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Adrian Livesley follows his previous show "Brilliant Trees" with "The Tangled Wood", immersing the viewer in an enticing profusion of lines, colours and shapes of the deep woods. Adrian's clear light and vibrant hues, inspired by a 2-year sojourn in Mexico, imbue West Coast scenes with an entirely unique freshness. Join us for this very special inaugural exhibition at our new location, 1554 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC.
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Exhibiting together for the first time, Lynda Kirby and Ann Vandervelde present new abstracts which capture the power of natural forces in acrylic and mixed media. Kirby's softness and Vandervelde's boldness play off each other to exhilarating effect.
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Following his successful show "MOnkeyLAnd" in October 2009, Thomas Anfield takes the theme a step further with "Monkey Business", in which his familiar sock monkeys take up the entirely human pursuit of searching for identity through social interaction. Playful and gently satirical, Thomas's monkeys enable detached perspective while inspiring self-reflection with a good dose of humour.
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Ann Nelson's latest exhibition is an exuberant celebration of gardens, both wild and cultivated. These enchanting new paintings illuminate Vancouver's November with the joy of Spring.
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Brigitta Kocsis' canvas occupies a space between representation and abstraction. Traditional painterly expression is infused with reference to technology. In Secret Mechanisms, human figures become actors, depicting a kind of repellent contemporary beauty in the age when science-fiction and artificial body parts are no longer fiction.
A Journey Through the Exotic, the Imaginary, the Cerebral, the Unknown and the Forbidden
July 17 - July 31
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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What awaits discovery in the far corners of the world, in the depths of thought, in the questioning of our assumptions? Some of BC's great contemporary artists present thoughtful, captivating images of ideas and visions distinctly off the beaten path of the everyday. From a visual contemplation of the dubious contents of canned food, to the illusory effects of the road scarecrow, to a ghostly brothel, these works boldly navigate the road less travelled using both traditional and innovative drawing mediums. An intriguing selection of historical Canadian drawings by such artists as Jack Shadbolt and Ernest Lindner completes the collection. This exhibition is presented as part of the 2nd annual Drawn Festival, Canada's only multi-venue showcase of drawn works.
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Two successful solo shows of artist Andra Ghecevici at Petley Jones Gallery are now followed by Forest Revelry, a collection of lush new works in oil and acrylic. Centre-stage is the idea of a forest as a harmonious society: by exploring hidden details in its scheme of interactions, meaningful interpretations of companionship can be discovered. Andra's elegant style brings fluidity and sensuousness to the familiar forms of trees.
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Following his successful Prairie Series, Matt lends his energetic style and vibrant palette to an exciting new series of West Coast sea-to-sky vistas. Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, May 6 from 6pm to 8pm.
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"Re-Gifted"
An exhibition of small and affordable artworks for the holidays at the Petley Jones Gallery. There are a wide range of artworks, from figurative and landscapes to sock monkeys and abstracts.
We will be donating 10% of all sales from the exhibition to Vancouver Children's Hospital so your support of local Canadian artists is also supporting Children in need!
Exhibition continues until December 31st. Happy Holidays from Matt and Jennifer of Petley Jones Gallery!
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Extended hours for """"''Brilliant Trees''
We are open Sunday November 29th 12pm-5pm
Pictures from a Journey
From the image of Vincent Van Gogh trudging through farmer's fields to Paul Gauguin painting the uncharted wilds of Polynesia, the idea of a travelling painter has long held a fascination for me.The notion of a weary artist, clothes encrusted with drying paint, easel strapped to his back, maybe one of art history's venerable cliche's, but it is nevertheless a delightful one.
During the last 15 years, I have travelled to places as diverse as Finland, Ireland, Cyprus, Mexico and rural British Columbia in order to paint from my surroundings.The main reason was to get away from the constraints of work, friends and family to enable the long hours needed to provide solitude and stimulate inspiration.I also wanted to be confronted with unfamiliar sights and sounds, while deliberately avoiding overly familiar or hackneyed subject matter.In Mexico, for example, I consciously eschewed any subject that was familiarly associated with the country, such as donkeys, Mariachis, churches and the like.Often, this would take me far away from popular areas with often surprising views and subject matter.
My approach to working from landscape has been the same, regardless of where I find myself.I am interested in finding vividly expressive forms and working them into a cohesive, final image.I don't necessarily want to create a realistic representation, but rather something that encapsulates my feelings about the place and time.I want the paintings to come alive by working abstractly as well as from life.I like to see the pictures as quiet dramas: the objects, the colour and the spaces between objects providing the dialogue.
