By Pam Fedack
Thunder rumbled in the distance as guests gathered in the sculpture garden of Altona’s Gallery in the Park for the Friends of the Gallery season two opening gala.
Rain threatened but held off, allowing the unveiling and ceremony to unfold to the low soundtrack of a summer storm, the air warm and charged.
From the heritage charm of the Schwartz House to the winding paths of its gardens, the space buzzed with conversation, live music drifting from inside, and the clink of glasses as visitors prepared to explore what the second half of the gallery’s season had to offer.
The evening marked the unveiling of Équilibre Oblique, a striking new addition to the outdoor sculpture collection. Created by Quebec artist Philippe Pallafray, the large-scale work features two angular cubes connected by a gleaming reflective sphere—a design that invites visitors to stop and see themselves, quite literally, in the art.
“It’s one we’ve had in our dreams for a while,” said curator and gallery manager Renae Friesen, who described the piece as both a feat of balance and a focal point of intrigue. “People are already crowding around it. The reflective element draws you in—like Cloud Gate in Chicago—and makes it feel interactive.”
The installation was made possible through the support of Friesens Corporation, a long-time champion of the gallery.
“They’ve sponsored pieces before and are such a huge part of making this place what it is,” Friesen said. “Their commitment to the arts here in Altona is something we’re truly grateful for.”
While the garden offered something new to discover, the gallery’s main floor was devoted to Return to the Farm by Winnipeg-based artist Hollande Bezan. Her collection of acrylic paintings is a deeply personal tribute to her great-grandparents’ and grandparents’ farm near Inglis, Manitoba—a place that has been in her family for over a century and remains a touchstone for connection.
“My great-grandfather came from Ukraine in 1908 with just a few dollars in his pocket,” Bezan explained. “He worked for several years for established farmers before buying his own land in 1912. It became this place where our whole family—aunts, uncles, cousins—could gather. Even after I moved to Winnipeg as a child, I always came back. It still feels like home.”
Many of the paintings in the series were inspired by reference photos taken just before her cousin moved into her grandparents’ house. Each piece captures a small, familiar corner of the property—weathered buildings, rolling fields, or the view from a kitchen window—designed to stir memories for her own relatives while resonating with anyone who has rural roots.
“One of my favourites is of my great-grandparents’ kitchen window,” Bezan said, gesturing to the piece titled Seeds of Succession. “She kept jars of seeds there from her garden, and she spent her later years praying for her children, grandchildren, and future generations—people like me, whom she never met. That connection across time is really special.”
Though this is her largest project to date, Bezan said working in acrylics allowed her to experiment and produce a body of work that reflects both memory and the passage of time. “It was exciting to push myself in a new medium. I hope people see something here that sparks a memory for them—whether they grew up on a farm or not.”
Season two at the gallery also features the work of Wanda Slawik, whose prints and paintings emerged during the pandemic, and Kae Sasaki, whose paintings explore the tension between the seen and the felt.
For Friesen, moments like Thursday night are as much about discovery as they are about art.
“What excites me most is when people come from 20 or 25 minutes away, or even further, and say, ‘We’ve been to Altona so many times, but we never knew this was here.’ Watching people experience the space for the first time—and knowing they’ll come back—is what it’s all about.”
