Art is tough. Just try it. You probably won’t even know what makes for good art until you’ve overdosed on it at least a few times. Get up close and drink it in. Have a go at it first hand. Get it wrong. Ask questions. Subjective as it may seem, there are experts available who can tell you not only what is good, but also why. Fortunately for you, we’ve rounded up a few to tell us just what made the top of their lists for the best art produced in Atlantic Canada in 2018.
Here’s our annual peer review for the best art of 2018.
Alan Grabelsky – ‘Men At Work’
I was introduced to Alan’s work two years ago at an exhibition of his artwork in Fredericton. He’d been exploring different methods of printmaking, ranging from positive impressions from wood surfaces to silkscreen, and different means of image transfer.
What intrigued me was less the technical challenges of process than the nature of the image, and it’s relation to Alan’s exploration of affective significance.
I think Alan’s work stands apart from contemporary image making in its self-referential stylistic evolution and a seeking for a pure form of direct expression in drawing. I recall an early discussion we had about the approach to narrative content based on the purity of these forms, and their relation to increasingly interpretable imagery.
Looking forward to further developments. (Stephen Scott)
Alan Grabelsky: WEB | FACEBOOK
Jared Peters – ‘Horse on Wood Panel’
It is a bit excruciating to choose a single favourite piece of the year but in the end, I chose one of Jared Peters’ Horses. As a painter, I am completely seduced by the textures he has mastered in this and other paintings. I find his approach to colour to be very consistent, strong, and quite classical, but his approach to light wonderfully non-traditional. One might even say “left field”. I don’t think I have ever seen a painter use light in quite this way.
There are no fields for Jared’s horses. Rather they are placed in an almost impossibly two-dimensional space. I can nearly smell the good-one-side hardware store plywood as is shimmers alongside the hide of the horse.
I am always surprised by the choice of imagery Jared presents to us. It is youthful and contemporary with a strange nostalgic and boyish twist. I can’t wait to see what he does next. (Theresa MacKnight)
Jared Peters: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Louise Baker – ‘Heaven’s Gate’
Louise Baker’s uses colour and light in this abstract landscape to draw the eye into the painting. Her expressive brushwork and textures convey the movement of the sky and the water. The beautiful pastel colours imply a calm after a storm. It’s a very quiet and calming piece that is a pleasure to see.
All of Louise Baker’s paintings seem to be wonderfully calming, with beautiful us of colour textures and brushstrokes. (Jill Higgins)
Louise Baker: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Deanna Musgrave – ‘Siren’
Deanna Musgrave’s work has been a fixture in the Saint John and New Brunswick art community for over a decade. Her paintings are immediately recognizable; ethereal and vibrant, they encapsulate traits that many artists struggle to balance. They are objectively beautiful yet wrought with complex symbolism and capture a narrative while remaining vehemently abstract.
Deanna’s work is always strongly informed by sensation and emotion and her exhibition, Sirens, at the Saint John Arts Centre was no exception. The paintings in Sirens were alive with visual and sonic vibrations, extending beyond the mortal realm in their exploration of prophetic creatures. Each piece was paired with the work of a Canadian musician including Andrew Reed Miller, Deanna’s husband and frequent collaborator.
The majority of the paintings were on large circular canvases which in addition to being visually striking, reinforced Deanna’s meditation on the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth in the production of the work. Deanna is an artist whose practice is refined yet ever evolving and I can’t wait to see what she produces next! (Christiana Myers)
Deanna Musgrave: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Gerald Beaulieu – ‘When the Rubber Meets the Road’
The phrase “When the rubber meets the road”, which refers to the point at which an abstract idea or plan is tested out in practice, is an apt title for a recent sculptural installation by PEI-based artist Gerald Beaulieu. Comprised of two large-scale dead crows constructed from recycled tires, the evocative work was presented last August along a road in Charlottetown’s Victoria Park as part of that city’s annual Art in the Open festival. It is currently installed on the concourse of the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
I have long been impressed by Beaulieu’s creative use of unexpected, non-traditional art materials, the innovative ways he is able to transform them into arresting, thought-provoking works of art. Representative of avian roadkill, and somewhat reminiscent of a car crash, “When the rubber meets the road” effectively implicates the material (rubber tires) from which it is made in its explicit message about the violence that human beings have inflicted upon the natural world. A sobering fact is that a huge proportion of the world’s bird species are in serious decline, and although numerous bird mortalities can be linked to the destruction of their habitats, millions of birds have also perished through collisions with vehicles on roads and highways.
