The shared exhibition at the Smithers Art Gallery runs to May 30. It features the agricultural-themed mixed-media paintings of Pat Gauthier from Fort St James, and oil paintings by locum radiographer Bev Gordon, currently on rotation in Smithers.
[Main Gallery] From There to Here – the Last Decade of Works around My Rural Roots by Pat Gauthier.
Gauthier has a strong, powerful painting style full of colour and energy. The works in this exhibition date from the past decade and show her exploration of style and medium during that period – from watercolors, pastels, mixed media, oils, and plein-air painting, to her more recent focus on acrylics.
Farming runs deep in Gauthier’s veins, and the rural, agricultural theme which links these paintings tells the story of what is closest to her heart. As a child on her parents’ farm in Sorrento, BC, Gauthier and her sister were horse-crazy, riding stick-horses, sheep, and even the long-suffering dog until they got a pony.
But her other early passion was art – she remembers getting into trouble as a child for pasting her drawings on the wall – and this love stayed with her even when life was too busy with family and farming for there to be time for making art. Pat Gauthier lives on a cattle ranch in Fort St James, BC, and is finally able to spend time in her studio/gallery overlooking the ranch.
[Mini Gallery] Guerilla Art – Making Time for Making Art by Bev Gordon.
Gordon feels that one of the biggest barriers to creativity is people struggling simply to find time to practise their art. In January this year Gordon led a series of drop-in art lessons at the gallery dubbed Guerilla Art Days, the purpose of which was to provide a free studio space so that people could be encouraged to give themselves permission to drop their busy lives for part of a day and just make art.
Gordon’s job as a locum radiographer means that when she arrives at a new location she has no studio to work out of, so the way she sees it any place is a good place to make art. The collection of pieces in this show are the result of her painting in the most unlikely places and circumstances – such as using an upturned cardboard box as a table and a borrowed plastic shower chair from the hospital.
After graduating in 2005 from OUC (now UBC Okanagan), Gordon decided to sign her artwork ‘bobshe’, an endearment that originated in her childhood. It is neither male nor female and somehow reflects her style of art that is often neither realistic nor abstract.
Opening Reception: Friday May 1, 7-9 p.m. Come along and meet the artists – free admission and open to all members of the public, everyone welcome. Appetizers are provided.
Exhibition Dates: April 28-May 30, 2015
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12-4p.m.
Summer Hours (in effect from May 12): Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm; Saturday 9am-5pm
Artists’ Statements & Bios – available at www.smithersart.org
Submitted by Smithers Art Gallery
