Meet the artists, Saturday January 14 from 12noon – 2pm. Everyone is welcome.
IN THE MAIN GALLERY
Gabriela Hirt is a self-taught expressionist mixed media artist based in Victoria B.C. and raised in post-war Germany in the wake of the Holocaust. Her work is informed by family trauma as well as by the collective guilt she grew up with. Juxtaposing themes of isolation and belonging is the artist’s attempt to communicate the paradoxes she perceives in herself and in society.
In this exhibition in the Main Gallery Hirt explores through abstract painting and sculpture the human body as a vessel holding trauma, our collective history and cultural programming, and our ability to overcome discriminative thinking. She aims to understand the legacy of colonialism in her adopted home in Canada by looking closely at the segregating concepts of hierarchy and superiority subconsciously living in herself and other white bodies. Stylized figures interact with each other in scenes of harmony and imbalance and simplified forms and bold marks and colors invite the exploration of inner emotional states and questions of social justice.
To watch a video of this exhibition, see our YouTube channel.
IN THE EVE SMART GALLERY
In this exhibition in the Eve Smart Gallery, Robin Ripley and Ilze Bebris create a conversation through their disparate works – Ilze’s mixed media collage panels and Robin’s wall and suspended assemblages. They exemplify how makers speak through the objects and images created, and often in the making, the work shifts direction. Though their collaborative approach and by close listening to the visual vocabulary of each other they have created an unfolding and fluid conversation of intimate sculptures and collages.
Robin Ripley’s assemblages are carefully composed to highlight the formal elements of their components, however commonplace. The titles playfully echo their eclectic materials or the color swatch they are named for. Her use of cast-off materials suggests alternative narratives for both the environment and the creative process, nudging the viewer to consider new meanings and materials.
Ilze Bebris has a strong interest in the relationship between objects and the meaning generated by the juxtaposition of objects and materials. She works with a variety of found and handmade materials to highlight these apparently dissonant relationships, allowing her to play with the narrative structures through which we create order and meaning.
To watch a video of this exhibition, see our YouTube channel.
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