This is the modern world--that which is around me. But to simply hold a mirror up to it would deny the artist's power to create. Albert Camus wrote that all art was an attempt to remake the world, giving it the style it generally lacks.In this way paintings become models: they express what cannot be put into word--the healthful, restorative rhythms and forces seen in nature.
Some believe the role of the artist is to make comments about society or to criticize.I have no desire to create negative art because I believe the great art of the past is both joyful and hopeful.My goal is to somehow communicate the intangible, inexplicable "inner life" of subjective experience--to somehow convey what it is to feel and be human.
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Held over until Saturday November 14th!
Artist Statement:
My work engages the concerns and material of painting, colour, form and light. These in themselves, have deep and resonant transformative powers. The monkeys enable me to play with both imagination and memory through a symbol that is equally majestic and mischievous, social yet natural and most importantly just plain fun. Despite the ups and downs of our existence, these works are a celebration of life. Spiritually they find themselves like Vancouver, at the meeting and merging of Western and Eastern philosophical viewpoints. Taoism meets Quantum. They are paintings of and for the 21st century.
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 - Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Opening Reception: Sat. Oct. 17th, 2009 2-5pm
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DUNCAN REGEHR
CYPHER
Artist Statement
Duncan Regehr's Cypher portraits are based on the philosophy that we each possess a design code, a blueprint of ourselves, defining character, physical presence and individual destiny. His richly resolved oil paintings reveal imaginary subjects as they manifest into final template images. Figures emerge from darkness as if arriving from quantum depths, galvanized and bathed by golden light. Jewel-like colours and abstract shapes morph into schematic patterns and human features. Solid pigments work beside delicate grid-work to contrast transparent shading and fluidity, giving one a sense of both permanence and transience. These thought provoking works executed in Regehr's distinctive style of expressionistic surrealism, offer fresh credence to the theory that everything has a form from which it is derived.
HELM
In western civilization, the face is traditionally equated with personality and the 'persona' in the Jungian sense. The head is associated with the mind. The eyes with the soul. I wanted to create sculptural entities that unified these variable elements and which would evoke a mythology for each subject. Whether they are portrayals of leaders, warrior-poets, philosophers, questing heroes or champions of fate and fortune, the Helm sculptures evolved as purely masculine icons. They are the victors, the valiant and the vanquished.
In many older cultures, covering the face with a mask was the equivalent of temporarily removing the identity of the mask wearer and substituting a "new" face (i.e., new ego, persona, spirit). The helmet, whether used for battle or ceremonial purposes, does more than protect the head and eyes, (mind and soul). Like the mask, it can disguise the wearer and project a variety of powers, as well as convey the social stature of the wearer. Both mask and helmet usually require a human consort to energize their full potential. The 'Helm' suggests its potential purely through the stillness of countenance, in the same way that an idol, statue or talisman can evoke a sense of magic or divinity by simple presence.
While the Helm sculptures are not masks or helmets, they do bear physical and aesthetic attributes of both. For me, the works encapsulate that which most intimately characterizes the intrinsic nature of each subject and its mythology. They allude to real or imaginary civilizations, histories and philosophies. Some appear alien-like or futuristic, others are abstract or primitive-looking and many bear stylization that invite association with known cultures. The basic dome-like shape of the Helm suggests a parallel to the globe of the world, the heavenly sphere, the expanding convexity of the cosmos and of course, the orb of the human head.
Saturday, September 19th, 2009 - Saturday, October 3, 2009
Artists reception , Saturday Sept. 19th 2pm-5pm
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Dark mysticism and magical realism come alive at the opening exhibition of Heads and Tales at the Petley Jones Gallery in South Granville, September 19th to October 10th.
Heads and Tales brings together sculptor Patrick Meagher and painter Pilar Mehlis in a visual exploration of magic realism and modern day fantasy.
The BC-based artists create a highly imaginative world through their own unique interpretations and juxtapositions of the human and animal form. Despite roots in two very different mediums, there is a commonality in their works through strong symbolism and visual metaphor that gives the pieces a touch of humanity while remaining firmly entrenched in the fantastical.
Citing influences that range from Lucien Freud, Goya, and Odd Nerdrum, to humourist Gary Larson, each artist has their own personal vision that reveals a unique and comedic approach to the human psyche and our interactions with the creatures around us.
