VAM 34 Artist Profile | Nga Dinh

Nga Dinh, Ode to Lawren Harris, acrylic on canvas, 56 x 71 cm

www.ngadinhart.com

Connect with Nga on
Twitter: @Redmouse15
Facebook: Nga Dinh Art

Upcoming exhibition: By the Pound at Goodfellas Gallery

1. Tell us about the artwork you have in VAM 34. Give us an idea of the conceptual framework you used in creating this piece. What inspired it? Why did you choose to use that particular medium? Why that particular perspective, set of colours, subject matter, etc 

This piece is one of two that I had submitted for a Canada Day show in Toronto. I reworked parts of the painting to update the piece with a new style I had progressed to recently. In tone with the theme of Canada Day, I wanted to pay homage to the great Canadian artists of our past. Lawren Harris has always been my favourite from the group of seven, he was the easiest choice. The girl in the painting is modeled after myself. I wanted to put my own spin on Harris’ piece. I choose Lake and Mountains 1928 to contrast against the composition of the photo I had chosen.

I want the viewer to focus on the vivacious female therefore I painted the background in black and whites with the vibrant colours showing through in her hair and clothing. The skin was kept white for a negative space element which helped to bring out the colours further. The focus now is in on the girl and the vibrancy she brings into the painting. But you also revert back to the background, clean in Harris’ technical skill. It’s as if she brings the painting to life.

2. How would you describe your creative process? What medium do you use most often and why? 

I  daydream a lot. Things tend to just pop into the mind when you let your focus go wild. When I see elements of colour, pattens, images that I would like to see in my own work, I use them as inspiration. Currently I have been working with two strong elements, the female face and background images. The female form is so glamorous and endearing to render. My new works reflect the ideas of Lucid Dreaming, being conscious and aware of what you day dream about. I choose a strong female figure and depending on the series, the background reflects the proposed theme.

I paint mainly on canvas with Acrylics. It’s easy to carry around since I’m often painting where ever I am.

3. How would you describe the Mississauga art community? What excites you most about it? Why should art lovers from Toronto come visit? What can you do to ignite the Mississauga art community? How do you think the AGM can ignite the community?

The city is a combination of new age and old town humbleness. Mississauga has vast amounts of space, creating many different art communities. We are a city with many talented artists and a supportive community. There are always art shows and fairs going on in the city for an artist to display and buy work.  Mississauga is so close to Toronto that galleries are easily accessible by highway. I consider myself an emerging artists still defining her craft but I am very proud to be a citizen of Mississauga. For myself, being a young adult, the art community is divided into older adults and teens/kids. I don’t feel there is a place for young adults to grow as artists and feed off each others energies. It would be nice to know of more young adult artists in the city that are working to refine their skills and talents.

AGM is great at acknowledging the talent the city has to offer. There is variety in the exhibitions each year both culturally and artistically. The gallery is run on donations, and like most galleries are intimidating to the public outside the art community. Connecting with residents of Mississauga would ignite and make the art community grow. People just need to be aware of the great things happening in the gallery. There needs to be more available means to get through to the public and not just members; forums, online projects and word of mouth. There has to be energy and force to ignite a flame. 

4. Art should be accessible. Agree or disagree? What does “accessible” mean to you? How can galleries make art accessible even to people who’ve never been to an art gallery? If you disagree, why?

Art should be accessible. Art is made to be seen, not hidden. But plagiarism and art theft is a major problem in this technological age therefore it should also protected. Some people are not able to access works due to a disability or even being half away around the world. Galleries could have online tours and/or paintings highlighted and discussed every week which would enable art to reach a massive scale. If galleries had exclusive tours and insight on pieces exclusive to their gallery, they in turn would get more hits to their websites. Galleries can be very intimidating, having these online exclusives would help easily introduce art to the general public.

VAM 34 Artist Profile | Susan Clark

Susan Clark, Waiting, oil on two panels, 41 x 102 cm

1. Tell us about the artwork you have in VAM 34. Give us an idea of the conceptual framework you used in creating this piece. What inspired it? Why did you choose to use that particular medium? Why that particular perspective, set of colours, subject matter, etc 

This image is from several photos taken along the lakeshore in Oakville. By painting this scene with a darkened stormy night sky it sets the mood of the painting. A single bench in isolation, the untouched snow and the broken fence lead to the mystery. On a cold day, pausing to look, not to sit watch the view. No activity, just memories. A public space with hundreds of stories, changed in seasons.

I often use a couple of images together emphasized by multiple canvas and a limited pallet in oil. I block in lights and dark building layers of colour, part masking tape and hand painted lines. In this case I have used a solid flat wood panel surface for flat smooth blends. The image split in two makes the bench a stronger graphic and the extended fence becomes a barrier between the water and the foreground.

