loop Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibitions of loop members Maureen Paxton: Wish Well and Barbara Rehus: Saint’s which will open Saturday, September 25, 2010.
Nine of the twelve paintings presented by Maureen Paxton in Wish Well describe variations on the locket. Often containing images or artifacts belonging to a loved one, the locket tends to be worn at points on the body where the wearer’s pulse can be felt - over the heart, at the base of the neck, at the wrist. A tiny wearable vessel, it might then be described as a form of life support, a memory bridge, a circuit or conduit between past and present. In this case, Paxton’s lockets are re-contextualized and re-worked excisions from older paintings. Ovals, though not the locket, are to be found in Wish Well's three remaining paintings.
With the exhibition Saint’s, Barbara Rehus creates her own series of icons inspired by her childhood fascination with saints and their stories. Their tales were told to Rehus by nuns who believed her desire to hear the tragic, gory tales was fueled by piety. Rehus’ painted portraits tenderly explore how people come to put faith and hope into objects and places in order to feel safe. The risas used as coverings in the works protect not only the paintings, but the figures represented. Standard saints accompany contemporary icons which place friends and family in their own risas, places where they’ve told the artist they feel safe. The portraits of Saint’s are painted in acrylic on panel, each recessed within and cradled by a carved encaustic risa.
Maureen Paxton teaches in the Animation program at Sheridan College. She also writes. A past member of the Tarragon Theatre’s Playwrights Unit, she is currently at work on a novel, funded by a Works-in-Progress Grant from the Ontario Arts Council.
Barbara Rehus is a St. Catharines-based visual artist, working primarily as a sculptor and painter. She holds two degrees from Cleveland State University, as well as accreditation from Toronto School of Art. Her work has been shown in public and commercial galleries as well as artist-run centres throughout North America and Europe. Her work is included in numerous private collections.
September 25 – October 17, 2010
Reception: Saturday, September 25, 2-5 PM
Question & Answer Session: Saturday, Sept. 25, 3:45pm
At loop Gallery with Barbara Rehus and Maureen Paxton moderated by Antonia Lancaster
Canadian Art Gallery Hop stop at Loop Gallery at 3:20 pm on Saturday, September 25, 2010
