Rebound exhibition by Sheila R. Alonzo

On Friday, October 17^th at 5pm, the building on 1580 Cook Street will permanently close its doors as a gallery to become a dispensary.  “Rebound” is the last exhibition to showcase at the Gallery 1580.  Though the title is optimistic, it’s still a sad affair for the artist collective to say good-bye to the affordable and convenient rental studios located in North Park.  It is with these thoughts and feelings that I review “Rebound”.   

 Connie Morey’s installation called “Spectacle” greeted me at the lobby as soon as I walked in.  Morey’s obsession with strings and textiles make nuanced sensitive subject matters tangible.  I like that Morey’s art is contemplative in nature.  There’s usually an element of surprise in her creations, I find, when a connection is made.  Morey’s art explores the intersection between the intellect and the visceral in very clever ways.  Morey’s contribution to the “Rebound” exhibition appears scientific in methodology.  She uses text to classify each round ‘planetary’ paper folds with inserts and cut images from encyclopaedias.  “Spectacle” is a poem about suspended reservoirs of knowing.

 

In the room adjacent, stood a column of cardboard stacked by Luis Mario Guerra-Veliz at about 5ft tall bringing my gaze down.  Next to the stack hung the “English Patient” wound in hospital tubes from the ceiling, allowing my eyes to follow the walls where temporary shelves held objects in varying shapes, sizes and materials in waiting, come to view.  The name of the exhibition is “Rebound” –the theme for 18 local artists to experiment and explore the idea of the book as a contemporary art form.  ‘Handle with care’ and ‘please do not touch’ instructed viewers to discriminate interactive art from the rest.

 I was naturally drawn to Caren Willms’ “Daily Knots Preserved” out of fabric and string in a glass jar.  A piece of paper tagged the knotted fabric coming out of the jar with pencil handwriting: “Oct 11 Celebration”.  I walked over to Kyle Labinsky’s book “The History of Naïve Paintings” where he filled pages with paint marking effigy, an act of defacing it, but only one quarter of the way in.  The remaining quarter of the book revealed a long black serpentine character, like an index or visual after thought.  I perceived it as political in nature, not naïve.

Caren Willms

 

In my twenty-minute visit, I kept circling back to the book of “Testament” by Diana Weymar.  It was one of those ‘handle with care’ objects.  So I picked up the little booklet dated 1866 and carefully flipped through it.  Loose colourful threads became rebound text-sewn messages on the book’s yellow-with age pages.  Sewed in one were yellow, pink, blue, green and brown was the text: BE KIND, and at the bottom: “For Liz”.  The quote by Joan Didion spanned three pages, fit for the Gallery 1580’s ending and closing exhibition.

“We are not idealized wild things.  We are imperfect mortal beings, aware of that immortality even as we push it away, failed by our very complication, so wired that when we mourn our losses, we also mourn, for better or for worse, ourselves.  As we were.  As we are no longer.  As we will one day not be at all.”

Diana Weymar

Photos by Sheila R. Alonzo (except for building image via "UsedVictoria" http://www.usedvictoria.com/ReportSelectUsedAdPhoto2?used_ad_id=25169268&position=1&hb=1 )

Jaedan Chayce Leimert Q&A about the show “Hollow” at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective with Sheila R. Alonzo

1. What can you tell me about Hollow?
Hollow as a concept, is quite different than my previous work. There is a very sincere
directness in the pieces. I felt an impetus to create a new body of work that reverted back
to more natural materials, rather than synthetic ones. The show also meditates on ideas of
emptiness, transience and memory.

2. How did you decide on the specific materials?
I’m often influenced by my immediate surroundings. At the time of Hollow’s conception,
I was living in the Shuswap, staying at my family’s cabin out in the woods. In a way, the
show is a product of my time there. Being enveloped in a forested environment definitely
had an effect on me, insofar as a sense of rawness coinciding with quietness. This is more
or less the feeling I was trying to convey in using untreated pieces of wood. I’m also
drawn to the idea of material decay. Wood has a wonderful duration of wear – the change
is imperceptible in the present, yet somehow it’s materially embodied.

