Forests and Prairie shows are deliciously visual treats
By David F. Rooney
Our community’s Visual Arts Centre has been the venue for some pretty spectacular exhibitions in the past, but none have been more engaging and visually exciting that the Forests and Wide Open Spaces shows, which are open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 12 until 4 pm until August 3.
Featuring works by many of our best and boldest painters, photographers and ceramicists these shows are deliciously visual treats for art lovers.
The Forests show celebrates our province’s magnificent forests and the vital work of the BC Forest Service which is, this year, celebrating 100 years of dedicated service.
There are some unforgettable images in this show: Julie Kozek’s Nichol Road path, Rob Buchanan’s Cedar Sunrise and Eve Fisher’s Fire Suppression in the Alpine stand out. But there are many more. This show, like Wide Open Spaces, is well worth the donation of a few bucks you can toss in the jar to see it.
The Wide Open Spaces exhibit is a collection of works by the so-called Prairie Immersionists, a loosely formed band of Alberta and BC artists — Aran McCormick, Val Speer, Cherie Van Overbeke, Tina Lindegaard, Nicola McGarry and Gwen Lips. These artists met at the artistic community of Rosebud near Calgary and explored the southern Alberta landscape. The works by Revelstokians Tina, Nicola, Gwen and Cherie are marvellously different from the mountainous landscapes we have seen them produce in the past.
Speaking as someone who lived in Calgary for 21 years and knows Alberta — especially the southern part — extremely well, these four local artists and their two Alberta colleagues have perfectly captured the different moods of the Prairie landscape.
The Visual Arts Centre is located at 320 Wilson and can be contacted at 250-814-0261 or info@revelstokevisualarts.com. If you enjoy fine local art — and believe me you’ll have to travel very long ways to find paintings, photography and ceramics as good as, or better, than those produced here — you’ll really want to see this show.
In the meantime, here is a collection of images taken at the opening of these two shows on July 13:
Sharon Kelley enjoys a video about the Forest Service that was one of the features of the Forest exhibition, held to mark the centennial of the BC Forest Service. The show was held in conjunction with the Wide Open Spaces exhibition of works by local BC and Southern Alberta artists David F. Rooney photoForests show — Dragontflies, by Tannis Rebbetoy, painted with glaze of clay tile. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Prairie Immersion by Tina Lindegaard, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — In the Eye by Val Speer, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Horseshoe Canyon by Val Speer, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Little House on the Prairie by Tina Lindegaard, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Wind and Water by Gwen Lips, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — This birdhouse and statement explain the purpose of the Wide Open Spaces exhibition by the “loosely formed ban d of Alberta and BC artists, Aran McCormick, Val Speer, Cherie VanOverbeek, Tina Lindegaard, Nicola McGarry and Gwen Lips. These artists met at the artistic community of Rosebud near Calgary and explored the southern Alberta landscape. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Prairie Abstraction by Aran McCormack, masonite, cedar and acrylic. David F. Rooney photoForests show — Nichol Road Path by Julie Kozek, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoForests show — Cedar Sunrise by Rob Buchanan, charcoal and chalk. David F. Rooney photoPatrons at the opening had a an excellent time chatting up a storm next to some of the fine ceramics on display. David F. Rooney photoForests show — A Tina Lindegaard painting, Light Up My Path, appears to stand on the edge of this monumental bowl by Corin Flood. David F. Rooney photoForests show — The Quiet Forest by Peter Blackmore, mixed media. David F. Rooney photoForests show — Fire Suppression in the Alpine by Eve Fisher (left) and Early Sun-rise by Pat Anderson were two of the lovely watercolours on exhibit Forest show. David F. Rooney photoForests show — This excellent untitled image by noted local photographer Kip Wiley almost looked like a sketch. David F. Rooney photoForests show — Cedar Sunrise #2 by Rob Buchanan, acrylic on canvas. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — This stunning image by Cherie Van Overbeke is entitled Prairie Hills. This large oil on canvas painting is — to me anyway — strongly reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh. David F. Rooney photoWide Open Spaces show — Alberta Grain by Nicola McGarry, monoprint, acrylic on paper. David F. Rooney photoAnother view of guests at the opening on Friday. David F. Rooney photoJackie Pendergast, the Visual Arts Centre’s executive director, and singer/songwriter/painter Joanne Stacey share a light moment and a few grapes during the opening. David F. Rooney photo
