A fresh view of the familiar
Art is a gift to us all. Local artists see the same places we walk, the parks in our neighbourhood, the trees we admire. But they see them, perhaps, with a trained eye, focus a scene with a different frame, interpret it with a unique point of view.
And so they give us the opportunity to see the familiar, the world around us that might have become prosaic, from a fresh perspective.
They frame what’s important to them; perhaps, as we look at what they see, we’ll understand something differently, reprioritize.
“Evergreen in the fall wind” is inspired by a scene in Edwards Gardens, says Mona Bayati.
She is a local Toronto artist and art teacher who emigrated from Tehran, Iran, in 2005, after having studied art and painting at university there.
“I have a deep connection to my Persian ancestral narrative art and symbolism,” she says.
Through the pandemic she has been going to Edwards Gardens for morning walks.
One day, she says, in the midst of her confusion about whether to send her child to school, amid the chaos, she noticed something.
“I saw this beautiful contrast between the bright yellow and evergreen trees,” she says.
It was a still day, but when she painted the scene later from a photograph she took, she added the wind, to represent confusion and chaos — contrasted with the evergreen symbolizing resilience and hopefulness, always remaining strong.
Each year, Gallery 1313 runs shows around the holidays that feature affordable works of art, providing the chance for art lovers to share their passion and a different perspective on the world.
A gift to us all.
You can support Mona Bayati and the work of other local artists at the Gallery1313 — g1313.org art collective.