3. Where did you source the materials?
Some of pieces came directly from the Shuswap (the charred stump & hollowed logs),
while others were fabricated in Kelowna and Vancouver. It also helps when your father is
a carpenter.

4. What about 'the presence of absence' is meaningful to you?
For me, it’s a way of appreciating both positive and negative space equally. Many of the
pieces have empty space between, or within the objects themselves. The emptiness is
contained. I think that each medium achieves this feeling in different ways. The
sculptures are obviously very physical, while the photographs for example, contemplate
more abstractly on the space that exists in memory, or perhaps more accurately, forgotten
memory.

5. When did you decide that arrangement is of equal importance to the individual pieces?
Part of what’s interesting as a viewer is to make correlations between work; finding threads of connection, whether it’s the artist’s intention or not. It was important for me to arrange the
objects in a way to best facilitate an overarching dialogue. I like to think of it in regards to
Koffka’s phrase “the whole is other than the sum of its parts.”
In terms of when, Hollow as a unified show was decided long before any of the actual
pieces were created.

6. Are there any pieces that are part of the exhibit that did not make it in the exhibition?
For certain. I find that the final decision is always contingent on the chosen exhibition
space. There were other ideas for potential sculptures or for another set of photographs,
but when I actually sat down and envisioned how I was going to arrange the works there
wasn’t really a good place for them. I decided that it was better to X them rather than to
plug them in just for the sake of it.

7. What's next?
I have a couple new ideas that I would like to work out simultaneously. One of which
will be a spatial installation, in collaboration with an engineer friend of mine, Sam
Melamed (who helped me with Fringe I-VI). It will involve laser light and resonating a
milled slab of wood. The other is to start fabricating new works for an exhibition I have
in mind entitled, disorder. The show will be based on subversion. My vision is for it to be
uncomfortable, disjointed and perhaps slightly grotesque.

Jessica Ziakin-Cook Artist Talk for: Seat Like a Sparrow ... Solitary exhibit

Interview with Leya Tess about ‘Ólafsfjörður Drawn’ by Sheila R. Alonzo

‘Geysers, volcanoes and portals into the centre of the earth’ were some exciting inspirations Leya Tess drew from when we talked about her current exhibition at the fifty fifty arts collective in Victoria, BC. For six weeks, Tess was tucked away at the Listhús Artist Residency program in a small fishing town connected by a tunnel in northern Iceland. Weathering arctic 1.6°C this spring, Tess watched the landscape turn from no plants to moss plants emerging out of the snow. Observations such as these informed her exploration on multiplicity and interconnection. As a result, she created an intuitive web, playfully drawing the eyes to bulbous shapes and sounds of her residency in the fjord documented in a 24ft scroll. ‘Ólafsfjörður Drawn’ exhibition runs until Sunday June 21^st, 2015.



SA: What is it about the arctic island of Iceland that fascinates you? 
LT: I think something special happens to places that are surrounded by water, rather than artificial political borders. The physical isolation of an island can cultivate a certain type of introversion that seems to produce fantastic art. Artist centres can also be islands of sorts; safe havens of creativity/ dedication at their best - to self-absorbed old boyz clubs at their worst.
SA: When you arrived, was it what you expected it to be?
LT: Before the trip I had some romanticized ideas about Icelandic society, mostly informed by the following naive (but endearing) reasons: 1) My adoration of Bjork 2) Media hype over the country's constitutional reform 3) The looming danger of being surrounded by 30 active volcanoes. Upon arriving I realized that there were plenty of other twenty-something tourists smitten by identical ideals. 
SA: What were your first AND long lasting impressions? 
LT: It should've been obvious but throughout the residency I was amazed at how much deeper I could explore my drawing practice. Who would have thought: lonely days devoid of obligation & distraction = productivity!

SA: If you could do it again, what would you do differently?
LT: The next time I do another residency, I hope to be a little less self-absorbed and create work that directly engages with a host community.

SA: Does your dual nationality (Chinese and Swedish) inform a lot of your work?
LT: Yes. The complexity of being mixed race, Yin-yang dualities, perceived binaries of east & west, black & white, absence & presence are things I think about while I draw.
SA: You mentioned a strike during your residency. Did that impact you? LT: I spent two days on hold with Icelandair trying to rebook my return flight.
SA: When you returned to Canada, you drew ‘Siglufjordur,’ Egilstadir’ and ‘Myvatn’; what can you say about these smaller pieces in the exhibition.
LT: Those were really fun and liberating - I used some of the forms I learned on the scroll on a smaller scale.

