CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN FINE ART
SARAH BEVERIDGE | GARY BLUNDELL | FRANCES COCKBURN | MICHAEL KILBURN | DEREK MARTIN | TRACEY ANNE MARTIN | JILL PRICE | ROD PROUSE | ANN ROTH | FRANCES THOMAS | OLEXANDER WLASENKO | VICTORIA WARD
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HOME ART CONSULTATION + INSTALLATION SERVICES
SARAH BEVERIDGE
BEVERIDGE is the owner, artist + curator of Blue Thornbury. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a BFA from the University of Windsor. Her curatorial background began in Toronto in the late 90’s as a co-founder of Sis Boom Bah on Queen West. She has taught professionally in Georgian College’s Fine Arts Department and The School of Visual Arts at the University of Windsor.
She established commercial gallery space, SB Contemporary Art in Barrie in 2005, and reopened the gallery in Windsor, On in 2011. As a public curator of Exhibitions and Public Projects for the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, ON, Beveridge had the opportunity to work with numerous Contemporary Canadian Artists and had the pleasure of writing several art publications.
Her artwork has been collected and resides in both public + private collections here in Canada and the US. She now practices from her gallery|studio here in The Blue Mountains.
Where the Water -Threading Thoughts Series. Photographic Transfer on Japanese Paper, Typewriter text with Thread, 3”x3”
GARY BLUNDELL
BLUNDELL was born in London, England and he immigrated to Canada in 1962. His work has been exhibited across Canada and in England; his paintings are held in numerous public and private collections across the country, US and Europe.
As a trained geologist and contemporary painter, Blundell approaches the tradition of landscape painting with a varied perspective, “I often begin with the rocks. My paintings reflect the landscape as transformed through development and always imbued with human experience, change and memory.” He is inspired by the works of David Milne, Paterson Ewen, John Brown and Susanna Heller to name a few as well as historically Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh, Bacon, and Rothko.
He works from his log cabin studio in the Haliburton Highlands that he shares with his partner and Artist, Victoria Ward.
Cap-Chat, Quebec.
Oil on Carved Wood,
40”x44”
FRANCES COCKBURN
COCKBURN lives and works from her studio in Hamilton, ON. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Computer Science from Guelph University and her work is featured in numerous corporate and private collections across Canada.
Cockburn works from her surroundings and is inspired by the people close to her, and both urban and rural landscapes. She is currently exploring figures, portraits and swimmers. The figures in water feel like a natural extension of painting the fluidity of swamps and wet roads. Her painting tends to be solitary and private communicating visually the world around her. For rural paintings, “I often work on location, while urban and portrait works are developed in the studio utilizing photography and video stills.
Cockburn’s latest work is an experimental series of pinhole camera photographs. She is an accomplished Canadian painter, formally represented by Odon Wagner Gallery, Toronto. Please inquire regarding portrait commission work.
Breathe. Oil on Wood Panel, 16” x 20”
SOLD
MICHAEL KILBURN
KILBURN was born in Belfast, Ireland and at the age of six Canada became the home of the Kilburn family. Michael always had an interest in painting, but it was in the late 90’s while cottaging in Haliburton that the influences of Tom Thomson, and the Canadian Group of Seven took hold.
As an artist, and avid cyclist he states, “Cycling allows time and opportunity to view the landscape and surrounding scenery for future paintings.” He is influenced and worked alongside local artist, John Anderson, and others include Calvin Liang, Richard Schmidt, and Kevin MacPherson. His subject matter reflects the places and locations that he and his wife live and travel to. Michael’s particular style is rich in light, colour and contrast.
He works from his studio here in Lora Bay, Thornbury as well as from his studio in St. John's, Newfoundland. His paintings can also be viewed at the Peter Lewis Gallery in St. John’s, NFLD.
Scotch Mountain. Oil on Canvas, 24” x 36”
DEREK MARTIN
MARTIN has been creating metal sculptural work for over 30 years. He and his partner - Artist, Tracey Anne Martin have been involved in the arts community, in the Simcoe and GTA region, since their early days in the Fine Arts Department at Georgian College, Barrie, ON. Originally a ceramic artist, Derek developed a pragmatic approach to making; drawing, printmaking, painting and sculpture have preserved his naturally inquisitive and experimental approach to creating steel sculpture.
