As landscape shows go, few go to such lengths to prompt viewers to look between and beyond the lines as Studio Gallery's new exhibit does. There is as much, or more, happening in the background and negative spaces as the foreground.
The ‘daytime’ is clearly represented by Would Schaefer in Timbre. One look at the palette of colours from which she dabs her brush and there’s no mistaking how ardently she strives to paint the bright side of life. In her artist statement she refers to how this boldness “reflects life and celebration” to her.
“I can’t say what it is. I just feel happy about it. That’s what I need to have in my life,” she explains. “I’m reacting with bright colour.”
Her conjoined canvases depict otherwise standard forest scenes with endless twisted and gnarled branches. Where she diverts from the regular path, however, is the point where the tree on one side is an unmistakeable red with a fantastic yellow for the spaces in-between, and vice versa for the flip side.
She calls the structure of her images “flat shapes that fit together like puzzle pieces.” Viewing it is reminiscent of silkscreen works but that’s not her method.
“When I’m up here painting, I’m painting shapes that don’t mean a darn thing until you stand back and see it.”
This style marks a distinct departure from her years focusing on watercolours, the freedom factor obviously contributing directly to the wonderful energy of her pictures.
“One of my things is seeking freedom. I just need to celebrate life. I need to get everything happy, and uplifted, and positive, and moving forward.”
Wagensveld in contrast represents the night-time segment of the show. Darker shades and melancholy tones are a result of the body of work she refers to as “the blood of the Earth.”
Lately she has reflected heavily on the intrusive influence man imposes on the world, and takes it one step further. Wagensveld says her explorations involve walking the land to witness the state of nature so that she can absorb its energy before internalizing the imagery on canvas or paper. The effect of what she calls “compelling information” — essentially mankind swirling in a sea of media projections and passively received details — is a brooding representation of angst and pain.
It started several years ago while Wagensveld attended an artists’ workshop at Emma Lake near Saskatoon. A bear on the campus was trapped and removed, despite being in its natural territory. She felt like the interloper, being a most ungracious guest.
“This affected me tremendously… that I was in his space and they were going to kill him. I felt I was invading his space.”
That’s why her abstracts come out with deep and dirty ochres, possibly demonstrating the most melancholy trees around. She does also have a few obvious landscapes that are more tenable to the viewer’s eye but even these are immersed in beautiful, miserable contemplation.
Preview
Timbreby artists Barbara Would Schaefer and Pat Wagensveld<br />Opening reception today from 2 to 4 p.m.<br />Artists will be in attendance<br />Show runs until May 1<br />Studio Gallery is located at 11 Perron Street<br />Call 780-460-5993 for more information
