Where others saw debris, she saw art.
Work by Kathleen Forsythe will be on display at the Gallery at Queen’s Park from May 4 to 29.
HighPower: Unfolding Beauty from Destruction opens May 4 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
It features work Forsythe did after being inspired by the debris from explosions at the high-power lab at B.C. Hydro’s research and development division in Surrey.
Forsythe “deconstructed” images and composed abstract paintings using an iPad, then printed them on aluminum or acrylic, a write-up about the event explains.
“I felt that this series needed a novel approach in terms of medium,” she says. “Much of the debris that inspired the paintings is metal and plastic blown apart or melted. I have looked for its beauty and unfolded it using my metal and plastic iPad device.”
Forsythe’s work is also an exploration of what it means to generate art in a digital medium.
“The images that arise exhibit many of the same approaches as my mixed media paintings that employ acrylic paint, canvas, paper and other materials,” she notes. “However, the actual physical materiality and experience of painting is very different. I am interested in the viewers’ experience of this emergent art medium.”
The gallery, which is located in Centennial Lodge, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m., with late-evening openings until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Forsythe will give a talk entitled Journeys to the Lands of New on Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m., with a wine and cheese celebration to follow from 3 to 5 p.m.
See www.artscouncilnewwest.org or call 604-525-3244 for more information.