Derek’s subject matter and imagery of “houses, birds, ladders” reflect his northern rural surroundings. This imagery has become a symbolic reflection of their artistic home + garden that has developed into a renowned studio called, Mar10-House.
As Canadian artists, The Martin’s are recognized for their work at the popular Biannual, One-Of-A-Kind exhibition as well as numerous Art Fairs including the Toronto Outdoor Art exhibition. His work is held in private collections in the US, Switzerland and Canada, and more recently NY. All of their work is created out of their home studio, just north of Barrie, ON.
Re-Nature, Outdoor Metal Sculpture, 6’ x 2’ x 2’
TRACEY ANNE MARTIN
MARTIN has been creating as a Canadian artist and maker for over 30 years. Her combined interest in sculpture and textiles have been woven together; with her fine art practice incorporating both cast bronze sculpture and knitted sculpture. In her early years she was honoured for her work by the Ontario Crafts Council and later won Best Sculpture at the Toronto Outdoor Art exhibition. He education background in Fine Arts and Jewellery Design from Georgian Collage attributes to her diverse knowledge of materials in her practice.
Domestic life as a mother to three, her reflection on textile arts and generations of women as makers in the home, influence her work and subject matter. For her “home” is a symbol and entry point with an intriguing play with human nature, and the tensions of relationships. She is interested in “what is told and what remains silent”. Narratives from the past, including imagery of “nests, birds, eggs and knitting” are often reflected in her work.
Tracey’s work has had a large presence at the Toronto, Vancouver and New York, One-Of-Kind-Art exhibitions. She has had a solo-exhibition at the Ontario Craft Council and her work resides in numerous private collections across the country. She is works from her studio just outside of Barrie, ON.
Knitted Narratives Pages 5-8. Bronze Sculpture with Nancy Drew Novels, 4” x 1.5” x 3”
SOLD
ROD PROUSE
PROUSE’s professional painting has seen over 40 solo exhibitions in Canada, US, England and Germany, including an exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, ON. Over the years, he has received numerous teaching and project grants from the Ontario and Canada Arts Council. His paintings have been collected internationally and are housed in private collections in Europe, Asia, Australia and throughout North America.
Rod is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, and his life-long practice over several decades has included painting, printmaking, photo-based, sculpture and video art. His most current paintings reference the Canadian landscape in a refreshing contemporary style. Prouse states, “my newest work I see as visual narratives, the painting has shifted to viewing landscapes as a vessel that posses visual questions and suggest a story.”
He practices from his home + studio on Georgian Bay in Tiny Township, where he continues to be inspired by the wind, rocks and water.
A small lake in the North celebrates the arrival of Spring. Acrylic on Wood Panel, 36”x 36”
ANN ROTH
ROTH as an emerging artist, over the last ten years, has been developing her contemporary painting practice. Always having a creative interest in the arts, Ann left her career in health care and pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts, University of Windsor in 2012.
Roth’s spontaneous and abstract works are drawn from the colours of nature suggesting organic forms or forces of the natural world. She views her practice “as a meandering journey, beginning with the first gestural passes of tangled marks and collage balanced with a compositional clarity.” Ann’s thoughtful consideration of each title combined with her expressive mark making represent a visual poetry for the viewer.
Roth’s work is featured in numerous private collections in North America. She practices and teaches from her home studio in Windsor, ON.
Wander With Me Series #1. Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 6”x 6”
FRANCES THOMAS
THOMAS is a Canadian painter and printmaker. She was born in Parry Sound, and received a BFA and MFA from York University. She received the Samuel Sarick Purchase Award for excellence in thesis work. She has participated in residencies in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Triangle Arts in Brooklyn NY as well as a self-directed residency in Berlin.
