Microcosm at Gallery 1313

Thanks to all those who attended the Microcosm exhibit at Gallery 1313.  I am pleased to say that the show was a success.  The idea for this work started with a series of quick sketches on the subway, using just a notebook and a blue ball-point pen.  This is where I began thinking about the Microcosm series (works on paper) and the Impressions of Kinetic Creation series (paintings).  I wanted to create a body of work that was spontaneous and ever-changing, telling a series of ‘fantastical’ events taking place.

Here are some snapshots of the works installed before the opening on Thursday, February 23rd.  Detailed images of the works from this exhibit are now posted to the site.

 

 

Microcosm

Microcosm (May 2010 – February 2012) In this series, visual queues of story-telling are  used to explore the idea of Nature as an active participant of a micro-universe.  Using gestural lines that overlap, a fantastical world emerges.  Images of strange creature inhabitants try to balance a delicate relationship with their “mother” – Nature.  The work depicts a series of events, where the creatures find themselves in a world where the forces of “mother” are ever so present; they are physically “caught” in the process.  Much like ourselves, the creatures are both loved and scorned by their well-being “mother”. They get jostled about just as we do, like goldfish in a tiny bowl of water. Sometimes they move gracefully, other times clumsily as they attempt to keep in harmony with Nature.  Their world is a place with a veneer of realism, which allows for natural and supernatural elements to take place.

 

Trace Elements

Trace Elements (October 2006 – November 2006) are a series of sketches in made in various media such as conté, pastel, India ink, charcoal and chalk. This is where I begin to visualize my thoughts before I work on a painting.  Sometimes I will reuse certain elements in these sketches in my final works. These images are the result of several layers, which stems from the theories of alternative science – that all living things operate on various frequencies above or below our level of consciousness but are slightly out of our range of senses. These landscapes were portrayed as spaces that exist above, middle and below our frequency level.

 

The REALM of Belief

The REALM of Belief - Time

The REALM of Belief: Time, Beginning, Ending and Light (December 2006 – March 2007) are the manifestations of worlds colliding during a time of transition into the next phase of existence. While What once was, The REALM and The Temple Mount (March 2007) are continuations of The REALM of Belief depicting the ending, transition and the beginning of life.

Details of a New World

Details of a New World (October 2006) are sections of a scroll drawing that spans a total of 378 inches (31.5ft) in length. Inspired by alternative science research on genetic manipulation and memory, the scroll is a visual depiction of a reality that is beyond what we create, worlds of higher and lower frequencies some of which are seen while others go unnoticed.

Horizon Disturbances

Horizon Disturbances (September- October 2006) is where I started to formulate my thoughts on the subject of coexistence between nature and industry as part of a manipulated environment.  These images were based from sketches and photos taken throughout the city of Windsor, ON- the place of my youth.  The ‘organic shadows’ that have spawned as a result of technology have now become a seamless part of life.  In these works, Windsor ceases to exist as these ‘shadows’ symbolize a gradual take over and begins to transform the environment into a world not readily seen by its inhabitants.  These things ‘hidden in plain sight’, references how we could be so engrossed with our immediate lives that often it is not recognized that the world we inhabit is in a state of perpetual movement and transition which resonates beyond our level of perception.