The (art) show must go on
The longstanding mutual admiration society between Penticton’s prestigious Lloyd Gallery and renowned local artist Michael Hermesh continues despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hermesh’s latest art show, formally entitled Who Are We, officially opened this month and will continue until the end of August at the popular Lloyd Gallery on Front Street in downtown Penticton.
Hermesh has completed more than 50 new paintings and drawings and a few sculptures for this year’s show, which continues a partnership between the gallery and the talented artist that dates back two decades.
Hermesh is best known as a sculptor, but has been “migrating” from sculptures to painting over the past several years and this show is made up of dozens of paintings and a few sculptures.
This past Saturday morning, Hermesh and Lloyd Gallery curator/manager Marjo Thompson sat down to discuss the new show, the close relationship that has developed between the artist and art gallery and the challenges of organizing, promoting and offering a show during a pandemic.
Hermesh’s work always attracts a large and loyal fan base. Inviting him back year after year is an easy decision, said Thompson.
“His fans appreciate Michael’s ability to step outside of the ego and to observe human behaviour,” she said.
Hermesh said he always has and will continue to express his vision of human behaviour and the world at large through metaphors expressed in his paintings and sculptures.
“I guess my work is in large part about metaphors,” he said. “They are not necessarily metaphors that I give dialogue to. I don’t do it to verbalize words, but what you’re doing is creating new words and images for each person that views the art.”
Every single piece of art he composes is inspired by different people and situations he goes through in his personal life or envisions in private moments.
“I’ve done sculptures that start as an image in my head of a woman dancing and miraculously ended up being a sculpture of three lawyers and three dogs,” he said. “Things are either true or not true and if they are true, they will speak to people. My goal is always to speak my truth … and I use metaphors to try and express that truth.”
Thompson believes Hermesh has a large and loyal group of supporters because his work is always provocative, never boring and inspires conversation and appreciation.
“I find Michael has the ability to put into a visual perspective what a lot of us are thinking, but don’t have the actual ability to put words to,” she said. “They look at his work and get an ‘a-ha’ moment and realize it’s about something they didn’t really think about until it is explained to them. Michael shares his soul in his work. Each piece is like a diary entry about the world around him.”
“I didn’t intend any general theme for this show, but realize in retrospect that most of the work deals with challenges facing humankind as a species.
“Many of the pieces are about our perilous world and the inner resources that people gather to confront that world,” he said.
Having Hermesh showcase raw drawings, which lead to much more detailed paintings, provides great insight into how a talented artist proceeds from an idea to a complex, detailed work and is fascinating, said Thompson.
“Those raw drawings are powerful and beautiful,” she said.
Operating a successful art gallery and organizing a big show like this during a pandemic has been very challenging, but also rewarding, said Thompson.
“We’ve had our ups and downs like so many others,” she said. “There has been anxiety worrying about how and if our customers would visit our shop during this pandemic.”
After a national lockdown began the second week in March, a decision was made to display and sell as much art work at the gallery online and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“We did a lot of online shows and surprisingly people flocked to our website and supported us by having our artwork shipped out across Western Canada,” she said. “We were surprised and thrilled with the response. So many local shops and businesses like ours survived those early days because people wanted to support local, so we were very lucky. Being around for 35-plus years and having very loyal customers also played a huge role.”
The gallery reopened to “almost regular hours” in early June and business has been booming ever since, despite asking all customers to adhere to social distancing measures, she said.
Having a large gallery with plenty of space has also helped immensely in attracting customers who might otherwise have fears about visiting and purchasing art, she said.
As a lifetime artist and art lover, Thompson said art galleries provide a safe, quiet, serene environment and having the walls filled with beautiful art provide a sanctuary for what has been a difficult few months for so many.
“For me, this is the most magnificent place to work and I hope that when people come in, it is a great place to shed some of the anxiety for at least a little while and enjoy the art. I encourage people to come and see the art and fill their hearts.”
There is no doubt that the relationship between the Lloyd Gallery and Hermesh will continue.
“We are thrilled to carry Michael’s work,” said Thompson.
“It feels like we have a famous New York artist in our midst, who just happens to live up the road in Summerland. We are so lucky to be allowed to promote his work and we are thrilled.”
The Lloyd Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. For more information on the present show, phone: 250-492-4484.