A host of new exhibitions highlight the local art scene this month.
On Oak Bay Avenue, Gage Gallery welcomes Energetic Universe, an exhibit of semi-abstract paintings by Oak Bay’s Gillian Redwood June 14 to July 2.
With a lifelong commitment to creative work, Redwood has been a full-time professional artist for 12 years and also works as an art educator.
“My view of the world is holistic,” Redwood explains. “I like to believe that our bodies are totally sufficient and self-healing because of these creative energy systems happening within them. I’m in line with Chinese medicine in that respect. I look at the complete energetic figure. Beyond the figure, we’re connecting with universal energies as well. In my latest works I focus on the unseen energies within the vast fabric of the universe. From my understanding of optics and the study of light, I use movement and gesture with spirals of colour as streams of light. This exhibit explores the mystical energy of the Cosmos.”
Join the gallery and artist for an opening reception, Thursday, June 16 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Red Gallery continues its me! myself and eye retrospective of Marion Evamy’s work through June 15, before the gallery closes its bricks and mortar location (an on-line gallery will continue and Evamy will welcome visitors to her studio by appointment).
Alongside the exhibit, the gallery hosts a silent, sealed bid auction for furnishings, including the famous patchwork sofa. See images of the furniture and goods available for auction on Red’s website and Facebook page. All proceeds will be donated to the United Way Greater Victoria.
Winchester Galleries hosts Road Trip: A Paper Trail, Pender Island artist Barbra Edwards’ first solo exhibition at Winchester.
Showing through June 30, this new series of watercolours comprises work inspired by Edwards’ recent journey around Vancouver Island, from the ocean’s edge near Sooke and Tofino, north towards the mountainous areas of Courtney and Comox, and finally over to Vancouver.
Also at Winchester this month is The Intertwining, the much-anticipated exhibition of new work by Victoria painter Brad Pasutti, whose compelling oils draw on the dreaming process.
“Dreaming has been an important aspect of my art for many years. I have never attempted to recreate a specific dream in my work; rather it is something of the dreaming process that informs my painting process,” he writes. “The way the dreaming mind gathers bits of the day’s events together with memories of distant places and times, weaving them into the dream, is very much the way my paintings come together. The dream’s protean ability to have objects and individuals transform from one thing into another, or to somehow be distinct and multiple entities simultaneously, is a quality I strive for in my work.”
Join the gallery for an opening reception for both Road Trip and The Intertwining this Saturday, June 11, when both artists will be in attendance from 2 to 4 p.m.
Oak Bay’s Eclectic Gallery continues to introduce new pieces to its Modern Visionaries exhibit through June. The third annual exhibit of original artwork by Victoria’s Limners and their contemporaries, all art comes from private collections. Reflecting the quality and diversity, the exhibit includes work by most of the Limners, including Carole Sabiston, Herbert Siebner, Pat Martin Bates, Maxwell Bates, Robin Skelton, Myfanwy Pavelic, Karl Spreitz, Richard Ciccimarra and others, in addition to renowned potters Walter Dexter and Jan and Helga Grove.
Downtown, Alcheringa Gallery features Soaring High, Landing Hard: The Veneration and Exploitation of Birds, work by British artist and wild birds conservation activist Rebecca Jewell that examines the beauty and vulnerability of birds from unprecedented growth in global poaching. Showing to July 6, Jewell’s miniature birds are printed on goose and swan feathers, ethically collected.
Madrona Gallery presents Hunger, a selection of 10 life-size driftwood sculptures by Guthrie Gloag. Showing from June 11 to 24, join the gallery and artist for an opening reception this Saturday, June 11, from 1 to 4 p.m.
An emerging B.C. artist with a background in biology, Gloag skillfully uses driftwood to create expressive animal and human forms, and allows the viewer to see both the beauty of the driftwood medium and the movement of the completed forms.
At West End Gallery through June 16 is the Hanging Garden Show, a new collection of paintings honouring the season of gardens and gardeners. Painters from across the country have captured brilliant bouquets and wild flowers bringing a welcome riot of summer colour inside for this eclectic group show.
Participating artists include Nixie Barton, Claudette Castonguay, Paul Jorgensen, Annabelle Marquis, Elka Nowicka, Sabina and many more.
From June 18 to 30 is Aleksandra Savina’s premiere exhibition at West End. Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, and now in Toronto, Savina is inspired by the landscapes of her new home. By exploring cubic forms, she has created a painting style uniquely her own, applying the paint in a structured and geometric fashion, using a warm and rich colour palette. This combination of form and colour serve to showcase her artistic maturity and sensibility.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has a busy June ahead. Exhibits include Trans-Pacific Transmissions: Video Art Across the Pacific, the inspiration for this month’s Family Sunday event from 2 to 4 p.m. June 19, Nanga: Literati Painting of Old Japan, closing June 26, and Kinky: Ancient Chinese and Japanese Erotic Images, opening June 18 with its rare view of erotic history, culture, customs (the sexual content may not be suitable for all audiences). The gallery’s Barry Till will lead a curator’s tour Wednesday, June 29 at 2 p.m.
In AGGV’s Massey Gallery this month, We Are Artists Too! features work by AGGV staff through June 26, followed by the Summer Small Works show and sale, kicking off June 30 and offering affordable original art from local artists.
