GROUP SHOW
January Stars

January 9 — February 7, 2021
open Saturdays & Sundays, 12-6pm

2020 has been a tough year for many reasons – with no 20/20 vision for clarity in the near future. In spite of this, what gives you any glimmer of hope, joy and good cheer for 2021?

What are your off-beat studio projects, your secret pleasures, the ‘stuff’ in your life that influence you and, against the odds, make you feel positive and giggle?

Participating Artists:

Barbara Berry
Peter Dykhuis
Jayme-Lynn Gloade
Harold Klee
Frankie Macaulay
James MacSwain
Mathew Reichertz
Fionnuala Reynolds
Jessica Wiebe

A collaborative HERMES project initiated by Peter Dykhuis

Barbara Berry

Unfettered and Free
2020
acrylic, oil, found wooden object with collaged fabric on Masonite

I have always collected objects that spark my visual attention, sometimes these objects make their way into my art work, other times they merely sit in the studio and offer visual stimulation. Many years ago, while living in Watertown Massachusetts, I would drive my beat-up van on trash day looking for gems in the garbage left by the curb. These finds would be quickly taken to my studio for further contemplation and use.

Displayed with the painting Unfettered and Free are jewel-coloured silk bags and a carved, found wooden object. A local import shop downtown, The Black Market, puts customers purchases in lovely, reusable silk bags. I began to collect them for their colours and patterns a couple of years ago, eventually they migrated into my paintings through collage. The carved wooden shape was found in a neighbor’s trash pile, which I discovered one day walking the dog. A smaller piece of carving was discovered in the same pile of rubbish and ended up being nailed onto the painting as I worked to complete it. It feels like the final note to the entire composition.

Peter Dykhuis

Stars + Scopes with Study #4
2015/2020
four commercial beer cans and two mixed media 6” x 6” encaustic panels

I’ve been collecting beer cans, on constant display on my studio work bench, that feature the star motif as part of corporate marketing and branding. My recent studio projects focus on the ‘star’ as an emblematic meme that is open to interpretation but, ultimately, is tied in to the purveyors of global, political power.

This ‘studio jam’ includes my four constantly-displayed beer cans with one of my ‘Stars + Scopes’ studies. It is presented as an homage to past holiday star imagery – folded in with respectful quotes of the early work of Jasper Johns, both beer cans and stars. It makes me happy at a time when I need joy and mirth more than ever!

Jayme-lynn Gloade

Roots
December 2019
3 vases, glazed earthenware

These three vases represent the south shore, mainland and north shore Mi’kmaq reservations in Nova Scotia. Each coloured piece represents a reserve and they are contained by Mishima (engraved stained lines). Even though these engraved lines show barriers, they also convey that they're linked to one another.

Jayme-lynn is originally from Millbrook, and now lives in Kjipuktuk. She recently exhibited her work Tender Beings at the Anna Leonowens Gallery. In addition to working as a visual and craft artist, Jayme-lynn is a member of the BIPOC “Change is Brewing” collective, the makers of excellent beer, cider and social justice in our communities.

This work is on loan from the collection of Barbara Lounder and Robert Bean.

Harold Klee

I Dreamed I Watched a Parade
2020
digital print

I Dreamed I Watched a Parade is inspired by the sense of loss due to cancellation of Halifax's many parades this year. This digital print, measuring 4 inches by about 22.5 feet is an attempt to bring the 'parade' experience to the gallery in a fun way.

It was made by manipulating every frame of video of a past Tattoo parade in Halifax, producing an image very similar to slit-scan photography.

Frankie Macaulay

Diamond Ore, Oak Log and Grass Block
December 2020
paper weavings, cardstock

Last year was indeed a difficult one. The blessing in disguise was the gift of time and opportunity to re-evaluate priorities and personal interests. Through a process of humility and rediscovery, Creativity prevailed, steadfast and vital.

My return to the studio was neither swift nor smooth, meanwhile Creativity and I connected in other ways, including the pixelated world of Minecraft, a sandbox video game with open creativity for the player to freely build using blocks.

The three blocks included here were inspired by the pixel aesthetic of Minecraft and are explorations of a new technique in my studio practice, weaving paper.

Dedicated to the joy of freely making and playing.

James MacSwain

The Ticklish Prophesy
November 2020
paper, matt board, PVA glue

In the ancient of days, the visitation of a comet, foretold some event, usually of a significant disaster or calamity. This unusual photograph of a comet over Stonehenge was an inspiration to view the Pandemic of 2020 as a prophesy to both our vulnerability to the virus and our unknown future. Stonehenge, as an ancient pagan site foretelling the seasonal cycle, emphasizes this irony: will we survive future pandemics?

Mathew Reichertz

Untitled
2021
oil and acrylic on polystyrene

Statement (one haiku smeared on top of another)

It fulfills my eye
there is so much poop left, why
cut with a razor

day of painting done
there is so much paint left, why
push it with trowel

dog finished his walk
there is so much paint left, why
calls to me for more

It fulfills my eye
poop caught in the butt coat
push it with trowel

face on a carrot
poop caught in the butt coat
skin it with peeler

Fionnuala Reynolds

October 28, 2020 1:21 am
(Moon study)
January 2021
acrylic on board
5” x 5"

October 31st, 2020 5:32 am
(Venus study)
January 2021
acrylic on board
8” x 10"

These pieces are studies of night sky based on photos snapped over the past few months. Getting out to look at the night sky down by the shoreline always gives me comfort. Especially during difficult times it serves as a reminder for me that there is more. It provides a space for contemplation. A reset. A shift of perspective and a source of nourishment.

Jessica Lynn Wiebe

grid of 4" x 5" digital photographs

A large part of my practice is being in nature. I feel most connected with my internal self when I'm outside. We are part of nature as human beings, and while immersing ourselves in the natural world we are invited to look inward. By studying nature as it adjusts to seasonal change, we too can ask our bodies what we need as these changes occur. While trees and plants hibernate through winter to rest and recharge, maybe we too should do the same.

In November, I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training. At the end of the training I offered to photograph anyone who would like photos of themselves doing yoga to promote their yoga classes on social media – but outdoor photography only.

Several hikes and adventures later, these are the photographs of my peers interacting with nature while moving through yoga postures in diverse weather conditions. Along these walks I also photographed intricate patterns and textures found in nature. I created a new Instagram account, @JessMakingShapes, to share these quiet moments and have enjoyed writing reflective captions. Through this process I have felt more and more energized and inspired to create.

It has been the simple moments that are messy, wild, and unrushed - like nature - that have left me feeling fulfilled and more connected with the people I love, myself, and the environment.