ZimArt celebrates its 15th anniversary with Rice Lake 15
We came to our turn off County Road 2 so quickly that we missed the clear sign proclaiming “ZimArt’s Rice Lake Gallery 1 km.” As we doubled back to Second Line Road, an almost life-size figure in serpentine stone greeted us from the corner.
Along the driveway to the gallery, a 95-year-old man — the very personification of the “Old Farmer” — greeted us with “I’m just a grumpy old bugger,” admonishing us to slow down and mind his animals.
“It’s sometimes hard to believe that Rice Lake I was an exhibition of only 40 sculptures in a small section of my garden,” says Fran Fearnley, ZimArt owner and curator of the annual exhibition.
“This year, Rice Lake 15 will showcase close to 400 stone sculptures from the more than 50 artists that ZimArt now represents.”
The exhibition covers two acres of treed pastoral oasis. Biggie Chikodz, Fearnley’s partner and liaison of 11 years, and this year’s artist-in-residence Vengai Chiwawa greeted us warmly as they built a fire by the barn to the sound of animated African music bubbling from a stereo somewhere. As we entered the grove of sculpture, they and Fearnley were close at hand to orient us.
With much to look at and take in, ZimArt’s collection is the most comprehensive in Canada and Fearnley has become a respected authority on Shona sculpture. She spends several months each year in Zimbabwe working with artist communities and brings the finest pieces back to Canada.
Vengai Chiwawa’s works are beautifully expressive and capture fleeting moments of emotion with a soft grace that seems almost inconceivable given the hard stone. Chiwawa pours his heart into his creations, and has the skill to see that this outpouring isn’t lost in translation. Women feature prominently in his work and he explains that their deep influence comes from the important role they play in society and because “women represent a vital life force whose strength, resilience, and gentleness much be respected.”
That reverence is evident in his work and in Chiwawa himself. When he speaks of his travels he speaks of meeting people and how “we can all change how we look on the outside. So we have to look beyond the image that is presented to us to find the truth that is within.” His vision for seeing that truth seems clear. He is a beautiful human being with a deep calming presence and genuine warmth. His exploration of philosophical themes about the stages of life and the importance of memories are infused with compassionate depth. He sees Zimbabwean sculptors as storytellers who celebrate and explore their culture as well as universal themes, through their work.
You’ll also find yourself among the most knowledgeable and gracious of hosts in Fran Fearnley, Biggie Chickodzi, and Vengai Chiwawa. The afternoon I spent there quickly sped toward evening while I scarcely noticed — save for how the sculptures became even more beautiful as the sun lowered toward the horizon.
This place truly deserves its designation as one of the region’s most inspired and unexpected cultural venues. Shortly after I arrived, I knew I’d be coming back.
Rice Lake Gallery is located at 855 Second Line Road, Bailieboro, Ontario K0L 1B0 (GPS: N44°09.517′ W078°16.865′). For more information, visit www.zimart.ca or contact Pat Maitland at 705-772-9191 or pat@patmaitland.com, or Fran Fearnley at 705-939-6144 or zimart@sympatico.ca.
Gary Blundell bringing life to the dead at Gallery in the Attic
Gary Blundell has been studying these formations for much of his lifetime. His work has focussed mainly on geological bodies, but in this latest exhibition he gets closer to the meat of things.
Running at the Gallery in the Attic, Blundell’s exhibition “Bodies” investigates the substance of the animal form and cuts its way toward the sinews of ourselves.
Blundell continues in his signature style with seven large-scale oil paintings rendered onto hewn wood. He follows an artistic tradition including Rembrandt, Chardin, Soutine, and Bacon with these wood pieces depicting images of hanging game captured during a hunting season several years ago.
The exhibition also includes some smaller works on paper of animal carcasses in some more familiar domestic forms.
In broaching this visceral subject matter, he throws our relationship to our animal form and the grander scheme of how forces shape things into relief.
Given Blundell’s artistic refuge at Hotspur Studios out in the boreal forest near Gooderham with his partner (artist Victoria Ward), the connection he experiences with the land may be something of what he wishes to convey to the viewer.
This is best understood when you can pour over the landscape of these large carved pieces and feel the somewhat disquieting tension between animal and mineral.
The exhibition is on display until Sunday, September 28th at the Gallery in the Attic, which is located at 140 1/2 Hunter St. West in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-740-1162 or visit littleredhengallery.wordpress.com/.
Its official opening will be on Thursday, September 11th during Artsweek, when it will be presented along with the Artsweek exhibit “Day Job” by Gallery in the Attic curator Elizabeth Fennel and Trout in Plaid writer and artist Annie Jaeger.
Mining Beauty at the Art Gallery of Northumberland
Eccles does so by breathing life into vintage dresses she acquired primarily through a 1983 auction kept in a collection she once displayed in her 1865 farmhouse. Through research into the stories of the dresses’ original owners and her own reflections, she seeks to extend the memory of these women in her acrylic paintings. Eccles has built a career as a painter and performer and is recognized as a supporter of the arts.
“This current exhibition assembles historical dress paintings that represent Canadian women’s stories — stories of famous women and others we may know,” Eccles says. “Often sewn to fit a single soul, the dresses carry the shape and spirit of the women who once wore them.”
Where Eccles’ work is more reflective, the messaging in Ferdinands’ work is often clearly more overt. Her work is generally created in series with a thematic focus on social or environmental conditions present in post-modern society.
“My work uses garments to express concerns about historical and contemporary portrayals of women,” Ferdinands explains. “I have become reflective and drawn to early life to explore identity and memory. My paintings pose questions about notions of beauty that are still relevant today.”
This exhibition will at the Art Gallery of Northumberland from Tuesday, September 9th to Saturday, October 18th. Eccles and Ferdinands will attend the opening reception on Saturday, September 13th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Art Gallery of Northumberland is located on the third floor of Victoria Hall at 55 King Street West in Cobourg. The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.artgalleryofnorthumberland.com.
