Tinos, Greece
Works by three Western Canadian artists are on an idyll in the Greek isles until Aug. 20 as part of an exhibition, Open Horizons, organized by a Calgary curator to mark both Canada’s 150th anniversary and 75 years of diplomacy between Greece and Canada.
The artists – Calgary’s Ron Moppett, Saskatoon’s Allyson Glenn and Vancouver’s Colleen Heslin – push the boundaries and hierarchies of art, says independent curator Caterina Pizanias, who organized the show for the Cultural Foundation of Tinos, an island popular with Greek artists and intellectuals.
“In visually innovative ways, they speak of and depict the physical vastness of the Canadian landscape,” says Pizanias. “They favour covering the canvas, at times extending the works onto the floor, creating powerful installation works that tell stories of a world in a state of flux.”
These are works, says Pizanias, that can withstand the challenges of the Aegean Sea – its endless blue horizon and relentless light and, above all, the myriad stories buried in its depths and washed up on its shores.
Ron Moppett, “GHOST,” 2017
mixed media, 7’ x 9’ x 5’
Moppett, whose work is now on show at the National Gallery of Canada, is known for bold paintings and installations that combine various materials and objects. “Over the years, Ron has demonstrated his penchant for exploring differences through his use of space – differences between interior and exterior, shelter and refuge; differences that are at the forefront of Greek culture,” says Pizanias.
Colleen Heslin, “Dark Matter,” 2017
ink and dye on sewn canvas, 6.5’ x 5’
Heslin, who had a solo show last year at the Esker Foundation in Calgary, creates abstract works that look like paintings, but are actually made of canvas that she has dyed, stained, sewed and stretched.
“These new pieces play tricks on our ways of seeing and thinking about painting’s history,” says Pizanias. “Within the borders of her canvases, she combines spaces, colours and forms to release and infinite number of narratives on labour and aesthetics.”
Glenn, a figurative painter, uses bold colours and brushwork in images that consider environmental mishaps. “Although she depicts landscapes in ruins, when looking at her works, viewers experience moments of extraordinary beauty that prompt insights into current ecological crises,” says Pizanias.
Allyson Glenn, “Doris Returns Stripped of her Suitors,” 2015
acrylic and oil on canvas, diptych top part: 5.3’ x 6.7’ and bottom part: 2.5’ x 6.7’
Glenn’s exhibition, Catalyst, was exhibited at the Two Rivers Gallery in Prince George, B.C. last year.