You may notice a few local scenes in this month’s showing at the Ranger Station Art Gallery.
Agassiz based artist Jonathan Sutton said he has been using familiar places — local skate parks, for example — to explore larger ideas.
“I’ve wanted more and more to use local settings to reflect broader themes,” he said, using very specific local settings to “tell a wider narrative.”
But there are other details that pull together some of his latest work, on display at the gallery until Nov. 1.
Each piece gives the viewer that feeling they’ve stumbled into a situation. And it’s quite a deliberate sense, Sutton explained.
“The viewer is implicated in catching this moment, catching this image,” he said. “And it’s very temporary, this idea of catching something off guard.”
Sutton’s love of photography shows through in the pieces, through play of light especially.
“I’m really influenced by photography, that snap shot of a short moment in time,” he said. “And I’m very interested in lighting as a character.”
When Sutton isn’t painting, he’s working as a teacher at Seabird and spending time with his young family in Agassiz.
He keeps to a schedule that allows him studio time and family time after the day job is done.
“I’m working to fit it all in,” he said. “It’s very important to me to have quality time every single day. If you’re giving your all to everything you do, the more you can give in every area.”
For more information on the show, phone 604-796-2723.
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