2. How would you describe your creative process? What medium do you use most often and why?

I often work on more than one painting at at time and have no time limits. It is finished when I have exhausted the idea or it has exhausted me. I prefer oil for the blends and subtle colours on grey tones. By working on more than one idea at a time I have the freedom to be as loosely painted as I want with along with hard edges that suggest a surreal quality. 

An artwork is a thought process meant to stimulate and touch the viewer in some way. It’s important to teach the mind to stop, look and get lost. The creative process should be a part of learning, growing and development as much as the physical challenges. Art should be in all public spaces. It is a part of what defines us.

3. How would you describe the Mississauga art community? What excites you most about it? Why should art lovers from Toronto come visit? What can you do to ignite the Mississauga art community? How do you think the AGM can ignite the community?  

Mississauga has a public square meant to draw people to just enjoy. The gallery should be accessible with exhibits tied in to the many events offered through out the year to encourage not only art lovers to be stimulated and a space to be enjoyed. Digital images showing creative on the two large screens inviting viewers to a warm spot in winter, cool in summer alive with images and sound.

I think the future directions of the gallery are leading in the right direction with library involvement, hands on events and education. There are people who do art, people who talk about art, people that teach art, people that sell art and rarely do you find all these components in one. To educate we need to bring them all together.

VAM 34 Artist Profile | Renee Makino

Renée Makino, Cool Fire, Acrylic, 76 x 91 cm

1. Tell us about the artwork you have in VAM 34.  Give us an idea of the conceptual framework you used in creating this piece.  What inspired it?  Why did you choose to use that particular medium?  Why that particular perspective, set of colours, subject matter, etc. 

This is a non-objective painting, starting with the application of various fields of colour on the canvas, and then more vigorous and spontaneous application of layers of paint, with the use of various palette knives.  I love the colours blue and red, the contrast of fiery red and cool blues, perhaps inspired by my love of the sea.  I love the freedom of uninhibited expression possible with acrylic paint and palette knives, especially on larger canvases such as this.  Although I didn’t start out with a concept for this painting, my impression after completing it was definitely of the contrasting inner excitement and creative power of the red and outer cold restraint of the blue, or earth elements of hot volcanic lava against icy mountains, hence the name “Cool Fire”. 

2. How would you describe your creative process?  What medium do you use most often and why? 

Although I have sometimes painted realistic landscapes that reminded me of significant travel experiences, I most enjoy the spontaneity of just direct intense creative expression.  In the 1970s, during some years living inTokyo, I enjoyed a style of woodblock printmaking called “dye resist technique”, carving abstract designs into the blocks, building up textures with various materials, handprinting the blocks with oil paint on Japanese washi, then brushing on various colours of vegetable dyes, creating an intriguing effect.  Since 2006 I have discovered that painting with acrylics on canvas or paper allows me to express in a more uninhibited and intense way, without all the many steps and technical processes required to create the woodblock prints.  

3. How would you describe the Mississauga art community? What excites you most about it? Why should art lovers from Toronto come to visit? What can you do to ignite the Mississauga art community? How do you think the AGM can ignite the community?   

Since joining the Visual Arts Mississauga artist association in 2009, and developing the courage to submit my paintings to the annual juried shows at theAGM, I have been surprised and excited to discover the large number of amateur and professional artists in the Mississauga area producing a large variety of high quality work.  Just the lineup of more than 200 artists entering their paintings and sculptures in this current VAM 34 show demonstrates a lot of creativity and sensitivity in the community, and an appreciation of beauty in many forms.  I like the opportunity of meeting with other artists through art associations and art classes, workshops, exhibitions, and events.  I liked the “Walk the Talk” tour of the VAM 34 show with the jurors and hearing their response to some of the paintings, to better understand the selection process and to get more involved with the exhibition.  And when I brought some friends from outside ofMississauga who had never visited or heard of the AGM, I realized that it’s an impressive gallery, and also that seeing my painting exhibited in this show made some of them realize that they had once enjoyed painting and might take it up again. 

4. Art should be accessible.  Agree or disagree?  What does “accessible” mean to you?  How can galleries make art accessible even to people who’ve never been to an art gallery?  If you disagree, why?   

I agree.  I think making art starts very young and that classroom art classes and workshops in the schools, summer camps, and art associations like VAM, as well as the possibilities of creating digital art on the computer, and reading about and viewing art on the computer, all contribute to our appreciation and involvement with visual art.  As for the art gallery experience, and actually physically relating to the artworks, it seems that AGMs various tours and interactive events taking place in the gallery, surrounded by art, is a good way to make art accessible to people who wouldn’t otherwise visit an art gallery.  How to re-create the party atmosphere of  opening night for such special visits or events throughout a show,  to add to experiencing or relating to the art ?