The Algonquin Art Centre is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, a major milestone for the Centre and for art in Algonquin Park. To mark this occasion, the Centre is organizing a number of special events to be held throughout the year.
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
JUNE 1ST – OCT. 19TH
Featured Art Show
Experience the wonders of the night sky and the curiosities of Algonquin’s nocturnal life in this special exhibit. Free admission.
AUG. 1ST – AUG. 31ST Through the Trees: The Art of Tim Packer Experience Tim Packer’s luminous landscapes at this special exhibition. Free Admission.
Sept. 2nd – Sept. 15th My Life is Wild: See the incredible scratchboard art of Lori Dunn. Free Admission.
Sept. 6th – 11 am – 4 pm Meet the Artist: Meet scratchboard artist Lori Dunn as she discusses her solo show, “My Life is Wild.”
Sept. 16th – Oct. 19th Inspired by Life:
Michael Dumas See new original work from master artist Michael Dumas.
Sept. 20th: 11 am-4 pm Meet the Artist: Meet fiber artist Sylvia Naylor as she discusses her free motion embroidery art.
Oct. 4th: 11 am-4 pm Meet the Artist: Meet master artist Michael Dumas as he discusses his solo show, “Inspired by Life”
“Algonquin” Film Now Available on DVD
Three years in the making, the innovative landscape film “Algonquin: Headwaters” is now available on DVD.
Experience the Park by following the headwaters that originate and flow out of its highlands.
Includes breathtaking footage of Algonquin landscapes, wildlife, time-lapsed skies, and much more.
Watch trailer here:
Price: $19.95
FREE SHIPPING IN NORTH AMERICA To Order, call the Art Centre at 705-633-5555 or go here.
FEATURED SCULPTURE: HILARY CLARK COLE’S “LUNA“
Title: Luna
Artist: Hilary Clark Cole
Medium: Welded Steel, Copper, Brass
Size: 48″ x 72″
Price: $23,500.00
Artist Statement:
We can hear the loons and the wolves and the owls punctuating the darkness, but the vibrancy of night life in this Forest Universe is unseen by most of us. It is in this mysterious, secret world that the luna moth emerges, and lives its short life with extraordinary beauty. In an effort to express our Human connection with Nature, I often create an image which combines the two: an imaginary creature that tells a story without words. Creating a low-relief wall sculpture is a challenge of artistic illusion that depends on the viewer for interpretation. As a sculptor, I introduce the details of anatomy so that the figure is recognizable, and then your eyes must complete it and translate it. Beginning with Luna’s body, I cut, hammered and oxy-acetylene welded steel sheets to form the feet and hands, the back, shoulders and arms. I did not refine the welds…I allowed the texture to remain as part of her.
Creating a sculpture like this is a combination of compromises…the sculpture must be engineered to support itself as it bears its own weight, and yet it must appear, in this case, to float. Although Luna faces the wall, to me she is not a complete individual unless she has a face. The moon is a hammered bowl of copper, which I then coloured with the torch. Setting the figure aside to rest, I created the wings, a delicate framework of steel rod, and panels of sheet steel to suggest the ephemeral membranes. The ‘eyes’ on the wings are brass and copper. The layers of elements in this sculpture are so complicated that I actually had to write out a schedule for myself so that I didn’t get confused over the three months it took to complete. For example, I could not complete the braided hair until the wings were attached. Although it would be tempting to paint the entire sculpture the verdigris shades of a luna moth, I again wanted the material to speak to you, because it is in itself a beautiful medium. So although I have painted under the wings, I have torch-coloured the steel on the outside. Luna pays homage to the moon, her namesake.
– Hilary Clark Cole
FROM THE STUDIO: NEW ARRIVALS
Click image to see more.
Title: Autumn Glory
Artist: Tim Packer
Medium: Oil
Size: 40 x 60
Price: $8,950.00
Title: Batchewana Blues Title: October Dreaming Artist: Tim Packer Artist: Tim Packer Medium: Oil Medium: Oil
Size: 24 x 24 Size: 24 x 24
Price: $2,195.00 Price: $2,195.00
Title: October Symphony
Artist: Tim Packer
Medium: Oil
Size: 40 x 60
Price: $8,950.00
Title: Luminous Birches Title: Riverside Blues
Artist: Tim Packer Artist: Tim Packer
Medium: Oil Medium: Oil
Size: 36 x 36 Size: 24 x 24
Price: $4,395.00 Price: $2,195.00
Title: Rockie
Artist: Daniel St. Amant
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 44 x 59
Price: $3,500.00
VIDEO: Watch Daniel St. Amant create one of his wildlife pieces
Title: Moonlit Trillium
Artist: Kelly Dodge
Medium: Pastel
Size: 3.75 x 5.75
Price: $1,100.00
Title: Hyla Versicolor on Thelypteris Pallustris
Artist: Kelly Dodge
Medium: Pastel
Size: 3.75 x 5.75
Price: $1,300.00
Title: Among the Changing Leaves
Artist: Joseph Koensgen
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 24 x 36
Price: $5,500.00
FEATURED PIECE: “NORTHERN LIGHT” BY MARNI MARTIN
Working within the complex dialogue of craft vs art, Muskoka-based textile artist Marni Martin merges the precise craft of weaving fibres with the intense artistic impulse of creative expression. A graduate of Canada’s renowned Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Martin’s textile works have been featured at the Algonquin Art Centre over the past decade. Like her regional peers, Martin’s work is often visually derived from her surroundings of natural landscapes and wilderness. Much of her body of work is rendered in a realist manner with great attention to detail, colour, and composition. In Martin’s own words, these textile works “[embody] the lines and rhythms of the natural world.†Thus, these representations of the natural world not only appear visually accessible and accurate to the eye, but they also convey a certain sense of awe, mystique, and subliminality that has guided Canadian landscape art for well over a century. Bridging the obscure gap between craft and art, Martin’s work is both; neither skilful attention of the weaving practise nor the essence of creative intent is compromised.
