Exhibitions and Events
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Portraits of Home
Soheila Esfahani, Travis Shilling, Jordyn Stewart, Diana Thorneycroft
February 21 to April 22, 2023
Opening reception: Friday, March 17 at 7pm. All are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.
Exploring ideas of Canadiana and what it means to be Canadian through depictions of place, identity, and culture Portraits of Home presents the works of artists Soheila Esfahani, Travis Shilling, Jordyn Stewart, and Diana Thorneycroft. Comprised of photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media, and video these works, both together and individually, challenge viewers to engage with preconceptions around what defines being Canadian. From the pastiche landscapes of Diana Thorneycroft to the delicate installation of Soheila Esfahani’s porcelain birds, each artist speaks to aspects of identity, representation, culture, and landscape.
Soheila Esfahani’s installation features 215 porcelain birds, a combination of collected souvenir-like objects alongside handmade birds painted with culturally specific designs. Together, the birds evoke a representation of the movement of culture from place to place by immigrants and tourists, challenging viewers to consider the dissemination of culture and their inherent complexities.
Influenced by the Group of Seven and Norval Morrisseau, Travis Shilling’s work not only captures the Canadian landscape in a visceral way, but also engages with the ever-changing vistas, drawing connections to the charged political climate, most notably around housing and the development of pipelines.
Jordyn Stewart’s work explores place and personal identity, questioning personal and collective assumptions about landscape and the correlation between nature and national identity. The video work, Landscape Study IV uses the physical intervention of the image to explore the artificiality of scenic tourism's depiction of the Canadian landscape. As the video continues, the dripping liquid becomes reminiscent of maple syrup—a common and distinctly Canadian condiment.
Diana Thorneycroft’s tongue-in-cheek, large-scale chromogenic photographs illustrate facets of Canadian identity—deep wooded landscapes, hockey teams, and plaid. Paired against the backdrops of paintings by the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson the foreground of each work presents stereotypical, iconic representations that unfold and explore concepts of national pride and cultural ideologies.
Image: Installation view of Portraits of Home.
Grimsby Public Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Town of Grimsby and Ontario Arts Council.
Take a virtual tour of Portraits of Home! Click the image below and start exploring.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
The Long View
Carolyn Dover
October 18 - December 1, 2022
Grounded in form and colour, Carolyn Dover’s laboriously crafted works challenge us to take pause and explore materiality, shape, and rhythm—all speaking to our understanding of the language of the lands in this region. Comprised of en plein air work, The Long View is a survey exhibition that gathers together works spanning as early as 2010, tracing the evolution of Dover’s painting practice. From small-scale to the monumental these works explore the perceptions of realism, seen through the lens of Dover. Purposefully distilled, the works are void of any traces to architecture and highways—a pointed effort to underscore the realities of the continued changes happening to the lands.
Culminating as the final presentation of her landscape vineyard series, The Long View not only calls on the depth of these compositions and their vantage points, it likewise references the perspectives of time and the development of Dover’s career. Bringing together this series in one space, the works engage with the intangible nature of the changing landscape, eliciting visual tensions and encouraging visitors to move slowly through the exhibition, to take pause, reflect, and get lost in the landscape.
Image: Carolyn Dover, The Hill, 2022, oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.
Take a virtual tour of The Long View! Click the image below and start exploring
Community Exhibition Space
GPAG presents the community exhibition space as an opportunity to showcase regional talent and local community art exhibitions to the public in the main lobby and the hanging space in the Library computer lab.
Current Exhibitions:
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Planet Protectors |
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Erin Gillis
Erin Gillis is an artist who resides in Vineland, Ontario. Her inspiration to draw began with her grandfather who was an artist and teacher. Although he developed Parkinson's Disease in his early 30's, he still continued to paint and teach throughout the rest of his life until he was no longer able to hold a brush steady. Erin was too young to ever see her grandfather working at his trade, but his many paintings adorned the walls of his home.
As a child, Erin would seclude herself in her room and draw for hours. Her parents recognized her natural talent of rendering art that was innately true to form. They encouraged her to pursue a career in art. After graduating from high school, Erin attended the Dundas Valley School of Art in Hamilton, completing the 1st Year Foundation Program. She then enrolled in the Illustration program at Sheridan College. After completion, she began doing freelance work and also acquired skills in framing and mat cutting by working at an art gallery/framing studio for 2 years. This led to a job opportunity at a graphic design company for 6 years, drawing pictures for brochures and designing illustrations. After marrying and having children, Erin made the decision to put her career on hold in order to raise her three daughters.
