Season opening exhibited celebrated in Altona
Altona’s Gallery in the Park officially opened for the summer season with a wide variety of genres and media for art lovers.
The gallery’s new curator, Renae Friesen, was delighted to introduce this season’s new artists.
“It’s been an honour to meet with them, and curate their beautiful work,” said Friesen, who also expressed appreciation for all the members of the staff, Friends of the Gallery and the board.
One of this season’s featured exhibits is called Artists4: Visual Stories, and it brings together the work of Winnipeg area creators – Ida MacKenzie, Winona Kling, Judy Sutton and Jo Smoley – as they each present their individual stories through their medium of choice.
MacKenzie’s subject matter is influenced by her love for animals and surrounding landscape. She works in watercolour, pastels, acrylics and scratch art and is inspired by her summers spent at a remote cabin in northern Ontario surrounded by the raw, natural beauty.
She loves all the scope for creativity and variety that life has to offer.
“I’ve always painted or created. I started painting with oils when I was 12 years old,” she said. “After I raised my kids, I started a pottery business, which I ran for 20 years. Following that, I did bird carvings for 15 years and then returned to painting.
“I’ve been lucky to live this life, so full of variety. I spent a lot of time in Bird’s Hill Park, painting the nature that’s there. Then I go to the cabin, where I have a gazebo, and I paint in there. This year, I plan to do some carving again.”
She hopes people enjoy her work and wants to advise everyone to also enjoy the moment.
“The birds are out there singing. My paintings take me into that story and remind you of when you walked in the park.”
Jo Smoley’s pieces also offer a variety of genres and emotions.
“The art that I have here is intuitive and reflects how I feel about life and the chi that every living thing carries in it. The chi is a flow of energy in everything around us, and we’re all interconnected. I try to include that in my paintings.”
When viewing her work, she wants people to recognize everything in the world has a voice that needs to be heard as we proceed into our futures.
“I think a lot of the forest can teach us how to get along because when you look at a forest, there’s 100 different varieties that all coexist and look after each other. I think we have a lot to learn from that,” she suggested.
Artist Judy Sutton paints in acrylics in a representational style.
“My goal with each painting is that it be clear and clean and joyful. And I’m all about bringing joy. I used to be a music teacher, so teaching people the joy of music was my career, and I got to sing and dance every day. Who else could be that lucky?”
Sutton is always searching for smiles.
“That’s a bit ironic since illness has given me such a tortured smile. If I see somebody looking at a painting, and it seems to trigger something in their memory and it makes them smile, then I feel like I have finished my work.”
Her landscapes reflect the unique influence of each season.
“The beautiful colours of green in the spring. The hot colours of summer, and the beautiful excitement of autumn, and the serenity of winter. All those things are part of my work.
“I usually include wildlife or farm animals in my landscapes. I’m also in love with the human form, so I like to do portraits. I make character sculptures. They’re just meant to be a bit of fun and are a cross section of society that all of us know.”
In 1981, artist Winona Kling and her friend Cathy made a resolution to take up watercolour painting.
“With that, I changed my life, and I’m so glad I did. I not only do watercolours, but I also do a lot of print making, collage, acrylic painting and anything else I can come up with,” she continued. “You’ll see watercolours, ink, etching and a lot of collage. I included that for those of us who want to feel like we’re in kindergarten again and want to cut tiny pieces of paper and glue them together.”
Also part of the first show of the season is Candace Lipischak, a multidisciplinary artist inspired by nature and her French-Métis/Polish background.
Alongside her dad, they operate Fat Daug (short for Father/Daughter) which was launched in 2015, offering unique and organic antler jewelry.
Self-taught, their visual artwork incorporates many mediums including barn wood, recycled tin and miscellaneous parts.
Lipischak has found a way of telling a different story regarding environmental and social issues, consumerism, the land, truth and reconciliation and nature’s powerful force.
The current exhibits are on display through to July 31.
