The ongoing Art in the Park series returns to the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre this Nov. 9 when the newest offering Up Close! Flora and Fauna of Mount Revelstoke opens.
Since its inception, the Parks Canada Art in the Park series has taken artists from across B.C. to work and study in situ in Glacier National Park, Mount Revelstoke and beyond – including Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island’s rugged west coast.
The openings at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre have traditionally been the busiest of the season; lots of artists (14 this year) mean lots of exciting works to see and many friends to invite.
This year’s offering will likely be busier; all of the artist are local, and their subject matter is even more so.
Mount Revelstoke National Park was the subject. The challenge was taking a macro view of the park, creating the ‘Up Close!’ view of the natural environment.
“We’re all familiar with flower meadows and vistas from the top of the mountain,” said Jacquie Pendergast of the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre. “We asked artists just to look at maybe the tiniest things. What we wanted then to do is take a macro view of things they found in Mt. Revelstoke National Park.”
The results include photos, paintings, pottery and mixed-media pieces that get up close with the tree-bark, fungi, wildflowers and fauna of our backyard national treasure.
The itinerary was a little less demanding than past excursions that often involved trekking and camping in remote areas. This summer, Parks Canada staff led the artists on day trips to unique locales in the park, as well as some of the more well known, like the Skunk Cabbage and Giant Cedars boardwalks.
They even searched out salamanders on a night-time excursion.
The Show features Lucie Bergeron, Peter Blackmore, Sue Davies, Eve Fisher, Sandra Flood, Chloe Juwon Kim, Mas Matsushita, Cat Mather, Lori Olsson, Jacqueline Pendergast, David Rooney, Patti Shonek, Coreen Tucker and Kip Wiley.
Best of Banff 2012 Banff Mountain Photography Competition
This photo essay exhibit features 2012 Grand Prize winner Neal Grundy’s Night Climbing and Special Mention winner Sandro Sedran’s Lights in the Dark.
English photographer Neal Grundy combines advanced, abstract light-painting techniques with the natural rock surfaces of the Kentish Weald in long-exposure night images. The resulting photo essay hints at the surreal through a combination of composition guided by narrative hints imposed by electrifying blues, organic greens and bloody reds.
Sandro Sedran’s Light in the Dark combines caving with artistic lighting as it echoes, splashes and plays off the rocks and waters of the subterranean environment. The images highlight the exploits of the cavers he accompanies.
Deviant Abstraction
The show also features Deviant Abstraction by painter Teria Davies and photographs by Revelstoke youth who took part in the Parks Canada’s Glacier Adventure Stewardship Program (GASP) earlier in 2012. They were mentored by photographers Natalie Harris and Kip Wiley.