At The Foyer Gallery in the Squamish Library from Aug. 4 to Sept. 7, painter Evelyn E. Kirkaldy shows her Wild Images series, while glass artist Elisabeth Galbavy
Those afraid of observing strong images, bright colour schemes or bears lifting off of the canvases should be forewarned before viewing Kirkaldy's Wild Images. The canvasses are of lush groves, flower meadows and great bears layered in a creation of spontaneous texture.
Using flying and dripping acrylic house paint on canvas, it is obvious that Kirkaldy's influences include Jackson Pollack, but she admits her favourites, by far, are Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt.
Kirkaldy has created her own unique painting technique by merging the traditional idea of composition in terms of relations among parts with impulsive yet controlled layers of complimentary splatter that appear to float. These multiple levels of spontaneous expression create unexpected elements ranging from restricted representation to rich and playful abstraction.
Kirkaldy has an extensive background in art and design having studied at the Ontario College of Art, graduating with honours, and working as a graphic designer, illustrator and art director.
Continually inspired by the natural world, her passion for the wilderness and bears, Kirkaldy began her creative journey producing illustrative realism but her work has evolved to become a combination of contemporary expressionism and impressionism. Kirkaldy considers herself constantly evolving and thrives on working in a multitude of media (pencil, pastel, watercolour, acrylic, oils and digital) and styles, illustrative to fine art. When I asked this eager Slocan Valley artist where she was headed she replied, "Who knows. I'm always eager to experiment and try something new."
Galbavy's Fusions of Light and Color are delicate pieces of reflective art ware and jewellery. Given the antiquity and ready availability of light and glass, add bursts of vibrant colour and it is not surprising that this interaction has attracted the attention of art lovers for centuries.
Growing up in Vienna, Austria amongst stained glass adorned towering cathedrals prompted Galbavy's early fascinations with glass and fed her artistic desire to train and work in the jewellery industry. After moving to 小蓝视频's West Coast in 1980, Galbavy naturally began to incorporate inspirations of her surroundings combined with the endless possibility of colour. Her fused creations include arrangements of raised leaf, summer flower and fish motifs, graphics and striated or speckled backgrounds.
What exactly is fused glass you ask? It describes a heat process where stacked coloured glass is melted to become permanently joined during high temperature firing. This technique creates a soft transition of colour and texture without loosing individual colours. Also in her kiln, Galbavy uses slumping to mold glass into a variety of three dimensional functional dishware pieces that are all food safe. Jewellery pendants are also lead-free and nickel-free.
Working out of her Squamish studio, Elisabeth Galbavy specializes in custom design, encouraging contribution from the client on commissioned pieces of glass art including stained glass pieces such as windows, doors, entryways and lampshades. She has created stained glass windows and signs for residential and commercial clients from Vancouver to Pemberton and as far as Oregon and Wisconsin.