“When the rubber meets the road” is a good example of a successful public art project because it is accessible and visually engaging while also having something relevant to say. Although there is no easy formula for captivating the public’s imagination, Beaulieu’s work relies on a clear and convincing fusion of image and material, on the surprising gigantic scale of the crows (each one is approximately five metres long and weighs more than 360 kilograms), on the outdoor urban context and proximity to moving traffic, and on the exemplary artistry that was employed in its conception and construction. (Terry Graff)
Gerald Beaulieu: WEB | FACEBOOK
Alexandrya Eaton – ‘Sunny Tulips’
Alexandrya Eaton is one of New Brunswick’s leading artists with over 30 solo exhibitions, and countless group exhibitions across Canada and internationally she has maintained one of the most active and significant art careers in Eastern Canada.
This new painting by Alexandrya exemplifies her painting practice. The painting “Sunny Tulips” an acrylic, on canvas, is a still life painting , a genre I play close attention to, and as in all her paintings Alexandrya brings her own interpretation to the field.
What is most intriguing how her still life works defy the tradition of
the “still” in still life. Her paintings contrast the” still” and are bursting with life , indeed the energy in her work is barely controlled, her exuberant brush work , graphic rendition , and use of
bold pure color explodes this still life off the canvas…. hardly a still life, but transcendent in its interpretation of the genre. In understanding her work, we should recall Alexandrya was featured in the Beaverbrook Art Galleries critical survey on Pop Art , and in some ways this is one way to appreciate the genius of Alexandrya painting, as that still moment that caught in a flash, a moment of timeless energy captured in a contemporary moment. (William Forrestall)
Alexandrya Eaton: WEB | INSTAGRAM
George Chase – ‘WHY’
George Chase is a Saint John artist who stepped into the world of fine art after fifty years as a commercial artist. Comfortable in all subjects, he is best know for his works of native wildlife. Understanding the anatomy of animals is evident in his paintings. In “WHY” he has also captured the raw emotion of this beautiful war horse. (Rene Collins)
Jack Bishop – Gas Station Landscape
While visiting the Buckland Merrifield Gallery in Saint John this past summer I was quite taken by Halifax based artist Jack Bishop’s “Gas Station Landscape” 2018 an oil and acrylic on canvas. It is a painting of substantial portions measuring 42” x 66.”
His compositions remind me of the patterns of a kaleidoscope or the patchwork of a quilt.
When I look at his paintings I think of my own work and how I can relate to his use of color. I completely understand his take on contemporary depictions of box stores and service orientated signage and images of the homogenized urban outskirts of any city in North America.
Bishop is a young artist. I am interested to watch what artistic path he takes and the direction he moves in. (Will Rafuse)
Poppy Balser – ‘Full Moon Over the Wharf’
I have a lot of respect for creatives who demonstrate outstanding dedication and diligence to their chosen craft. One such person is Poppy Balser, whose inspiration originates around the Bay of Fundy and goes with her where ever she may travel. She can be found outside painting in almost every kind of weather and in every season. Even into the evenings with her nocturne pieces. Dedication to this degree while painting in all the elements is rare and the results shows clearly in her work. As a result she has developed a mastery of painting skies and nature’s shifting light across the landscape and ocean.
Nocturne paintings present their own unique set of challenges. Painting the night is a tricky endeavour and requires a deep understanding of value and reflected light. Poppy paints the evening with confidence while maintaining the fluid qualities of watercolour, clearly demonstrated in “Full Moon Over the Wharf.”
She is equally adept in watercolours and oils, and can transition from one medium to the other while maintaining her recognizable style. (Helen Shideler)
Poppy Balser: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Colin Smith – ‘Birds Going to Fight Satan’
My New Year’s Resolution for 2018 was to have a deeper understanding of joy, which lead me compare the research of the designer, Ingrid Fetell Lee, to the recent artwork of Colin Smith. Founder of the blog “The Aesthetics of Joy,” Lee has made it her task to define the connection of the physical world to the ephemeral essence of joy. In her talk “Where Joy Hides and How to Find It” she has broken down the visual qualities of joy in art to repetition, symmetry, circular shapes, contrasting colour, a sense of abundance and multiplicity and a feeling of lightness or elevation. These are qualities that I see in Smith’s recent work during his residency at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in the summer of 2018. His drawings transformed the spaces of the gallery by depicting them with swarms of colourful birds or clouds of balloons uplifting children to the ceiling. We see our familiar anew with these joyful visual elements.
Smith’s work can also bring on more complex emotional experiences. “Birds Going to Fight Satan” has all the visual qualities of joy as defined by Lee however, it also brings to mind aspects of Film Noir and Alfred Hitchock’s “The Birds.” When Smith combines the aesthetics of joy with horror or the grotesque, the work it moves towards an experience of the sublime. In certain works of Smith, we see the “pecking order” of nature and are reminded of our place in it. It is a rich experience to look at a work which fosters joy in the multiplicity of colour though cardinals and chickadees, while also triggering our awareness of the brevity of life as they reduce a human to bone. This combination creates a transformational divine comedy. (Deanna Musgrave)
Colin Smith: FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Curious to see how that compares to 2017? Have a look here.