SA: Is there any piece that is part of the exhibition that is not in the show?
LT: I accidentally left another unfinished, smaller scroll at the residency.
SA: Hugo Nebula was at your Opening Reception, what can you tell me about the band?
LT: Hugo Nebula is named after the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction. It’s mostly the spacey synthesized sounds of the talented Reuben Wier but sometimes I add in my experiments in video mixing projection imagery.

SA: Did you have a show while you were there? 
LT: Yes. I met a tombstone engraver who also makes impressive paintings.
SA: Any plans for your next exhibition?
LT: I’m working on an outdoor installation for the Campbell Bay Music Fest on June 19-20, 2015 on Mayne Island, BC.
www.leyatess.com
leyaand@gmail.com

Image 1 – Text: This spring, Leya hitchhiked across Iceland with an awkwardly large roll of paper. Eventually she found her way to the Listhús Artist Residency in the small fishing village of Ólafsfjörður. Tucked away in a snowy fjord she bathed in the luxurious privilege of an abundance of time, frozen foods and geothermal heat. Following a methodical routine, she filled the 24ft roll of paper with an intricate web of intuitive freehand drawing.
These monochromatic drawings swim out into the waters of multiplicity and cyclical movement. They are obsessive mark meditations that tap into the intertwined and mutually engaged undercurrents that are most often obscured by the daily drudgery of the standard western grind. -LT

Below Text: a cut-out sample of the palette.
Image 2 - Artist Leya Tess standing in front of the 24ft Ólafsfjörður Scroll
Image 3 - Framed drawings (L to R): Siglufjordur, Egilstadir and Myvatn

the fifty fifty arts collective is a non-profit artist-run centre that provides space for artists of all disciplines who have yet to be defined in the mainstream {intimate music, art and film programming}. Hours: Monday 1-6 / Wednesday 10-6/ Friday 10-330/ Sunday 9-12 Contact: thefiftyfifty@gmail.com


Photos: Sheila R. Alonzo
Iceland Map: Wikipedia

Interview with Sergio Rojas Chaves by Sheila R. Alonzo

Sergio Rojas Chaves is an artchitect-to-be studying art at the University of Victoria. When asked where he was born, he laughed. ‘Chepe,’ (Chaves calls San Jose) is the city where no one lives. The Costa Rican capital experiences a daily flux of people: from half a million to 400,000 day and night, he said. The irony of becoming an architect in a city where no one lives builds the case for Chaves in ‘re-thinking the city’ and its relation to the environment. Chaves remembered when mining and deforestation made an impression on him in high school, that in sculpture class, he shaped the stone to speak about these issues. He did not realize at the time that he would work with stone again, suspended at the fifty fifty arts collective in Victoria, BC, to challenge our thinking about materiality, space and environment in May 14-31, 2015. ‘Una Superficie Tangible / A Tangible Surface’ is his first solo exhibition in Canada. 
 

‘Sergio’s exhibition provides a thoughtful inquiry into the meaningfulness of our interactions with the objects of our everyday comings and goings –reminding us of the intimacy that informs even the most banal encounters with the surfaces of the natural world.’ –Megan Dyck, artist & educator




Why ‘Una Superficie Tangible / A Tangible Surface’ for the title?
 

To me a tangible surface is one that gives a sense of volume and weight without the need of physical interaction. It is a surface that can communicate its physicality by purely observational means. Our experience of extension is made through inference: that looks heavy, that seems thick. Mass, density, volume-- we only experience these as surface.

I believe that the objects in the exhibition communicate their tri-dimensionality just by being present in the space. They have rich textures and forms that draw attention and spark interest. The gallery context dictates the relationship between the object and the viewer, it is almost normative not to touch the art. You can only interact with it visually. I take advantage of this pre-established relationship to draw closer attention to surfaces.

How did you decide on what materials to use?

