Toronto. A strong match.

 

 

Above, details from a graphite drawing by Herzl Kashetsky and a painting/collage by Romeo Savoie. These two works are quite different in size, shape and media, yet, they each focus on the human eye. One cannot pass by these pieces without being drawn in by the eyes that stare back at the viewer. In Herzl’s case, it is his own eye that peers out at us, one of his many self portraits completed throughout his career.

 

The two works above, one an ink on paper by Colin Smith, the other an oil painting by Raymond Martin. One contains people while the other has animals from the wild. Yet, they sit comfortably together, sharing the theme of trees and certain similarities with regard to pallette. I was struck by how Raymond’s white roses echo Colin’s clouds.

 

This was the first pairing selected when I began this process. I had placed these two works, one by Peter Powning, the other by Bruce Pashak, together one day recently, and was surprised at how much they shared regarding colour and texture.

I have challenged myself with the creation of ten pairings. At the time of this writing I have nine. A tenth eludes me for the moment, but I have a few days yet. I hope you will drop by to see this selection next friday during the summer hop.

This week the blog post is not about art, nor is it about cooking, even though the accompanying photo might suggest it. The photograph, which I shot this week, is of my wife, Judy, in her brother, Andrew’s kitchen. I’m using this to introduce her to you. It’s the most recent image I have of her, and I like the shot.

Although, it is not very clear in this picture, Judy is wearing a very cool watch, and that’s the reason I have asked her to write this week’s post. The watch is one of the watches she has been importing into Saint John over the past couple of years. She has a keen eye for design and she has made this search for great looking watches her mission. So today, rather than have me talk about art, I’m going to let Judy tell the story of the watches.

JUDY’S STORY . . .

My interest in watches began one summer in 2008 when my husband Peter and I took a trip to New Hampshire. It was in a small shop in Portsmouth where I spotted a watch that took my eye.  I was informed by the shopkeeper that it had been created by a local artisan. Although, I did not purchase the watch I found myself thinking about it for many months after that trip.  I decided that I would return to the shop and purchase it on our next trip to Portsmouth.  When that day finally came I discovered, to my dismay, the shop no longer carried watches by this artist.

Fast forward to March 2010.  I had the opportunity to visit my friend, Debbie, who was living in Japan for one year. I clearly remember thinking, as I flew out of Saint John, that I would make it my mission to find a “cool” watch in Japan.    To my delight I returned with a new watch on my arm.  Interesting though, this watch had not been designed nor made in Japan, but in Sweden. My fascination with watches was growing, and this new watch fueled my interest for more. I did not, however, at this point consider the idea of promoting and selling watches.

 The Axcent Frosted, my find in Japan (Alas, no longer available)

It was not until Peter and I visited the Musee de Beaux Arts, in Montreal, that the idea of promoting and selling watches myself occurred to me. I was browsing in the Museum’s boutique when I discovered the Projects Watches line.  I thought these were extremely interesting watches.  The sales person told me that these watches were unique in that they were created by architects/designers.  I was fascinated, and made a mental note of the company. Upon returning home I contacted Projects Watches to inquire about the possibility of becoming their New Brunswick distributor.  I was informed that Projects would only sell their line of watches to galleries and museums. Voila!  My lucky day. They agreed to check out the Peter Buckland Gallery website and the rest is history.

I have been carrying the Projects line of watches for several years now in addition to several other lines, most notably Mr. Jones Watches, from London, England. We recently received a shipment from Mr. Jones that includes two new clocks along with the watches.

Cyclops: Summer Nights Edition: I love this new version of the Cyclops. A very elegant black to offset the coloured circles.

Love Knows Not; And, no one else will know but you and the one you love. The letters on this watch align once per hour to spell the phrase Love knows not what time is. For the rest of the time the letters of the text form an illegible pattern – a secret message shared between lovers.

 

The Coundown Clock: This is one of the new clocks. You can change the wording in the window depending on the event. We all count down to certain days: a birthday party, a vacation or even an important exam: this clock keeps track of the days remaining until your big day!

The Accurate Clock: Live in the moment is the message from this piece, the clock version of the very popular watch. My husband, Peter, wears the watch version of The Accurate.

Projects Watches continue to surprise with their terrific designs. I like the idea of wearing a watch designed by an architect.

The Free Time: This one by architect, Laurinda Spear, is a great design. Everyone does a double take the first time they meet this watch. The wearer quickly gets the hang of knowing the time, but it’s the look that makes this one special.

Past, Present & Future: A meditation in time by designer, Daniel Will-Harris, this watch reminds us that the best time is the present time. A great design with a great message.

Towards:  This watch, designed by Denis Guidone, is unique in that the case is tilted toward the wearer, giving proper consideration to ergonomics. I love the reorientation of the number 12 on this one. You get a lot of comments with the Toward Watch.

10-one-4 Watch: Designed by Tibor Kalman this one has an understated elegance – an interesting fit with the “little black dress”. This was the first watch to be selected for the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

* Watch images courtesy of Projects Watches and Mr. Jones Watches