RAY VAN LUNE, Summer 2007, Kensington Gallery, Calgary

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RAY VAN LUNE

Kensington Gallery, Calgary

Summer 2007

By Amber Bowerman

Ray Van Lune describes the inspiration for his paintings as “a lot to do with the space, huge skies and general nature of the land in Alberta.” His study of painting began in 1973 and spanned 17 years and three venerable Alberta institutions: Red Deer College, The Banff Centre and the Alberta College of Art and Design. His long education and career have seen him alternate between an abstract style and more traditional landscapes about once a decade. But he considers himself a landscape painter regardless of the style that ends up on the canvas. His two distinct forms aren’t entirely dissimilar: the colours and strokes in his abstract works are evocative of a season, time of day or place. The landscapes, while recognizable as prairie or foothills scenes, have elements of abstraction in them. “I think it can be better not to be too specific,” Van Lune says. “A landscape can lose its power if you give it a name. It becomes somehow smaller.” He adds that central Alberta, where there’s a good mix of farmland, trees and lakes, is particularly inspiring to him. “It’s all sort of mixed together,” he says.

Represented by: Kensington Gallery of Fine Art, Calgary; Front Gallery, Edmonton.