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.

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.

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 ?

Susan Ross, Blast Off, oil on canvas, 91 x 91 cm

See more of Susan’s art on her website!
www.susanross.info

Connect with Susan on:
Twitter: @susanross57
Facebook: Susan Ross

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

In the last couple of years I had been referencing aboriginal pictographs for the imagery in my work. I needed to do something more personal, my own language….my own personal imagery, that’s how Blast Off came to be. It really was in a sense “blasting off” in that I felt a real sense of freedom and taking off doing my own thing…..

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

In my practise process is the driving force; there is a real intuitive interaction with the painting on a visceral level. I strive to balance imagery with colour, shape, line, and space. The tensions and balances between these formal elements, how they meet and relate and allowing them to generate from one another keeps the painting moving and alive. The imagery that surfaces is my own personal language. Some of it is from past painting experiences and some of it is my own sensibility of here and now.  It’s important to keep it as raw and fresh as possible. Intuition, trust, letting go and self-exploration are essential elements in the creative process.

I use oil on canvas, oil paint is very sensual and luscious. It really does seduce you.

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?

I’ve only been involved in the community the last couple of years and I am pleasantly surprised at how active it is. The AGM show is very professional and well organized. The gallery space is quite beautiful. I think it’s a great space for art lovers to visit. I plan on being more involved with it this year.

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?

Yes art should definitely be accessible, not intimidating. I think the space and the organization can influence that. The AGM is a good example of that; in the space and their staff and in the events they hold, they bring in people that might not otherwise go to a gallery.

Karin Fediw, Falling Dusk, Acrylic, 30 x 41 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

In this piece, I tried to create a mood of melancholy, quiet, and stillness. It’s the end of the day, when the day is over. It’s a time for reflection. I’ve painted these trees a number of times. They stand looking over Georgian Bay, forgotten on a tiny spit of land claimed by no one.

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

For this painting, I worked in acrylic, creating more stylized shapes and patterns. Acrylic seems to encourage this type of massing. Usually, I work in oils since it allows me to adjust and blend at a slower rate.

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?

I enjoy the space that is the Art Gallery of Mississauga. Being connected via Twitter and Facebook allows the community to find out what is happening.

Simon Jensen, Urinal, oil on canvas, 62 x 77 cm

Keep up to date on Simon’s art through the following websites:
www.simonjensen.ca | www.CobourgFineArt.com

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 

The oil on canvas Urinal reflects my interest in interior spaces. I have no interest in creating images that “ask questions” without providing solutions; my interest lies in the visible world. It is a “reality” that I embrace, searching for images that are at once recognizable but often ignored.

The reference to Duchamp’s Urinal of 1917 is intentional and intended to be promote the ongoing discussion of the nature of art and the creative process.

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

My ideas undergo some scrutiny before being realized on paper as a drawing, then on canvas. For me, the image must have some relevance to the artistic community; it must also resonnate with those with little exposure to artistic language. Strange as it may sound, the creation  of a painting should be a struggle, and not come too easily in the process.

3. 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 wholeheartedly support accessible art, by which I mean comprehensible on some level by anyone. Ironically, since Duchamp’s Urinal the artistic community has embraced the idea of “anti-art” as art, and novelty as a sufficient criterium. I define art as something  conceptual (addressing an idea) as well as the result of craft (a skill honed with practice).

To illustrate with an analogy, anyone who can follow a recipe is a cook, and anyone who can create a recipe is a chef. Yet anyone can appreciate the chef’s skill on some level, whether simply to satisfy hunger or to enjoy the cultural experience.

It is true that some art is more difficult to de-code  than others. I believe that the gallery could embrace the role of translater, interpreter and educator, to the benefit of the gallery-going public. It is no secret that some art “preaches to the choir” while leaving others out in the cold. (apologies for the mixed metaphor)

In a few weeks, during March Break, we invite youth ages 10 – 19 to join us in taking art beyond its canvas, and merging the worlds of visual art and literature. Sign up for our FREE Tell Me A Story workshop, by obtaining a ticket at the Mississauga Central Library. Details here. Tell Me A Story is inspired by The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, which challenges readers to use Chris Van Allsburg’s illustrations as the inspiration for story telling. In the book, established authors like Stephen King took up the challenge. For our workshop, we pass the challenge on to you — what stories can you create from the art in the AGM’s Permanent Collection?

Adults — we’d love to invite you to participate as well! While the workshop is specifically geared towards youth, we invite everyone, of all ages, to participate in Art Story, the online component of our Art-Inspired Creative Writing Workshop!

How it works:

Every Thursday leading up to the workshop proper on March 12th, the AGM will be posting an image from its Permanent Collection on Twitter and Facebook. Follow the AGM on Twitter and keep an eye out for the Twitter hashtag #ArtStory. Or, you can like us on Facebook, and keep an eye on the Art Story photo album on the AGM’s Facebook Page.

We invite you to create your own story for these art images. We challenge you to create a tweet-story in under 120 characters — don’t forget to include the hashtag! Or, if you want to create a longer story, comment on the photo in the Facebook album.

Do you want to participate, but are on neither Twitter nor Facebook? Easy — just email the AGM your story at jaclyn.qua-hiansen@mississauga.ca, and we may include it in a future blog post!

We look forward to see the Art Stories you can create!

How to Register and Get Involved

Teachers, parents and youth — interested in signing up for the March Break workshop, or in having your students or children sign up? Contact the Mississauga Central Library at 905 615 3500 or library.info@mississauga.ca for information on obtaining tickets for March Break programming.

If you know others who might be interested in this workshop – please share the link to this post, or contact the AGM at 905 896 5088 or jaclyn.qua-hiansen@mississauga.ca.  Thank You!

