Liz Davidson article by Olivia Ranger-Enns

By Olivia Ranger-Enns

Liz Davidson’s brand new exhibit titled “En Construction” is beautiful and mesmerising in its complexity, its numerous flirtations with geometrical abstraction, and its homage to nature in a novel way.

Walk into Sutton’s art gallery Art Plus and you will be welcomed by large prints that play with shapes, colors and perspective. A photographer by nature, Davidson was initially intrigued by the myriad ways in which nature could be addressed and began snapping pictures of landscapes around her house in Sutton Junction at dawn and dusk, the arguably two most magical phases of the day. Back in her studio, Davidson worked on zooming into a particularly interesting section of a photograph until the picture itself became a series of lines, shapes and forms that balance and work off of one another.

The result morphed into a series of images that Davidson has cleverly called “En construction” (under construction) which reflect one of her personal philosophies in life. “I decided to call the exhibit “En Construction” because we are all under construction, in some way or another,” argued Davidson, whose life has been submerged into a full year of renovating her house, built around 1862. “It’s not just the house that was under construction, it is us as well. We don’t always get to reconstruct who we are in life,” she said.

“Dawns Early Light” (2016) for example features salmon-pinks cascading into tangerine oranges and sunny yellows. Four featured triangles (Davidson loves triangles) are carefully balanced adjacent to each other, creating a grid-like effect to the image. Other images like “Roof Lines” (2016), “Floor Plan” (2016), and “Roof Life at Dawn” (2016) pay homage to the complexities and intricate beauty of renovation outlines. If seen from a distance, each image showcases construction-like elements that denote house walls, chimneys or blueprints, depending on one’s outlook.

Fields © Liz Davidson

Other images like “Fields” (2016) marry mauves, turquoise greens and periwinkle blues together to create an abstract version of early summer Eastern Townships’ fields. “I realized that I don’t have to be anal about taking one single perfect picture,” said Davidson. “That way, I can take numerous pictures and mesh them together to create my idea of a perfect field.” Davidson rummaged through pictures she had taken more than 35 years ago in order to create a well-balanced collection that does justice to the beauty of her immediate surroundings.

Two prominent stand art pieces, created by the state-of-the-art company Deineri, did not go unnoticed by visitors at the art gallery. Integrating design technology and elegance, the Deineri stand-art is a 3-D model that features art in a unique space. “I was approached by two microbiologists working at Deineri,” said Davidson. “I was asked if I wanted to create art that they would use as stand-art pieces, and of course I said yes.” The idea behind Deineri stand-art is simple. Do you often complain of too little wall space to hang up another favourite piece of art? If so, Deineri stand-art is the way to go. Davidson’s stand art is a colourful and brightly lit as her images, which are a departure from her normal gamut of colors. “I never use bubble gum pink,” said Davidson reflectively as she gazed at one of the stand-art pieces showcasing a series of pinks. “It’s so girly, and so unlike me.” Characteristically, Davidson laughed and shook her head. The question left hanging was: who knows where her artistic tendencies will go next?

Davidson’s “En Construction” is on display from June 30 to July 31 at Sutton’s Galerie Art Plus at 8, rue Maple in Sutton. For more information, call (450) 521-3189. The gallery is open from Thursdays to Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Cut line: “Dawns Early Light” is just one of the many images that combine mathematical preciseness with a wide gamut of gorgeous colors paying homage to the beauty of nature.

Dawn © Liz Davidson

 Photo courtesy: Liz Davidson