For Thomas “painting is a way of thinking. Often lyrical and energetic in attitude, I am working against a fixed image as I am more interested in depicting, among other things, a psychological state.” This intuitive and improvisational practice for Frances is gestural, in the moment, and reflects a spontaneity and confidence in her painting process. She mentions concepts of doubt, renewal, flex and the messy beauty of existence that all remain an impetus in her practice.
Her work resides in numerous private collections and has been exhibited in Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto and New York. Public collections include, The MacLaren Art Centre, Bank of Montreal, and York University. She is represented by Peter Robertson Gallery in Edmonton, Alberta and she practices from her Toronto Street studio in Barrie, ON.
Swish. 2022, Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x 24”
OLEXANDER WLASENKO
WLASENKO is a first generation Canadian, who was born in Oshawa in 1972. He grew up connected to his Ukrainian heritage through family stories, culture, books and film. He was drawn to art making from an early age, and was strongly influenced by two Ukrainian-Canadian artists in particular, William Kurelek (1927 -1977) and the second - Toronto based artist, Natalka Husar.
Olex is known for his high-realism, black and white charcoal pigment drawings based on photography and film stills. His subject often diverse, but his popular “Claudia Cardinale” series based on found film stills in Italy won acclaim at the Toronto Outdoor Art exhibition. But in the end, he states, “I often return to my Ukrainian roots as a touchstone for meaningful reflection and refining my craft.”
He has exhibited extensively including, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Dawson City as well as in Buffalo, NY and Florence, Italy. Over his career as a Canadian artist, he has received numerous Canada Council + Ontario Arts Council grants for his work. He practices from his studio in Uxbridge, ON and is the Curator of the Whitby Station Gallery, ON.
Glow. Charcoal Pigment on Paper, 19”x 25”
VICTORIA WARD
WARD is a Canadian painter and playwright who is inspired to paint the landscape + small shelters of human existence surrounding her in the Haliburton Highlands. She was a playwright for ten years in Toronto in the 1990’s, and this experience of story telling still influences the visual narratives she paints on a 2-dimensional surface. She states, “There seems to still be a story I am working on and I have yet to figure out the ending.”
Victoria often creating with a combination of materials, acrylic paint, graphite, combined with the insertion of a photogragh; this melding of mediums and representation push our boundaries as a viewer, and allow one to contemplate the landscape as an abstract form to be interpreted. “Although I continue to mix mediums in my work, I rely more and more on the experience of the paint itself.”
Over the last 20 years, Ward has exhibited extensively across Canada and has received numverous Ontario + Canada Council Art grants for her work. Her work is held in private and corporate her in Canada as well as internationally. She lives in a log cabin near Algonquin Park, and works from her studio that she shares with partner and artist, Gary Blundell.
Churchy Village. Acrylic, Graphite, Charcoal on Wood, 30”x 30”
JILL PRICE
PRICE is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist of German, Welsh, Scottish and Ukrainian descent grateful to be living, working and playing on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Anishinaabe peoples in Barrie, Ontario.
Price achieved her BFA at the University of Western Ontario and recently completed an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art Media and Design at OCAD University in Toronto. Currently pursuing a PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen's University, Price is also a trained Visual Arts Specialist who balances her studio practice by working as an independent curator and instructing at post-secondary institutions.
An environmentalist, Price works at the intersections of art, ecology and ethics to visualize how the world is made up of interdependent systems of physical and invisible matter that inform and sustain us. Interested in the vitality and interconnectedness of all things, Price often uptakes methods of unmaking to breathe new life and value into that which has been lost to the past.
Price’s work is also represented by Westland Gallery in London, Ontario and she will be installing a solo exhibition in the Campus Gallery at Georgian College, Barrie in the Fall of 2022.
Botanical Monologues XIV, 2022, Mixed Media on Paper, 16” x 20”
HOME ART CONSULTATION + INSTALLATION
Do you need some assistance with your home collection? Curator, Sarah Beveridge offers art consultation to assist with placement and selection of the right works of art for your home. If you are looking to refresh your space and would like your existing collection rearranged; we can assist you with that new perspective. Inquire today to book an appointment to discuss your art and installation needs.