Red Deer’s First Fridays art gallery openings held on July 7

Title: Mary’s World: Paintings and Drawings by Carol Lynn Gilchrist

Artist: Carol Lynn Gilchrist

Kiwanis Gallery, 4818 49 Street, in Red Deer Public Library

Media: Ink, Acrylic, Oil

Dates: June 20 – August 27, 2023

#FirstFridaysRedDeer opening reception July 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. with the artist in attendance. Artist Talk from 6:15 – 6:30 p.m.

Description: This collection of paintings and drawings explores the poetry of American Mary Oliver (1935 – 2019). Oliver was known as a keen observer of the natural world who explored timeless themes of seasonal changes, cycles of death and rebirth, and the human connection with all living things. Gilchrist says she was curious to examine how her prose could inform her painting process.

“Mary’s World is a deeply personal response to the poems of Mary Oliver whose vivid descriptions of nature speak to my soul. I feel a kinship with her prose. Although her language is words and mine is paint, we are both unapologetically inspired by nature, and in awe of the wondrous world at our feet and fingertips. She used her poetry to question traditional views of the separation of Self and Nature. She embraced those paradoxes and emphasized the possibility of intimate connections with the natural world,” wrote Gilchrist in a statement.

Hours: Mon – Thurs: 9 am.. – 8 p.m., Fri: 9 a.m. – 5 pm., Sat & Sun: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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Title: Handmade by You

Artists: Artists from Youth HQ and the Boys and Girls Club

The Red Deer Arts Council Community Gallery, 6–4919 49 Street

Media: Various

Exhibition Dates: July 5 – August 30, 2023

#FirstFridaysRedDeer reception July 7 from 5 – 7 p.m.

Description: Working with three art instructors through the Red Deer Arts Council, youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Red Deer have created various works exploring 2D and 3D media

Summer Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

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Title: Nature’s Gifts and the Nature of Color

Artists: Kelvin Christensen

Velvet Olive Lounge, 4928C 50 Street

Dates: July 7 – August 31, 2023

Artist Reception: Friday, July 7 5 – 7 p.m.

Description: Christensen says he is mostly a self-taught painter of colorful landscapes focusing on forests and trees in watercolor acrylic and oil. He is also a Grumbacher certified instructor of watercolor and acrylic painting.

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Title: Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest

Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery (MAG), 4525 47A Ave

Friday, July 7 from 5 – 8 p.m.

Opening Reception of the exhibition, Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest as part of #FirstFridaysRedDeer.

Local drummer and singer Dean Johnson will welcome the exhibition into the community (6 p.m.). All are welcome to attend.

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Title: The Futility Index

Artist: Emily Promise Allison

The Viewpoint Gallery, 5205 48 Ave, located in the lobby of the City of Red Deer Culture Services facility

Media: Digital Photography

Dates: May 23 – July 28, 2023

#FirstFridaysRedDeer July 7 Gallery open 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Artist Talk starting at 6:30 p.m.

The artists says the Installation and Display Aluminum prints with float mounts will be displayed on a wall with standard hanging hardware.

About the Artist: Emily Promise Allison is a Canadian artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture with Distinction from the Alberta University of the Arts and the Glasgow School of Art. She has performed, taught, and exhibited internationally. Allison is a conceptual artist who uses photography and performance to create images that embrace surreal, metaphysical, and dreamlike qualities. The purpose of her work, she says, is to activate curiosity, stimulate a sense of wonder, and enable a collapse of status and expectation concerning theoretical knowledge versus lived experience. Allison says she regards the imagination as a fundamental sense that allows people to find or create magic within systems regulated by logic, celebrating the strange nature of existence and the absurdity of life.

About the Gallery: The Viewpoint Gallery showcases original works of art by individual artists and collectives, and curated exhibitions.

Hours of operation: Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

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Title: Solorzano Spa Art Exhibitions

Artists: Stephanie Gonzalez-Cediel and Brenda Smith

Solorzano Spa Cafe & Wine Bar, 4631 50 St

Dates: July 6 – 10, call 403-596-9492 to book a viewing.

Artist Reception: Friday July 7 from 5 – 7 p.m. with artists in attendance.

Artist Biographies:

Stephanie Gonzalez-Cediel is a 21-year-old artist based in Alberta, currently in the Fine Arts program at Red Deer Polytechnic and plans on continuing her studies in Calgary to finish her BFA. She says her work is mainly acrylic painting, but she dabbles in sculpture and experimenting with other media.

“I like my art to be colourful, playful, and weird, but I am aiming to start more mature, dark, and detailed artwork in the near future. My current fixation is cats and humour, so you will see lots of that in my work going forward,” she said.

Brenda Smith describes herself as a versatile painter who has years of experience and breadth of knowledge. Most of her work is in detailed realism but she also delves into textural abstraction. Smith works in oils and acrylics and resides in Red Deer.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

Title: Indigenous Portraits in Lego®

Artist: Gregory Sawisky

Fort Normandeau , 28054 B Township Rd 382

Media: Lego®

Dates: June 30 – August 30, 2023

Description: Portraits in Lego (R) by Gregory Sawisky. This exhibit is a collection of seven portraits of Indigenous Elders and Chiefs recreated using Lego (R), paired with information about the featured person and a copy of the historical picture that inspired the portrait. The collection includes Chief Crowfoot, Chief Dan George, Louis Riel, and Chief Poundmaker among other portraits. Each portrait is modeled after existing photographs and then recreated in Lego® bricks with text accompanying the portrait.

“I’ve always loved portraiture and found black and white portraits were the most evocative,” sais Sawisky. “Using Lego® was a new challenge and using it as an artistic medium evokes a familiar response in the viewer because the toy is almost universal, yet using it to recreate or represent portraits of historical figures hopefully draws the viewer in to learn more about history.”

“I chose to focus on Indigenous Elders and Chiefs because I feel that we have relegated many of these leaders to the sidelines or footnotes of our history books,” he said. “They have stories worth learning about.”

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Title: Central Alberta at Play

Artists: Central Alberta Photographic Society

The Corridor Community Gallery, 4501 47A Ave, inside the Recreation Centre

Media: Digital Photography

Dates: May 16 – August 3, 2023

About the Gallery: The Corridor Community Gallery is located adjacent to their ceramic arts studio in the lower level of the Recreation Centre. The space aims to provide a public venue for local artists and to allow them to share in the talents and interests of fellow community members.

Hours of operation: Monday to Thursday: 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m., Fridays: 5:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 12 – 5 p.m.

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Title: Painting Home

Artists: Carol Lynn Gilchrist, ASA

Riverlands Studio and Gallery, 5123 48 Street

Media: Acrylic and Oil

Other resources:

Artribute Art School (212 – 4836 50 St), in the Old Courthouse

Curiosity Art & Framing has moved to a new location on 5002 48 St, formerly Great Strides Shoe Store on Little Gaetz.

by rdnewsNOW Staff

Red Deer’s First Fridays art gallery openings held on July 7

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