I work mostly with natural or discarded materials. I choose materials that convey a sense of their origin. I choose materials that I can relate to and that relate to each other.

To make the rope I chose the natural fibre that I felt most comfortable with. I used to make hemp jewelry when I was younger so the choice was simple. The rocks were an easy decision as it is a material present in all parts of the world. Rocks are part of our history and they compose our landscape, because of this I believe they convey universality. The marble I chose because of its aesthetic beauty and traditional use in the arts. I am also interested in the fact that we only truly appreciate marble we grind its outer surface and polish it. Raw marble is not appealing to humans. Finally I chose the metal because it is something commonly discarded. I enjoy how the metal sheet I intervened reflects the natural processes that occur here on the island.



You mentioned that you wanted to create spatial awareness and allow viewers to realize the capacity of material. Do you think you achieved this? 
 

I do think I increased spatial awareness to some extent. The Suspension Studies make the viewer aware of the dimensionality of the exhibition space (wall distance, ceiling height, spotlights, etc). The Shui- mo panels draw the viewer through the narrow space they are in. The surface intricacies and patterns on the panels are also present in Oceanscape, these details make the viewer aware of similar details on the gallery floor and walls. My intention is for people to come out of the gallery space and pay more attention to the surfaces around them.

What do the sound boxes have to do with 'tangibility' and space? 
The Whisper Boxes act as complimentary stimuli when the viewer is interacting with the other pieces. They contain parts of texts and thoughts that I have in my mind when I produce the work. They are also the only surface that the viewer is “allowed” to touch.



Some excerpts are:
· All creatures in the universe
return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
The way of nature is unchanging.
· Knowing the constant, we accept things as they are.
By accepting things as they are, we are impartial.
By being impartial, we are part of the Nature.
· Shape clay into a vessel;

It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;

It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore benefit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
· What lies below the surface affects the surface.
 

Why did you choose the Visual Arts program at the University of Victoria and how does that relate to your environmental activism?  
 
I chose the Visual Arts program at the University of Victoria because it offers an alternative to the art education available in my country. I am being exposed to methods of creation and ways of seeing that, I believe, will allow me to develop a visual language that can communicate and create awareness about the environmental issues I consider pertinent.
I believe that art that wants to help environmental activism has to illustrate concepts in a more direct way. I don’t believe in art as propaganda or decoration. I want art that demands intellectual and emotional engagement from the viewer.
 

Why the shift from architecture to installation art? 
 
I started architecture school because I was interested in landscape design. That interest was sparked by my exposure to the works of Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long. I quickly realized that my interest in installation art was larger than my interest in designing a space for utilitarian reasons.
In 2012 I had the opportunity to participate in a collective public art action in San Pedro, Costa Rica. I was then given the advice to pursue a Visual Arts education by two artists I have much admiration for: Adan Vallecillo and Esteban Piedra Leon. Seeing their work and working with them I came to terms with the seemingly endless possibilities of exploration that contemporary art allows. After that experience my transition was simple. I still draw inspiration from architecture design studies; I rely on the planning and production methods I learned from it. I want my work to exist in between art and architecture in order to draw attention to the rich potential that exists in that space.
 
Is there a piece in the show that did not make it in the exhibition?  If so, why?
 
There are pieces from other series that had potential to be in the show but they did not sustain a dialogue in the same way the current pieces do.
 

Do you have any photos of past works e.g. sculptures that you made in high school?

I don’t have any right now, sorry.




You mentioned that at the opening reception people were afraid to walk through and interact with the installation. Why do you think that is and do you think this would be the case in Costa Rica as well?
 

I believe that the installation has a precarious look to it. The people might have felt threatened to go under it. Also, if walking around the installation, the proximity between some of the rocks requires a closer distance to the pieces; this proximity might be uncomfortable to some people.

I don’t know if it would have been different in Costa Rica, I think people would be more drawn to interact with it, as there is a larger tradition of interactive art pieces in my hometown.

Any plans for your next exhibition?
 

