by Edith Cody-Rice
If you want a shot of colour on these dreary April days, I recommend that you drop into the Sivarulrasa Gallery on Mill Street in Almonte. Two exhibitions there explode with colour to lift your spirits while the third offers thoughtful repose. The three artists on exhibit are Irina Merkulova, Eric Walker and Sandra Gregson. The vernissage for this exhibition was held on Saturday April 1.
Irina Merkulova,who immigrated to Canada 20 years ago from Ukraine, explores the urban Montreal landscape in high colour with a view to discovering a place of belonging, a feeling of home. She says that her paintings represent snapshots of urban navigation routines. The places are recognizable but depicted in a non-traditional way by juxtaposing the inner and outer spaces, encouraging people to re-discover their surroundings and look at them from a different angle. She invites her viewers to take a closer look at the places and objects available near them to find their purpose, their beauty, and to re-engage into the local activities and communities.
On exhibit March 31 to May 12
Eric Walker’s exhibition is a culmination of 25 years of work. Beginning in 1998 he created a whole body of work called Railway Lands comprised of locomotives, transportation hub grids, and container ships. The container ships component was originally 40 ships. The last three still owned by the artist hang in this exhibition. The works are one big manifestation of the culture of transportation.
Eric makes masterful use of unusual materials. The ship backgrounds are oxidized metal, skies are linoleum, the container shells are aluminum sheets, the decals comprising the containers are tiny rectangles of vinyl. The exhibition includes a satellite view of urban landscape done on plywood, using lineoleum, paint and aluminum. Consistent with his Railway Lands theme, there are rail lines through the work. A small canvas, called Place de la Chaudière is a night vision of the building complex with twinkling lights. Those lights are actually nail heads.
The Walker exhibition includes eight videos co-directed with filmmaker Penny McCann
On exhibit March 17 to April 28
Sandra Gregson’s exhibition “Being Tree” in the navy gallery is more restrained, quiet and contemplative. The works imagine the stillness of trees by observing the interplay of natural processes, growth, decay, and urban development. It is an interesting complement to the urban focus of the other artists. Their work is full of colour and stimulation while the paintings of Sandra Gregson quiet the soul.
On exhibit March 24 to May 5
This current exhibition offers refreshment for the spirit.
