Vernissage: Thursday, May 1 at 6 pm
Exhibition: May 2 to 24, 2008
The McClure Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of large format paintings by Harlan Johnson entitled, Puits d’huile. Part landscape, part abstraction, Johnson’s paintings place stark images of industrial architecture within marine settings. Translucent acrylic paint washes over the looming structures of drilling platforms at sea. The paintings are connected by their consistent use of an image of an offshore oil platform that dominates its watery environment.
In the past the artist has produced many works informed by photographic documentation of the natural world. This present series marks the first time the artist has addressed the genre of marine landscape painting. In so doing, Johnson has invented a context through which he recounts his interest in 20th century abstraction. Derived from low resolution jpeg photos, these marinescapes are reconstituted through filmy spatters of acrylic pigments.
The works speak of Johnson’s attraction to pictorial ideals of purity and transcendence that, in the artist’s view, increasingly can only be savoured in a compromised melancholic way. They portray, as well, the artist’s desire to experience the shifting alignments of ideals and physical existence that painting makes possible.
Born in Halifax, Harlan Johnson lives and works in Montreal where he received a BFA and MFA from Concordia University. His work has been shown in several Canadian cities including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Moncton. He currently teaches in the Fine Arts Department at Dawson College.
Mary Hayes Brats
Vernissage: Thursday, May 29 at 6 pm
Exhibition: May 30 to June 21, 2008
The McClure Gallery is pleased to present the recent portrait paintings of Mary Hayes. The exhibition, Brats, offers a visual reinterpretation of an evolving perception of childhood. The artist’s portraits in oil on canvas provide a glimpse into the soul of her subjects as they negotiate an often uncertain and uncomfortable stage of their lives – puberty.
Traditionally perceived as symbols of innocence, in a contemporary context, children are more often portrayed in the media as computer-savvy, sexually precocious, materialistic brats. Brats plays upon these fears and conventions to present portraits of individuals not yet fully adult but more complex and developed than generally assumed.
Hayes invites us to reflect upon the painted portrait as a vehicle for expressing emotional complexity. For her, portraiture is not just an issue of capturing a facsimile of a person’s likeness. Rather, Hayes’ concerns are more in keeping with Pamela Allara’s description of the portrait as an object that serves as a metaphor of a person’s character. The interest resides in the choices the artist makes, for instance, in the facial expressions of the adolescents she paints and what these expresssions convey about the reality of this complex, often troubled period of life.
Mary Hayes lives and works in Montreal. She received her BFA from Concordia in 1988 and is the recipient of grants from the Conseil des arts et des letters du Quebec. Since 2000, she has taught drawing and painting at the Visual Arts Centre. Her work has been shown in Canada, the United-States and Dominican Republic.
Ikebana Harmony of Nature
Vernissage: Wednesday, June 25 at 6 pm
Exhibition: June 25 – 28, 2008
The McClure Gallery is pleased to present a special four-day exhibition of approximately 20 floral arrangements by members, teachers and masters of The Montreal Chapter of the Ohara School of Ikebana.
The art of Ikebana (literally “flowers kept alive”) is one of the many cultural and artistic exports of Japan. Its connection to all forms of nature and the strong observation of the seasons establishes a much-needed link to the natural and spiritual world.
Ohara, the first of the modern schools of Ikebana, was formed when Ohara Unshin broke from the Ikenobo school in the late 19th century. The Ohara school generally uses moribana (piled-up flowers) in a shallow, flat container. The school was started at a time when Western culture was heavily influential in Japan and the moribana style made good use of Western plants. The Montreal Chapter was founded in 2002 by Cornelia Singh, who is the current President.
In addition to the floral arrangements, the exhibition will feature a series of paintings by the top Master of the Ohara School of Canada, Mitsugi “Shinran” Kikuchi. Since 1971, Mitsugi has exhibited regularly across Canada and in New York. In 2002, he was awarded the “Japanese Foreign Minister Award” in recognition of a lifetime of artistic work in bridging cultural ties between Japan and Canada. He is the holder of a Sub-Grandmaster degree from the Ohara School of Ikebana.
Exposition Jeunesse Exposition universelle 2038
Vernissage: Wednesday, July 30 from 4 to 7 pm
Exhibition: July 31 to August 23, 2008
The McClure Gallery has been transformed into a brilliant voyage into the future by children aged 6 to 12 years of age. The art on the walls is fabulous, colourful, imaginative and even interactive.
Thanks to the generous funding of the TD Bank Financial Group, the youth department of the Visual Arts Centre invited kids from the community to participate in a series of workshops on the world of the future. Youth from Tyndale St. George, Westhaven and Laval Community Centres as well as the Montreal Children’s Hospital were amongst those participating.
“It is one of the most exciting youth exhibitions we’ve had in our gallery,” noted Victoria LeBlanc, director of the Centre. “We are very grateful to the TD Bank for sponsoring this project. We’ve been able to offer youth out there in the community an opportunity to creatively express themselves and, wow, are they creative!”
The exhibition Expo 2038 presents a futuristic world fair. Curated by Geneviève Beauchamps, a teacher at the Centre, the exhibition showcases the imagined inventions of prized architects, fashion designers, artists, and engineers of the future. Where and how will we live in 2038? How will we dress? What innovations will make our lives easier, healthier, more sustainable? World Fair 2038 will be a window into the future – as designed by young artists of today!