My next project is a public art installation in San Jose. It will be an interactive piece composed by many hanging strands of material that people can be immersed in. It will be in the site of a weekly farmer's market so the piece will adapt to the audience and the space dynamics that occur there. It will be ready for the beginning of August 2015. I am still in the process of working out details.



the fifty fifty arts collective is a non-profit artist-run centre that provides space for artists of all disciplines who have yet to be defined in the mainstream {intimate music, art and film programming}. Hours: Monday 1-6 / Wednesday 10-6/ Friday 10-330/ Sunday 9-12 Contact: thefiftyfifty@gmail.com

The Collage Art of Greg Evans, interview by Sheila R. Alonzo

Cold Shoulder a.k.a. Tie Racer

Rock, Paper, Scissors With Glue Stick Instead Of Rock

The Collage Art of Greg Evans

Where: theDock, Centre for Social Impact

3 Fan Tan Alley #300, Victoria, BC (Chinatown)

Hours: Please contact theDock

Exhibition until Sunday May 31^st, 2015

Interview by Sheila R. Alonzo

SA: What is it about this medium (collage) that appeals to you?
GE: Why collage? Because it’s instant; if I can find the right images I can knock a piece off in a single evening. I also love the super-realism. I’m using photos to build a photo.

SA: What is your favourite piece in the show?  Can you tell me about it?
GE: I can’t pick a favourite, because I like them all. One that sticks out, though, is the “Cold Shoulder (Tie Racer)” because it is good for a laugh. And it is so simple.

SA: When did you start making collages?  Why?
GE: I started making collages in 1971. Everybody had groovy posters on their walls and I wanted something that no one else had. So I made my own.

SA: Do you find music influence your work?  How?
GE: I enjoy music when I’m making my art, but I don’t NEED it.

SA: How and where do you pick the images?  
GE: You can find collage components anywhere – books, magazines, junk mail, etc. If I get my hands on a National Geographic that I’ve never seen before, I can usually expect to get three collages out of it. Right now, piled along the wall in my dining room, I have twelve boxes of books and magazines and pages torn out of such. I’m trying not to allow myself to acquire any more until I turn out about 1,500 pieces and make some room.


Artist Statement:
These images are an attempt to show snap shots of a nearly possible parallel world.
When copied onto slide film, the collages, along with my other photography, film making and special effects work, are combined to be presented as visual accompaniment to music (usually rock) under the name Acid Rain Light Show.
Here, the pictures are being given a chance to stand on their own. I hope you enjoy these postcards from a land no one has ever traveled to.
Clip frame images are $100 and framed ones are $150.


Artist Contact:
Greg Evans
Tel. 250 598 7020
Email: gergsnave@hotmail.com


About the Space: theDock Victoria is a Centre for Social Impact. It is home for community builders, social entrepreneurs, creative and engaged people. We provide a platform for groups to experiment, blend sectors, and uncover innovations to manifest a more caring, resilient, and abundant future. thedockvictoria.com

Michael Haisell exhibit reviewed by Sheila R. Alonzo

Nude Sculptures by Michael W. Haisell

Exhibition Jan 21-Feb 4, 2015

CACGV Gallery, Victoria BC

“You came at the best time,” she said, half jokingly and half nervously responding to my writing a review on Michael W. Haisell’s solo exhibition.  Warm sunlight filled the café when I walked through the automatic glass doors of the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre. Wrapped in white synthetic plastic, the quarantined CACGV Gallery had four signs tacked to it:

Please Note:

This exhibition explores the nude female figure in sculpture.

Please Note:

This exhibition explores the nude female figure in sculpture.

CAUTION:

Uneven Flooring

Gallery is

OPEN

My curiosity peaked. I pulled the handle and stepped inside. Thirteen fired clay figures on white table height plinths stood in front of me. My eyes scanned the small room deciding how to maneuver. On my right was an art deco oil painting titled “After Lempica”, perhaps an ode to Tamara de Lempicka (a glamorous Polish Art Deco painter of the 1920’s).  Each sculpture varied in size, the tallest roughly thirteen inches. The clay figures stood, sat or posed lying on the ground. Notes beside each sculpture read:

Lindsey

A true artist, a clothing designer, a glass artisan. She likes to wear black boots and very cool clothing. She likes to sew and model.

Fallyn

Left her foot prints on the wall from her stretch breaks (my floors are covered in clay dust), she smoked the best smelling tobacco with herbs like rosemary in it. She always wears black or green velvet. She spends a lot of time in California.

