May 23 @ 10:00 am – July 17 @ 5:00 pm
Accidentals: Robert Fee
Exhibition on view from May 23 – July 17
Artist statement:
The title of the show “Accidentals” refers to the musical term indicating a temporary shift in a musical composition. Once the key of a song is established, an instrumentalist reading the music will encounter a note has been made sharp or flat for that bar and they must adjust. Then the music will default back to the original key for the subsequent bars, until the composer creates another shift somewhere else. At first this temporary change may be a mystery to the individual player, but to the composer there is underlying meaning; a change in the harmony, or a different scale with a particular sound. What might have seemed a random change always has a purposeful intention. The accidental always adds more tension, drama, and interest to the piece.
With these paintings, I gather structures randomly, as you would with a collage, and I start creating parameters and set a course for the work. At first, the paintings seem to be about something unintended; mostly from imagery I gravitate towards but not knowing where it will fit into the work. Some of the strangest references that I choose do seem like random accidentals; not knowing how they will relate to the whole. Often, I’ll find a phrase or image that materializes out of simple curiosity.
I engage with the visual challenge, integrating and editing the accidental imagery into the painting. A quiet interaction takes place between the images, their potential subtext and my brushwork and colour palette. The compositions involve a process that channels energy around and throughout. The process of additions and revisions repeats until ultimately the composition appears resolved. I like discovering beauty or humour that may reveal itself in this process. The paintings involve some free association, which probably also involves my own psychology, but I hope these connections have some universal resonance.
Related Events
Ulrich J. Wolff
March 14 @ 10:00 am – May 15 @ 5:00 pm
The Vernon Public Art Gallery is pleased to introduce the exhibition titled There Must Be Life produced by Ulrich J. Wolff. Based in Karlsruhe, Germany, the artist and educator is known for his vast range of images including natural and urban landscapes, architecture, bodies of water, fields, forests, and vegetation. While dedicated to photographically constructed imagery and environments devoid of human presence, Wolff’s also includes haunting portraits which reflect the mysteries of the human condition.
Winner of the 2021 Okanagan Print Triennial (OPT), a tri-annual exhibition rotating between the Vernon Public Art Gallery and the Kelowna Art Gallery, Ulrich J. Wolff, is set to attend the opening reception on March 14th at the VPAG.
Laurence Belzile
January 11 @ 11:00 am – March 5 @ 5:00 pm
Laurence Belzile’s exhibition titled Through the Gardens features colorful abstract paintings with both softness and forcefulness. Born in Gaspésie, QC in 1994, Laurence Belzile now lives and works in Vancouver, BC. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University with a major in painting and drawing, and a Master of Fine Arts from Laval University.
Opening Reception on January 11 at the Vernon Public Art Gallery from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Tammy Salzl
January 11 @ 8:00 am – March 6 @ 5:00 pm
Tammy Salzl’s exhibition titled Beautiful Parasites is a multi-media installation consisting of paintings, sculptural objects, video, and sound composed by Canadian composer Greg Mulyk. Generally, there are several dominant themes in Salzl’s artwork. The artwork is a commentary on the human condition often associated with societal norms and status. Some of the works examine consequences of human stewardship within the frame of ecological damage caused by development of heavy industry. The portrayal of human protagonists and animals is almost grotesque with dark undertones inevitably resulting in the feeling of fear and anxiety. Salzl’s work is influenced by surrealist art resulting in dreamlike scenes populated by real and imagined creatures.
Opening Reception on January 11 at the Vernon Public ARt Gallery from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
