The Maple Ridge Gallery’s popular Christmas show and sale Ensemble 2011 opens next week.
Featuring the work of mostly local artists, this juried show offers emerging artists and artisans the opportunity to show a small ensemble of their work within the context of a professional space.
Although participating artists are not restricted to any particular theme, their choice of work for the display must demonstrate some cohesive elements so that it benefits in being grouped together.
“The grouping of individual artists work in this way tends to strengthen the individual artists’ visual statement, and also makes for a more coherent group show, where artists are working in all mediums and styles,” says curator, Barbara Duncan.
“The show demonstrates a good range of local and regional talent as it includes paintings, ceramics, fibre art, sculpture and photography.”
Maple Ridge artist Allan Sather will display an intriguing group of bronze casts all inspired by the abundance and variety of gourds and squash seasonably available at the Haney Farmers Market.
Sather, a retired animal scientist and geneticist asks: “Is [the] production of food with modern production methods and current values placed on agricultural last sustainable or is it like my bronze castes, while real in their own right, an illusion?”
Another Maple Ridge artist Lea Sevcov employs both her painterly and photographic skills to create a suite of works inspired by scenes she captured on a recent trip to Croatia.
The technique she uses to great effect involves the application by hand of alcohol inks to heighten the colour and the intensity of her photographs.
These timeless scenes offer a glimpse of the poetry of everyday village life within the stone walls that have survived despite the ravages of war and upheaval in recent years.