While Martin produces realistically rendered natural scenes – unambiguous voyeuristic snapshots of her surroundings like Ablaze and Autumn Leaves which can be viewed at the Algonquin Art Centre – she explores more abstracted forms of representation as well. Northern Lights, featured in the AAC’s special exhibition Algonquin at Night, is a carefully patterned masterpiece evoking the natural phenomenon of the aurora borealis. Striking in its simplicity, Northern Lights stands out amongst the hyper-detailed night-time scenes surrounding it. With this piece, Martin distils the dazzling visual experience of the aurora borealis into pure corporeal sensation in the minimalistic jagged gradient of purple to pink to green to blue of the soft woven texture. A long, loose fringe hangs at the base of the tapestry, unwoven, confessing its absolute materiality and utilitarian potential. Article by Leona Nikolic
GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS
Title: Glimmer of Hope
Artist: Josh Tiessen
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 60 x 40
Price: $14,500.00
Title: August Water Lilies
Artist: Joseph Pearce
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 30 x 30
Price: $3000.00
Title: Afternoon Shadows
Artist: Joseph Pearce
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 30 x 15
Price: $2,200.00
Title: Island Night
Artist: Joseph Pearce
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 30 x 15
Price: $1,800.00
Title: Cloud Study
Artist: Joseph Pearce
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 18 x 24
Price: $2000.00
Title: Leeward Lean
Artist: Andrea Ross
Medium: Oil
Size: 30 x 24
Price: $1,150.00
Title: Evening in Algonquin
Artist: Dan Werstuk
Medium: Pastel
Size: 24 x 18
Price: $2,100.00
Title: Rock Lake Evening
Artist: Dan Werstuk
Medium: Oil
Size: 24 x 18
Price: $1,400.00
Title: Strawberry Moon
Artist: Lori Dunn
Medium: Scratchboard
Size: 24 x 60
Price: $17,000.00
Title: Mikinaak
Artist: Lori Dunn
Medium: Scratchboard
Size: 7 x 7.5
Price: $2000.00
Title: Spring Birches
Artist: Lori Dunn
Medium: Scratchboard
Size: 18 x 14
Price: $4,500.00
WHAT IS SCRATCHBOARD?
Scratchboard is a type of engraving on a specially prepared board. This board has three layers: the hardboard base, a layer of white kaolin clay, and a top layer of black ink. Images are etched onto the surface by cutting or ‘scratching’ into the ink surface with an extremely fine tool, such as a scalpel. Tonal variations are created by the depth of the incisions.
Featured Artist: David Lidbetter
Born in 1962, David Lidbetter developed an early appreciation for the Canadian wilderness. As a child the times spent traveling with his family through scenic provinces became the catalyst for his future painting career and an intensive art studio program in his formative teenage years solidified his love for art. After many years of exploring various mediums and subject matter, Lidbetter has spent the last 10 painting highly identifiable and unquestionably Canadian landscapes in oil. (Read more…)
Title: Trout Lake
Artist: David Lidbetter
Medium: Oil
Size: 24 x 36
Price: $1,800.00
Title: Roche Miette
Artist: David Lidbetter
Medium: Oil
Size: 9 x 12
Price: 800.00
Title: Backbone
Artist: David Lidbetter
Medium: Oil
Size: 20 x 24
Price: $1,500.00 (SOLD)
Title: Low Trail
Artist: David Lidbetter
Medium: Oil
Size: 4 x 4
Price: $500.00
Title: Beaver Pond Study 2
Artist: David Lidbetter
Medium: Oil
Size: 4 x 6
Price: $500.00
MORE GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS
Title: Late Lake
Artists: David Grieve
Medium: Oil
Size: 36 x 36
Price: $3,750.00
Title: Fox Glow
Artist: Terry Isaac
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 25.25 x 12
Price: $3,500.00
Title: Wet Kiss
Artist: Patricia Pepin
Medium: Oil
Size: 30 x 24
Price: $7,500.00
Title: Midnight Pine
Artist: Tony Bianco
Medium: Oil on Silverleaf
Size: 38 x 40
Price: $7,000.00
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Every month, Art Centre visitors vote on their favourite piece in the gallery for the monthly People’s Choice Award. A big congratulations to Eduard Gurevich, whose painting “August Do Not Get Sleepy” won this award for July 2014.
For any inquiries about artwork or special events, please contact the Algonquin Art Centre at 705-633-5555, or by email at info@algonquinartcentre.com
