Greater Victoria galleries are celebrating the warm weather and lush gardens of June with vibrant colours, nature-themed paintings and jewelry featuring textured stones and metals.
This month, the West End Gallery is showcasing Hanging Gardens, a new group exhibition celebrating the colours of the gardening season, which will be on display from June 5-24. Canadian painters have come together to capture gorgeous gardens, beautiful bouquets and fields of flowers that culminate in “a riot of colour.” Participating artists include Claudette Castonguay, Joanne Gauthier, Elena Henderson, Raynald Leclerc, Josée Lord, Gerda Marschall, Robert Savignac and Elka Nowicka.
For more information, visit westendgalleryltd.com.
From June 12-26, the Madrona Gallery is welcoming Toronto-based painter Sean Yelland and his new solo exhibition, Chasing Rainbows – his third at the gallery. The collection of hyper-realistic paintings explores the beautiful, humorous and mundane moments of everyday life and invites viewers to rethink their reality.
Yelland graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1989 and his work has been exhibited across Canada. In 2011, he was shortlisted for the Kingston Prize in 2011.
For more information, visit madronagallery.com.
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At the Winchester Gallery, A Mystical Approach will be on display until June 16 – showcasing the work of impressionists Teresa Smith and Trish Shwart.
Shwart’s otherworldly landscapes are inspired by walks around her city. Her paintings blend the real world with dreams and memories. The award-winning artist has shown her work in Canada and Australia. Smith too portrays alternate worlds through her art. The painter was raised in rural Quebec where she developed a connection to nature. She now resides in Washington state and explores the forests on her Arabian horse with her Irish wolfhounds by her side. Many of her paintings are currently on display across North America.
The subsequent exhibit, Gestures and Structures, will mark the beginning of summer at the gallery and will be on display from June 25 to July 28. The multimedia work of David Robinson, Susan Collet and Sandra Ledingham will be featured.
Robinson, a Vancouver-based sculptor, uses mixed media and his art often includes themes, symbols and imagery depicting the complexity of human life. Ledingham, a ceramicist, was born in Saskatchewan but has travelled all over the world – these experiences are reflected in her stylistic choices. She’s taught ceramics and design at universities in Canada and the United States, and her work has been displayed internationally.
Collett, an Ohio-trained artist, creates both large-scale clay sculptures and prints. She uses clay and double-fires her sculptures to create various textures and makes her prints with plates made from industrial-grade roofing copper. Her work has been featured around the world.
For more information, visit winchestergalleriesltd.com.
In June at the Avenue Gallery, the work of feature artists Tanya Bone and Brenda Roy will be showcased.
The hushed silence of a still life never fails to mesmerize Bone, a classical painter. Inspired by the colours of springtime and the work of the Old Masters, she creates vibrant, balanced scenes with fresh palettes. Her work will be on display from June 2-9.
Later in the month, from June 10-17, Roy’s unique jewelry pieces will be exhibited. Her work explores contrasting colours and textures, and asymmetrical design through metal, precious gems and stones. She blends smooth stones with textured metals and rough minerals with polished sterling silver – giving her pieces the feel of ancient artifacts.
“I believe there is still a place for beautiful, well-made objects and that these objects enrich our lives,” Roy said. “A piece of jewelry acquires meaning over time as it develops associations with the stories of our lives, and these acquired meanings are as important for me as the artist’s original concepts.”
For more information, visit theavenuegallery.com.
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