Art examining the waters of British Columbia is coming to Deer Lake Gallery.
Watermarks is a new group exhibition that will run at the Burnaby Arts Council’s gallery from Thursday, Sept. 20 to Saturday, Oct. 20. It features the work of artists Michael Abelman, Graham Coulthard and Amelia Alcock-White, each exploring aquatic scenes of coastal British Columbia.
An opening reception is set for Thursday, Sept. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m.
“The exhibition serves as a positive platform for learning about the environment, engaging the community, and offers an empowering atmosphere to respect what we have and remind us of the need to protect it for future generations,” a notice about the show says.
Abelman’s impressionist-inspired landscapes explore the beauty of Vancouver’s mountains and sea. His particular interest is the various ships that arrive and depart daily, from cruise ships to ferries and cargo vessels.
“I find the slow movement of the huge ships a fascinating juxtaposition to the lightning-fast speed of modern technology,” he says in the notice.
Coulthard’s paintings draw inspiration from an experience hiking the West Coast Trail, with impressionistic scenes of the west coast of Vancouver Island at low tide.
Alcock-White, meanwhile, uses her work to address the ongoing debate surrounding the use of our coastal waterways.
“It explores how a single event can manifest multiple futures, some potentially destructive,” the notice says. “What is beautiful and what is economically expedient are often two divergent paths. By highlighting the reflections and irregular ellipses of flattened colour, abstract patterns and highlighted surface reflections on a body of water, Alcock-White attempts to evoke a reverence for the mystery and importance of water, our natural world, its fragility and precariousness.”
Deer Lake Gallery is at 6584 Deer Lake Ave. See www.burnabyartscouncil.org or call 604-298-7322 for information.
The opening reception is free, but anyone wishing to attend is asked to register through www.eventbrite.com.