Jasmine

Was only here for the summer to work at a tourist attraction. My ad was for a fashion model type. She could stand there all day without a rest. Quiet sort of girl, probably tired from her other job.

Then it hit me. These are representations of real people. I looked more closely, admiring the details of their lips, nose, eyes and fingers; graceful, poised and human.

On the back wall hung more oil paintings, six in total at the exhibition. “Amanda on Chaise Lounge”, oil and gouache painting on canvass, is my favourite; made with a series of whimsical strokes in shades of pink. The piece I didn't like was the photograph on canvass "Rachel". The super imposed image of the skin texture revealed hair and goose bumps that somehow made me think of chicken skin.

There isn't a lot of information on Haisell that I could find prior to visiting the exhibition except that his passion is photography and that he follows Sculpting, according to his blog.

MWH's Business Card from the CACGV Gallery

On my way out, I found the guest book open with a comment:

Really don’t know why the screening material had to be put up – there is nothing here to be screened from public view – the work certainly deserves to be seen.

I am curious to know what pieces did not make the exhibition and which ones were “taken down due to controversial material,” said an informant. Stay tuned for the Artist Interview to learn more.

The CACGV Gallery is located inside the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre on 3220 Cedar Hill Road, Victoria. The exhibition runs until Wednesday Feb 4.

Sheila R. Alonzo for exhibit-v

video interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOyqRJYcWpQ&list=UUV4eaoyvilFQdKShsSYMsdg

Pete Kohut interview with Sheila R. Alonzo

It was a cool damp Thursday night on January 8 at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective, Pete Kohut’s solo exhibition “Inside / Outward” marked the 1st gallery opening in Victoria, British Columbia for 2015.  “Inside / Outward” is a series of Kohut’s recent paintings drawn from people watching in coffee shops, illustrations turned paintings, space confused to create dynamic composition for the viewer, and channeling anxiety of being in public, as an introvert.  The exhibition runs until Sunday January 25th at 2516 Douglas Street.

When asked, why the café and not another public space?

There’s something unique to how people use a coffee shop as a public / private space.  I think a type of space that might be similar would be restaurants or food markets. What's interesting about coffee shops is that people feel more comfortable and let their guard down, hence letting out their personal quirks. A restaurant might not have the same level of comfort, but perhaps there's other qualities that people might let show through.

An excerpt from Kohut’s blog “Artist Statement: In Progress” on October 5, 2014, gives deeper insight to his thought process:

What am I doing?  I'm making images that represent our daily life while evoking the fragmented nature in which we perceive and understand the world around us. 1) The coffee shop in North America is very much like the cafe in European countries, except that it can also function as a place to work, read, study, and be ‘alone’.  It's a peculiar space especially for that last reason. I'm interested in the crossover of behaviours between the two types of spaces, private and public. 2) Media culture has affects how we think and feel about the world. 3) I'm using retrograde media to show the limits of current media.

In the next blog entry, he provided 3 more reasons why it mattered.  Cleverly, he ended it with  "people enacting their private lives in a public space,” making “Inside / Outward” a suitable title and Artist Statement that reads like this:

Weirdly distorted and morphing figures in confusing spaces. Patterned marks, raw colours and contrasts, shifting perspective, layers and history of making. Paintings that represent people and spaces but also reference the flatness of surface.

The subject of human interaction is fascinating. For an introverted person, meeting other people is often fraught with anxiety. This anxiety is processed into these paintings.

Scenes from everyday life act as an armature onto which energetic brushwork infuse these scenes with activity and evoke a sense of fleeting memories.

  
 I asked if any part of the collection did not make it to the exhibition:

There are three or four paintings that didn't make it into the show, mostly because there wasn't enough room for them, but also because they veered a little further away from the ideas that I was focusing in on the show; a self-portrait for example. I'm not a very linear painter, so some of the paintings went way off into left field, in different directions.

