Music of the (rock) stars and the spheres
Wide range of styles and works on show in exhibits at three city-area art galleries
Larger-than-life rock stars, photographs that explore the hum of outer space and clay pieces inspired by the Scottish countryside are among the works included in a round of new art exhibits at Ottawa-area galleries.
At Orange Gallery in the City Centre, 14 large-scale works by co-owner Matthew Jeffrey are part of his annual solo exhibition, The Right To Be Different, on view until Sept. 6. It’s a chance to see two aspects of his practice as an airbrush artist and metal sculptor.
Featured are huge, eye-popping airbrush-on-wood portraits based on iconic photos of music legends Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, as well as a striking likeness of artist Frida Kahlo. There’s nothing subtle about them, from the size — four feet square — to the generous use of paint and bright colours.
“I’m not your typical artist,” Jeffrey said in an interview. “Everything that comes off my hand seems to be a little oversized. It is shocking. It is a graffiti style. And it’s not for everybody.”
Also included are Jeffrey’s playful representations of bulldogs, animated characters and vintage toys, and a few examples of his meticulous metal work, such as a working go-kart that the 50-yearold artist made for his children.
The title of Jeffrey’s exhibition, The Right To Be Different, not only alludes to his freewheeling artistic technique but also the fact that he made a drastic change in his career path about a decade ago, shifting from operating a security alarm company to opening a gallery and following his artistic path.
“The title is a play on my whole life,” he said. “You don’t have to do the same thing from the time you start a career. You can change in the middle of stuff and survive. You don’t have to do the same thing as everyone else.”
For information, go to orangeartgallery.ca.
Over on Bank Street, the contemporary gallery Studio Sixty Six explores the opposite end of the artistic spectrum with an exhibition of the cerebral photographs of Neeko Paluzzi, the award-winning Ottawa-area photographic artist and educator whose practice focuses on analogue techniques and conceptual installation.
“I am not particularly interested in what other people are doing, but rather what is inside my own head,” the introspective Paluzzi observed in a 2019 interview with the Ottawa arts blog, Artsfile.ca.
The new exhibition, entitled Harmony of the Spheres, is a continuation of Paluzzi’s fascination with musical notes and photographic tones, as evidenced in his previous exhibits, This Place is a Shelter (2018) and The Goldberg Variations (2019).
This time, the artist was inspired by the theories of 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, drawing on the notion that each planet emits a unique musical hum as it moves through space. Using an algorithm in the darkroom, he translated the musical signatures of the Earth, the moon and several planets into minimalist silver-gelatin prints that exude a meditative luminosity.
If you’re in the mood for a drive, Bittersweet Fine Craft and Art Gallery in Burnstown, about an hour west of Ottawa, launches its annual fall show this weekend. This year’s theme is Scotland in the Yard.
Resident artist Richard Gill has created a new body of work inspired by his interest in all things Scottish. He even lives in a former tavern built by Scots in the 1800s.
A working artist since the early ’70s, Gill is widely known for his detailed clay-relief sculptures. The latest series of clay wall plaques to emerge from his kiln depict scenes of Scotland, including pipe and drums, Highland dancers, cattle, fine whiskey and more.
Because the works are weatherproof, the opening reception will be held outdoors on Aug. 22, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the gallery’s spacious grounds, along with the work of invited artist Jack Stekelenburg. He’s a member of the Renfrew Art Guild, a welder who creates abstract metal sculptures that are also naturally weatherproof.
Masks are required to enter the gallery, but kilts are optional. More info at burnstown.ca.