Three new art exhibits — Re: Moved, Vintage Tin and Windows — open at Comox Valley Art Gallery this Friday evening.
Automobiles as subject matter are consistent in all three exhibits; as characters, as subjects of portraits, points of discussion for contemplative topics or as materials in sculptures.
Everyone is invited to the opening reception Aug. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. to meet the artists, see the shows and hear a brief art talk at 7:30 p.m. All three exhibits run from Aug. 10 until Sept. 21.
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In the main space, the Contemporary Gallery, in a show titled Re: Moved, the paintings of Victoria-based artist Mark Laver and metal/glass sculpture of Kaslo-based artist Brent Bukowski are brought together.
They examine the visceral beauty of detritus, the artistic tradition of utilizing found objects (and photographs), and the emotive and intellectual results of creating objects and images that evoke stillness out of that which once moved.
Laver’s paintings are sourced from the blunt, artless photographs of rural car accidents and mobile home fires posted on the internet by volunteer fire departments and small town police detachments. Bukowski’s industrial sculpture, inspired by global patterns of diminishing biodiversity will be created from machinery components, including auto and bicycle parts, which he has accumulated and reclaimed from landfills.
Bukowski is a self-taught Canadian artist who works with found objects — primarily metal and glass. His sculptures are executed in a modest studio lost within an imposing arrangement of materials — the majority of which have been reclaimed from a resource based (forestry and mining) regional landfill that serves a community of 1,000 people.
He has exhibited works in solo and group shows in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. His works are in private and public collections around Canada and recent awards include a BC Arts Council Grant (2010, 2005) and the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance Major Project Grant (2008, 2005).
Laver holds a BA Double Major History in Art/Philosophy with Distinction from the University of Victoria. He says of his work: “It is my goal to continue seeking the intuitive, mysterious starting point to each painting, allowing the work to evolve over time as I do.” Laver has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in various galleries in BC and Ontario. His work can be found in the collection of the University of Victoria, Comox Valley Regional District, as well as private and public collections in Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe.
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In the Community Gallery, Vintage Tin is a show in which the rainy West Coast climate of B.C. is the resting place for the subject matter of the Comox Valley based Ron Morrison’s prolific watercolour paintings.
Rendered in brilliant translucent jewel tones, the colours of decaying classic and antique automobiles mark time, light, metal and glass collecting amongst overgrown field and forest. Painted from photographs with liberal deviations, these “characters” are assembled as if to accompany each other in reminisces of adventures past.
Morrison is a self-taught watercolour painter based in the Comox Valley. Morrison has always had a love of old metal.
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In the George Sawchuk Gallery, Windows is a series of drawings of scenes which artist Trish Smith witnessed from inside of a vehicle while growing up in South Africa.
The intimate relation between the window, seeing and perception is a demarcation of inside and out, private and public. Smith uses the drawn transparency of glass to bring attention to political relationships during the Apartheid era.
Born and raised in South Africa, Trish Smith immigrated to Canada in 1988 and is now based in the Comox Valley. She has exhibited locally in various group shows since 1993. Smith completed a Fine Arts Diploma at East London College, South Africa, recently completed the Fine Arts diploma program at North Island College BC and is currently enrolled at Emily Carr University.
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The CV Art Gallery is located at 580 Duncan Ave. in downtown Courtenay. Visitor hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday. For more, 250-338-6211 or visit the CVAG website.
— Comox Valley Art Gallery