Date: May 3 • 2019
End date: June 1 • 2019
Opening Reception
May 3 • 7PM to 9PM • 1120 Brunette Avenue, Coquitlam
Fraser Valley Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists
Blending Tradition and Innovation
Paintings in the Atrium Gallery
Using traditional mediums and methods, as well as innovative and experimental ones, the members of the Fraser Valley Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists share their best work in this juried exhibition.
Artists are always on a quest to improve their skills, learn new techniques and find new ways to voice their message through their artwork. Some artists focus on pursuing mastery of their favourite medium in a traditional way with traditional imagery. Others are eager to explore new mediums and techniques to find a new voice. Sometimes, the two approaches meet somewhere in between, and the result is a blend of tradition and innovation—something new, yet familiar. This exhibition contains all three approaches, as our members are varied in their goals. Yet all the artists display their love of painting and the artistic excellence required by the jurors of the Federation of Canadian Artists.
Rita Hernandez and Jennifer Sarkar
My Mother’s Home
Photography in the Leonore Peyton Salon
This exhibition is a series of portraits of immigrant and refugee mothers, grandmothers and their children. These photographs capture the power and resilience of immigrant mothers. The true stories accompanying each image are written by one of the young children in each family portrayed.
This project was originally commissioned by Vancouver Foundation for the Fresh Voices Initiative, based on discussions and a province-wide consultation with young people in 2012 that expressed the need to surface a gender-lens in the discussions about migration and the key roles women, especially mothers and grandmothers, in thriving immigrant and refugee families. Each portrait was taken on location in each family’s home. As of 2018, Fresh Voices is an independent grassroots collective of young immigrant and refugees organizing for social change.
Mary Kate Woodward
Connections
Watercolour and Ink in the Mezzanine Gallery
Mary Kate Woodward’s preferred artistic language is line, and she believes drawing communicates directly with viewers, often more quickly and intuitively than speech. She uses line to describe subjects, define personalities and explain relationships between individuals.
This exhibition is inspired by the song You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught from the musical South Pacific, featuring soldiers in the Pacific theatre during the second World War. The song speaks of racial discrimination, which we hear about daily in the media. Woodward describes relationships, some expected, some with unexpected companions, enjoying each other’s company despite their differences. She depicts different races, religions, species, ages and genders, celebrating our similarities and interdependence rather than focusing on differences.
These drawings focus on simplification, abstraction and exaggeration, facilitating design and flow of line. The drawings limit the representational, focusing on the variety and beauty of line itself. Colour is used in some drawings for the benefit of subjects and compositions.
These artworks were completed with the assistance of the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance.
castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/mary-kate-woodward
