Village Squire, 1981-04, Page 10Brilliant Colour
and
Powerful Images
by Rob Tetu
The concept was downright batty- an
exhibition at a prestigious public art
gallery, open to any artist, amateur or
professional, from Huron or Perth Coun-
ty. Each artist could submit two works in
any medium and. talent not withstand-
ing, they were there. It was crazy. an
invitation to disaster. but still I hoped to
find a few bright new lights among our
local artist.
Braced for the first visual impact. I
held my breath and stepped into Gallery
Stratford. 1 expected the worst. but my
clever presumptions were dead wrong.
True. there were paintings, drawings
and forms that reflected some hobbyists'
first bash at art classes. and some
no -so -bad renderings by promising
youngsters. But it's not my place to be
either patronising or destructive to this
group of budding Michaelangelos.
(Gawd, I can still remember my first
lumbering brush -strokes at the YMCA
painting classes in Galt. Ont.)
But, let's have a close look at the rest of
the show. The quality of the work was
high, some of it stunning. Picnic 1 V by
Bonnie Steinman was an evocative nude.
rendered in ink and watercolours. Her
second piece. We're OK 11 was one of
the highlights of the exhibition. It was a
delightful water colour painting of two
children on a beach. Her technique
showed retraint and an economy of detail
resulting in a subtle yet strikingly
realistic effect.
Ed Krauter's two works. Empty House
and Superior. were at once soft and
powerful. The frequent tendency with
watercolours is to dibble and dabble. to
muck around with the colours and try for
too much detail. Krauter knows when to
quit. His brush touches the paper. makes
a concise, eloquent statement, then
lifts -no dibble - dabble. no cheap tricks.
Only one artist stood out in oil painting,
Leslie Case exhibited Les Canons de l'Est
and Still Life, two strong paintings whose
style was perhaps inspired by the bold
strokes and vibrant colours of the Group
of Seven's Jack MacDonald.
We're OK II
The photography on display was good
generally. with some trendy special
effects such as solarization and multiple
exposures. But the ones most striking
were technically very straight -forward. It
was the vision and insight of the
photographer, Sue Munro. not darkroom
gimmickry, that lay at the heart of her
work- photos documenting the tragedy of
the Woodstock tornado. Her Ions cap-
tured the feelings of the farm community -
shock, disbelief, confusion, hope and
determination- excellent work!
Other pieces stood out- the brilliant
colours and powerful images in Bobb
Dyer's acrylic and lacquer abstracts had a
dazzling three-dimensional effect. Karen
Scott Booth's elegant stoneware wall
plaques highlighted the pottery category.
Humorous soft sculpture by Kathi Poslitt
and comical hand -puppets by Cheryl
Elliott combined a sense of creative joy
and evocative fun with a strong feeling
for design.
All in all, the Perth -Huron Open
Exhibition was an exciting show. I have a
few minor criticisms. which must be
tempered in consideration of the show's
nature. The Gallery Stratford is a public
gallery, funded by individual. municipal
and corporate donations. It's a non-profit
organisation and the sale of the works on
display was not part of the Gallery's
mandate.
As a result. the information posted
with each piece was limited to the artist's
name. the work's title and the medium
used. Because I enjoy and buy good art, it
was disappointing prices were not posted
or even available at the front desk. (The
gallery will put prospective buyers in
touch with the artist.) Because of the
localised nature of the show. 1 would have
appreciated some brief background on
each artist- even just the name of their
home municipality.
A serious consideration for some of the
artists might be to become more aware of
the quality of their materials. Such things
as yellowing paper, warped supporting
frames and poor mounting detracted from
some otherwise good works.
Paul Bennett. director of Gallery
Stratford. deserves full points for mount-
ing this exhibition. Of great help to the
artists was a specially organised critique
held to assess the work and offer
constructive advice. The show was well-
received (over 1100 people came through)
and comments were favourable.
When the next Perth -Huron Open
Exhibition is held, it will be well worth a
trip to Gallery Stratford. And I'll be the
first in line. 0
PG. 8 VILLAGE SQUIRE/ APRIL 1981