Reflecting on the work of my peers at the Boarding House Gallery
On March 29, the Boarding House Gallery held a reception for the painting exhibition [ir]REGULAR + [ir]RATIONAL. This exhibition featured the culminating works of 19 artists, including myself, from the University of Guelph’s capstone painting class taught by Professor John Kissick.
Though each of the works could not have been more different, they all spoke to one another whether through content, palette, or style as they hung side by side filling the gallery walls. The opening itself was busy right from the get-go.
Inside the building, viewers were first met with Virginia Redden’s painting Parallel Line, which set the tone for the rest of the show with its captivating quality. This vibrant painting depicted a world of its own with areas of colour supported by architectural lines in the background.
Waves of beaming faces, happy chatter, and, of course, the essential snacks and refreshments that go along with art viewing were next in line before heading into the gallery. Catalogues were available with each artist’s name, painting, and a creative description to go along with their work for viewers to consider as they walked through the space. Rather than provide the typical artist statement, the content for each painter was written by another in the group and took the form of poetry, narrative, or dreamscape. Christina Molenaar took a lighthearted approach in describing my painting, Rumination, and wrote: “These works are contemporary and fresh, making her configurations on canvas come to life… These works will leaf you breathless.”
This show was anything but regular or rational. Michelle Ouellet’s Wilton 6B used cake decorating techniques in her painting, intricately weaving acrylic paint across the surface of the canvas. Abby Nowakowski’s work, the boys wanna be her, combined traditional and nontraditional methods and materials, including tape and string, to create an installation that engaged the architecture and surrounding space. Natura Safe Strip by Emelie Robertson transformed landscape by using a router to gouge away the painted wood surface.
The show was the best combination of irregular and irrational. Participating in this exhibition showed me how diverse individual painting practices can be even when working, collaborating, and critiquing together as a group for the past year in Painting III and IV. [ir]REGULAR + [ir]RATIONAL was a highlight of my own painting career at the University of Guelph and I’m so excited to see where it will lead all 19 of us.