Kohut often mentions it in his writings and interviews, so I had to ask about being an introvert:

As far as I know I've always been an introvert. I grew up the second of three sons, which might explain my proclivity for feeling uneasy when people pay attention to me. I also have a hard time in large crowds because I feel overwhelmed. I like nothing more than to spend my evenings at home painting, drawing, reading, and playing with my cat. I have few close friends but I find evenings out with three or more people are extremely draining. I recharge when I'm by myself and therefore relish my time alone. I think this is partly why I continued to make art; an excuse to be alone.  

I also asked if he felt that he succeeded in channeling that anxiety into these paintings.

I feel that I succeeded in evoking a sense of excitement in these pieces by using my anxiety as fuel. Even though painting is a lot of hard work, it still is quite enjoyable and helps to relieve the general stress and anxiety that I feel during my average day. I wouldn't say these paintings evoke anxiety like Edvard Munch's ‘The Scream’ does, but perhaps the confusing spaces might give the viewer a slight twinge of insecurity.

Earlier Years
Pete Kohut was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He drew a lot as a young boy but stopped.  Around 1993, he started making drawings again as therapy for loneliness and depression he was feeling in his teens.  In 1995, he experimented with acrylic paints, made rudimentary colour fields and still lifes to get a feel for the material. 

I remember wanting to be an artist when I was a young boy because I liked to make things, but was dissuaded by my parents.  They said that if I wanted to make a comfortable living, I should choose a creative career such as architecture.

It was in middle school that his art teacher encouraged Kohut to keep drawing.  When he got to university, he quickly found architecture to be too constricting so he focused on visual arts (painting) and graphic design.

I ended up choosing graphic design because I thought it might be a more accessible way to make a living.  This way I could work nine-to-five at a job that challenged me creatively and I could pursue my passion for making art in my spare time.

As Painter & Book Designer
Kohut became a practising designer after graduating from Red River College in 2001.  Slowly, he made his way to the West Coast (Victoria) where he now works as an in-house book designer for a local publisher called TouchWood Editions who publishes roughly 25 books a year.  Kohut designs the covers and layout the interiors for their book list that includes fiction, non-fiction, local history, mysteries, cookbooks, and short story collections.
Interested in the junction between paint and graphic design, I asked Kohut if he found designing books influence his paintings.

I think working as a designer has helped me to define what that differences are between art and design. As a designer, you are trying to communicate your client's message in a way that it best reaches it's intended audience. It's a lot like problem solving. Art is different because it is more about asking questions than getting answers. It's about your own message, your own thoughts and ideas that you are conveying to an audience. 

I find that my paintings act as a relief from my design work. In my painting, I break the ‘rules’ of layout and composition. I can do whatever I want. There's no client or creative brief to follow. I'm still painting with an audience in mind, but I'm not necessarily interested in making art that they will like.

I will say that working as a book designer, I'm much more aware of the idea of narrative and how it applies to the visual arts. However, I'm more interested in creating an ambiguous narrative rather than spelling it out for a viewer. I want the viewer to have to pull out the meaning for themselves.

Projects
On plans for his next show and on going projects, Kohut said:

I don't have any other shows planned as of yet. I'm hoping that I might be able to show this series in a few other galleries in town, but we'll see how that is received. My last few paintings have been about exploring further the idea of using brush strokes as the pattern on clothing to confuse the space. "Beneath the Beard" is a good example. I'd like to see where it takes me.

Kohut is taking part In Cahoots, curated by Efren Quiroz, showing on November 6th at the Slide Room Gallery. Kohut is partnering up with Nicole Neidhardt, whom he met in a painting class at the University of Victoria a few years ago and who will also be graduating with her BFA this year.  Kohut said he is looking forward to this experience.

In 2010 Kohut was a finalist in the 1st annual Victoria Emerging Artist Awards.  He is enrolled in the Visual Arts program at the University of Victoria on a part-time basis.

Artist Quote
In my research and interview, I found this quote of Kohut to be powerful, “I realize that painting is in itself a lie (or illusion), but it's a good one.”

A Message from Pete Kohut
I'd like to thank everyone at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective for letting me exhibit my work in their space and helping with the reception. I'd also like to thank you (Sheila Alonzo) and Efren Quiroz for your interest and media coverage.
Pete Kohut

www.petekohut.ca
@petekohut

[Images via www.petekohut.ca]
[Photo credit: Sheila Alonzo]