Kevin Sonmor: "The Utilitarians"

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 27, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Newzones is pleased to announce "The Utlitarians", a solo exhibition by Kevin Sonmor.

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"Iberian Dreamers"

Kevin Sonmor, "Iberian Dreamers," oil on linen, 72" x 102".

Sonmor's iconic work pushes the boundaries between the historical conventions of landscape painting and the contemporary aesthetic of the abstracted landscape. An inspired student of Flemish painting, his visions are dark and atmospheric, yet filled with familiar still-life objects. These objects float through Sonmor's rich, painterly landscapes, creating powerfully intriguing works that hover between contemporary and historic painting traditions.

In his new body of work, "The Utilitarians", Sonmor muses on the conventions of historical subjects including marine, romantic landscapes and vanitas still-lifes. Sonmor uses these familiar historical practices, though slightly shifting many of their known properties, such as colour or space. The resulting paintings celebrate these historical subjects, in today's culture. Sonmor captures the feeling of Northern European still-lifes and Vanitas studies, rendering images in hues and shades of feeling while still carrying a distinctive contemporary edge.

Mark Daniel Cohen, a New York City-based artist/writer wrote of Sonmor's paintings: "…Sonmor paints with the certain craft of a master, with the sure touch of a virtuoso, not for the sake of the pride in technique but for something more imperative: for the efficacy of the art, for the sake of what art is for — the penetration through to a truth of our essential nature that we realize but cannot hold for more than the briefest moment."

Born in Lacombe, Alberta, Kevin Sonmor completed his MFA at Concordia University in Montreal in 1991. Since then, he has exhibited widely across Canada, the US, andmore recently, Europe. Along with several exhibitions in established commercial galleries, Sonmor has enjoyed solo exhibitions in many public galleries and museums including University of Waterloo, Mendel Gallery in Saskatoon, the Art Gallery of Mississauga and most recently at Sherbrooke Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec and the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie in Alberta. Sonmor is a recipient of numerous Canada Council Grants and his work may be found in many private and public collections including the University of Waterloo, Art Gallery of Algoma and Government of Canada.