ERIN McSAVANEY: "Defenders of the Faith," May 11 - 25, 2005, Harrison Galleries, Vancouver

by

ERIN McSAVANEY

Defenders of the Faith, May 11 - 25, 2005

Harrison Galleries, Vancouver

By Jennifer MacLeod

Born and raised in East Vancouver, Erin McSavaney spent much of his childhood exploring the Sunshine Coast, including the forests around his grandmother’s home in Roberts Creek. Inspired by visits back to these familiar family haunts, his new paintings offer quiet and pensive close-up views of the forest interiors, of specific rocks and logs that he remembers — things that haven’t changed. “It’s my little battle against change,” he says. When he was 12 years old, McSavaney’s father died. “That was enough change to deal with,” he says. “I fear change. I find a sense of security in those things that haven’t changed.” McSavaney, now in his thirties, says he has stopped apologizing for being a sentimental person and for painting in a realistic, sometimes melancholy style, despite the prevailing taste among his peers for conceptual, abstract genres. A solid foundation of technical and drawing skills is vital before one can grow into abstraction, says McSavaney. His own concentration on developing technical proficiency, he says, has freed him to express himself more clearly than ever in this new body of work.

Represented by Harrison Galleries, Vancouver, Calgary; Kimzey Miller Gallery, Seattle.