Eileen Menzel, Surface Treatment #1 Mixed media, 76 x 91 cm

Find out more about Eileen on her website!
www.eileenmenzel.com

This is a continuation of my ongoing Wall series in which reflective walls enclose an ambiguity of  luxurious interior/exterior space. This is Surface Design that’s been given the Surface Treatment. It has no past and likely has a limited future – living for today with instant attractiveness which is conveyed by intense colour, high value contrasts and a balanced composition. Drawing back into the acrylic paint with conte and chalk ,on paper, gives the work energy and the look of a preliminary study. In fact, 3 more related paintings follow this one with the subtitle, Fabulous Space for Today.

Its pedigree is Richard Hamilton’s “Just what makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?” It is a tribute to him – he died in Sept 2011 – and ties in with my current exploration of temporary vs. forever walls.

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

My creative process comes from a dialogue between self expression and the subject. The process is a visual problem-solving to create a coherent painting with a certain attractiveness and a clear message.

I use whatever materials convey the message and give vigor to the work . These include acrylics, gel medium, wall paints, spray paints with mylar, conte, charcoal, chalk, ink with photographs and collage. I also use cloth, fibres and layers of various papers when an active surface texture is needed.

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 Mississauga art community reflects the benefits of its varied demographics. The attraction of local and non- local people on a regular basis comes from varied programming of a consistent high quality,   which is expensive. But support comes when transparent and knowledgeable budgeting, with non- stop fundraising, shows that money is being well spent on guaranteeing worthwhile events for all visitors  

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?

Arts accessibility starts with the natural interest of the young, and their role models, who have access to quality arts education. A great deal is being done and will hopefully result in a wider acceptance of finding ways to fund this.

Teacher… Artist… Mississauga resident… Student of Helen Frankenthaler… The woman whose work is described by art historian Joan Murray as “what Abstraction is, and can be.”

The AGM proudly announces Con Spirito, a retrospective exhibition of Lila Lewis Irving’s 50 year career as an artist. Irving’s incredible passion for life shines through in the energetic brushstrokes barely contained by larger than life canvases.

AGM Curator Stuart Keeler says,

“If Lila were to paint air, she would depict for us what we intuitively feel around us every moment we breathe.”

Irving’s art is intuitive. Much like Rothko’s reds, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the intensity on the canvas, and the scale of this artist’s work.

Lila Lewis Irving, Otello, 1997, acrylic on canvas

Irving is an enormous opera buff. Her brushstrokes mimic the movements of music, and transport viewers much like an operatic aria can.

Lila Lewis Irving, Tristan and Isolde (Diptych)

 Lila Lewis Irving: Con Spirito | A Retrospective
opens at the AGM Thursday, March 1st 6 pm

The artist will be co-producing with the AGM
Appassionata, a 96-page hardcover publication
in conjunction with Con Spirito.
Appassionata will be on-sale at the AGM beginning March 1st.

What do you look for when you visit an art gallery? Innovative work? A congenial, community atmosphere? The sense of being transported into a different world – one where beauty and passion enhance the experience of the everyday? As a public art gallery, we strive to provide an exceptional visitor EXPERIENCE. We want you to walk into our space, and be so overwhelmed by the art that you want to stay long past closing time! We want you to leave our space, and be inspired by the EXPERIENCE.

More important, however, we want you to bring your own EXPERIENCE into the gallery. Viewing art should always be an active EXPERIENCE – you infuse your ideas, your energy, and your insight into your appreciation for a piece of art. We also invite you to share your EXPERIENCES with us – how has art changed you? How do you want us to keep bringing art into your life? How can we work together in making Mississauga a thriving, dynamic art community? Your EXPERIENCES inform your response. Through art, we aim to present a critical lens by which to reflect on past EXPERIENCE, and through art, we strive to inspire innovative means by which to create an exciting new way to EXPERIENCE life.

Pecha Kucha Mississauga

Integral to the EXPERIENCE of art is the EXPERIENCE of community. What better way to EXPERIENCE community than by celebrating creativity together, in an informal, fast-paced, anything goes community event?

An international movement originating in Tokyo, Pecha Kucha 20 x 20 has become a global sensation! Pecha Kucha events have been staged in hundreds of cities around the world, and the AGM is thrilled to bring it to Mississauga!

Pecha Kucha 20 x 20 is based on a simple idea: 20 images timed at 20 seconds each. Our list of presenters includes artists, writers, and other cultural producers. Images can be of anything that interests the presenters – studio work, inspiration, family vacations, anything! With so many creative people on stage, we can only begin to imagine the exciting, unexpected images they will present!

Morris Lum, Lucky Charm Moose Village

Exit Exhibit | Project Space

EXPERIENCE the future of the regional art scene! The AGM’s Project Room provides a platform for emerging artists to exhibit alongside the featured exhibition. The AGM is committed to nurturing and challenging emerging talent, and we are thrilled to announce the inaugural exhibition of Mississauga-based Morris Lum in May 2012.

Artist Development Programme

The artistic EXPERIENCE goes far beyond inspiration. Building an art career requires hard work, an understanding of the professional art world, along with business and technology knowledge.  

How can you build a successful career as an artist? What trends do we observe in the international art scene? How can public institutions like the AGM work with you in creating a dynamic, thriving art scene right here in Mississauga? The Artist Development Programme, launching soon, will engage the artist community with presentations, panel discussions, workshops and book readings to enhance dialogue and learning centred on an engaged professional practice.

The AGM believes in the value of constant learning. Whether you are an emerging artist or established, there is always something more to learn, and there is always something others can learn from you. Invite us into your learning experience! Stay tuned to our website for more information on our Artist Development Programme.

AGM 25 – ENGAGE, THINK and EXPERIENCE with the AGM!