In 2011, she returned to painting and drawing and joined the Lakeside Pumphouse Artists’ Association in Grimsby. Her work has since been on display at the Grimsby Pumphouse Art Exhibition, the McMaster Innovation in the Park, the Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Hugh’s Room in Toronto, and The Arts and Letter’s Club of Toronto.
In fall 2015, Erin was chosen as one of 45 finalists across Ontario in The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, NEXT Competition for her portrait drawing titled, Flohil. She won the Cherry Carnon II Award and her portrait was sold that very same evening. Erin enjoys working in several different mediums including: graphite, charcoal, chalk pastel, copic marker, prisma pencil, and acrylic paint. People are her favourite subjects as she believes their faces always have a unique story to tell.
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Moon on the Lake |
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Leona Kelly
Leona Kelly is an artist from Smithville, Ontario. When she was quite young in elementary school, Leona displayed a talent in art, so her teacher enrolled her in several oil painting classes. Eventually she established a love for watercolours and more fluid mediums, such as ink and acrylic. She has taken many courses over the years, and is always interested in exploring different mediums and techniques.
Leona has been a member of the Grimsby Lakeside Pumphouse Artist's Association for over 20 years. She was a student for 23 years with artist Joyce Hamilton of Grimsby, Ontario. Leona was also a member of the Niagara-On-The-Lake Pumphouse Artist Association for 8 years. It is there she studied Oriental art, which led her to enroll in Japanese art classes at the Sumi-e Artists of Canada in Toronto. She created many beautiful art pieces using sumi ink and watercolour paint. On completion of her classes, Leona received her Sumi-e Artist Seal, which you can view at the bottom of all her Sumi-e art pieces on display.
Leona has had her paintings on display at several different venues including, McMaster Innovation in the Park, NOTL Pumphouse, Grimsby Pumphouse, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Beamsville Library private show, West Lincoln Hospital, and many local wineries and cafes.
Leona enjoys using watercolour paint and inks to create landscapes and flowers; and fluid acrylic paint for pouring and creating abstract work. Recently she has been researching and exploring Neurographic Art, which uses the subconscious mind to draw free-form lines and shapes. She uses colour in these pieces for balance and mood, and finds this type of art calming and soothing.
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Virtual Exhibitions
The Grimsby Public Art Gallery has a number of virtual exhibition experiences for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own home! Please enjoy these virtual exhibitions by clicking on each image:
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A Town Called Grimsby, Part II |
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The second iteration of A Town Called Grimsby launches at the heels of centennial celebrations across the Town and offers a unique look at the creative impacts artists have had over the past 100 years—all from the perspective of the lands, both natural and built. As we saw in A Town Called Grimsby I, curator Rhona Wenger presented works from GPAG’s permanent collection that traced the impact of artists who lived and created art in Grimsby. From historic portraits of some of the Town’s founding families to images of more recent residents who have left an impression on the community, the exhibition meaningfully connected to the pulse of Grimsby’s community. From the permanent collections of Grimsby Public Art Gallery and the Grimsby Museum, A Town Called Grimsby, Part II expands on the foundations of Part I and presents thoughtfully developed works that explore the Town’s distinct heritage, treasured natural setting, and architecture. The artists represented in the exhibition, including Dennis Lukas, John Davies, and Diane Ptolemy, all have distinct connections to Grimsby and reveal some of the remarkable elements that share the story of the Town. Together the works in the exhibition engage with one another, weaving new connections and perspectives around the beauty and power that the lands can show us. Both A Town Called Grimsby, parts I and II bookmark the series of signature celebrations that have taken place highlighting Grimsby’s centennial year and underscore the remarkable contributions of artists over the last 100 years. |
Special Events
Special events held at the Gallery allow visitors to experience art in many ways and often provide the opportunity to interact directly with artists and creators. Community art-making projects encourage direct participation. Lectures, discussion groups and workshops are both educational and enjoyable.
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Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair |
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Saturday, April 29, 2023 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. FREE Admission Always held on the last Saturday in April, the GPAG's Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair is an annual gathering of private press printers, bookbinders, print makers, paper marblers and other artisans celebrating the art of the hand-made book. Both the 2020 and 2021 Wayzgoose events were held virtually, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Please visit the following links to enjoy the virtual content:
The 2022 Wayzgoose Anthology is currently available to purchase for $80 (includes HST) plus shipping, as well as many back issues of the anthology. If you are interested in purchasing this unique work of art, please contact gpag@grimsby.ca or 905-945-3246. For more information about Wayzgoose, or how to become an exhibitor, please visit our Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair page. |
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