From
September 1 to 25, Galerie Art Plus’ new exhibit, aptly titled “Leitmotiv”,
features a clever combination of three distinctly unique artistic perspectives provided
by Brigite Normandin, Akycha Surette and her mother, Susan Surette.
In
their own unique ways, each artist’s contribution brings pause for thought by
exploring diverse subject matters. Whether tackling subjects like the
precarious state of the environment, life and death, topography and/or land
forms, Brigite Normandin, Akycha Surette and Susan Surette embark on their own
individual projects with zeal and dedication. Sound diverse enough for you?
Once
again, Normandin has undertaken yet another ambitious project, this time studying
butterflies. Having developed a fascination for these wild creatures since she
was a child, Normandin has fine-tuned her approach by dabbling in earthy tones
such as chocolate browns, jet blacks and creamy beiges. In so doing, she has
been dedicating herself to reproducing butterflies on the canvas by paying
careful attention to precision. While Normandin works on reproducing the
anatomy and structure of each butterfly in excruciating detail, she also makes
sure to add fun elements like door handles or markers to make her canvases both
fresh and modern. “I’ve tried a more subtle approach this time,” explained
Normandin. “My goal was to tackle the environment and talk about its fragility,
but I wanted to do so in a manner that was less… aggressive.”
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© Brigite Normandin
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By
correlation, Akycha Surette’s canvases explore a myriad of different subjects
by understated means. Employing a Japanese minimalist style, Surette explores
and brings to life the every-day world: viewers can come to appreciate a
bicycle, a streetlight, stop signs, even traffic smoke under an entirely new
angle. Working with gold leaf, it is possible to argue that Surette’s technique
is a means of paying homage to well-known artists like Gustav Klimt. What is
undeniable is that Surette can be hailed as a master with colors, making
quietly powerful political statements by incorporating themes of childhood,
violence, technology and military prowess in all of her artwork. It quickly
becomes evident that Surette likes to draw parallels between the past and the
present, highlighting important political events like atomic bombings in a
manner that never shies from displaying reality as it is: dark, somber, yet
alluring. Whereas one drawing depicts an androgynous-looking child lifting up
his/her skirts to reveal skeletal legs and feet, another showcases
healthy-looking children holding hands while a plane flies precariously close
to their heads, atomic bombs featured in the lower bottom half.
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© Akycha Surette
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Akycha
Surette’s mother, Susan Surette, has developed a rich and passionate love for
the Eastern Townships…a love which translates into her work. Having lived,
ambled, hiked, swum, canoed and skied in the Eastern Townships for over 20
years, Surette decided to create a series of ceramic tiles to celebrate the
environment she has grown to love. Inspired by her current art historical
research into tile histories, especially those of medieval Islam and 18th
century Dutch majolica, Surette’s “Eastern Townships” tiles reflect the beauty
of the landscape by showcasing biomorphic patterns as well as paleontological
and geological configurations. By placing geographic representations in
parallel with creative designs of her own choosing, Surette’s ceramic tiles are
wondrous in their uniqueness because of the many surprising configurations they
offer to the viewer.
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© Susan Surette
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From
September 1 to 25, come by and see for yourself… “Leitmotiv” is not to be
missed!