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THE EVOLUTION OF LINE: DRAWINGS FROM PAST AND PRESENT
July 18 — August 8
The Evolution of Line brings together a wide selection of work ranging from original drawings dating from the 19th and early 20th Centuries to current contemporary images. Included are British, Canadian and American landscapes and portraits, along with more recent works from BC. Images by James Pattison Cockburn, Arthur Lindner, Donald Jarvis, Llewellyn Petley-Jones and Jack Shadbolt are featured alongside drawings by six contemporary Gallery artists:Thomas Anfield, Andra Ghecevici, Pilar Mehlis, Cynthia Nugent, Scott Plear RCA and Duncan Regehr RCA
In celebration of the Drawn Festival, Saturday July 25th, Thomas Anfield will perform The Post Cecil Taylor Garage Music Choir featuring Vancouver-based jazz vocalists Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Soressa Gardner, prOphecy Sun and Doe Bender. In this quirky multidisciplinary piece, Thomas reverses the old standby of drawing to music and conducts performers through a series of live calligraphic gestures. The format was a hit at last year's Voxy Choir presentation at VCC and has been used to great success with the Post Cecil Taylor Garage Music Orchestra, whom Thomas has led in performances at the New Music across America and the Vancouver International jazz festivals.
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Lee Gass will be in the gallery Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th from 2pm to 5pm to coincide with his interview by Sheryl Mackay from CBC Radios North by Northwest . The interview will air the weekend of June 13-14th, 2009 between 6 am and 9 am PST.
Opening reception April 4th, 2pm-5pm - Apr 25, 2009
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the exhibition, click on image.
Arcadia Revisited
The geographical location that became known as Arcadia was the interior hinterland of Ancient Greece. It was a place of hunters, warriors, rude habitation and wild beasts. In time, Arcadia became the romantic ideal of rustic living; pastoral, without the rawness of the actual landscape. The harsh contrast of glaring rock face and dark chasm, raging storm and heat-baked plain are softened into the gentle meeting place of forest and field. Brutish half-beings, sexual and violent were soon lulled into better behaviors with strains of hypnotic music. Increasingly civilized interpretations relate the primal urges of these early Arcadians to forces of the natural world's fecundity, not dangerous, merely a product of nature's way.
What is hidden within the shadows at the forest's edge finds its way into the open field and while we may be surprised at first by its unfamiliar behavior, we may soon also find ourselves seduced by strange and wonderful strains of music that echo from a forgotten place.
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This exhibition is inspired by the beautiful historical paintings of prairie landscapes by the late Llewellyn Petley-Jones (1908-1986). His nephew, Matt Petley-Jones, who was born and raised in Alberta, will be exhibiting contemporary renderings of this magnificent landscape.
A collection of new and recent works by gallery artists and emerging guest artists.
Saturday November 29th - January 3rd, 2009
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the exhibition, click on image.
Promotion for November 2008-January, 2009
There are many ways of preserving art and we can give you advice as to whether your artwork is properly framed or needs restoration work. Gallery Director and Owner, Matt Petley-Jones has been restoring and preserving original works of art for over 20 years. Come in from Dec 1 - Jan 31st and receive 15% off gallery services including conservation framing, restoration and appraisals.
All original artwork is worth preserving!
We also purchase and consign original works of art..
Abstracted renderings of the Fraser and Columbia rivers.
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 - Thursday, November 13th, 2008
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the exhibition, click on image.
THE RIVER SERIES
Turquoise, emerald and muddy brown waters tumble over sand, rock and ice, through canyons, valleys and flood plains, on their unstoppable journeys to the sea. The midday sun bleaches the sandy grey cliffs of central BC's parched Fraser canyon. Silver-green sagebrush and ochre bunchgrasses cling to narrow ledges along the Thompson. Sunsets paint the oxidizing basalt cliffs vermillion in Oregon's Owyhee canyonlands. Light, texture, mass, movement: these are the elements that inspire this series of paintings. I have hiked, cycled, canoed, rafted, driven or camped along most major rivers and tributaries in BC, Washington and Oregon. I am drawn to them, just as our ancestors were for countless millennia. Rivers have provided us with water, food, transportation routes and power, and we owe our very existence to them. They have spawned single-celled organisms, and dynamic civilizations. They are etched into our collective unconscious as backdrops for religious tales, myths, legends, folklore and parables, in poems, stories, paintings, songs and films. They take on deity stature in many cultures. My goal in painting this series is to celebrate, to draw attention to, and ultimately to help preserve these great waterways. My artistic process is to use rivers as starting points from which the paintings evolve and transform, often crossing the threshold between representation and abstraction, and becoming more symbolic or iconic than naturalistic. I have never painted with more confidence or conviction than I did while doing this series. My hope is that these visual interpretations strike a chord in the viewer, and on that level, connect artist, viewer and subject. But enough talk—look at these paintings. Then go and listen to the river. David Tycho October, 2008
For information on the use and abuse of our rivers, and on the contentious B.C. Provincial Bill 30, please go to saveourivers.ca. There's something going on that all British Columbians should know about.
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Artist Statement: "I have always worked to express in a direct, intimate way what it means to be human. Exploring below the surface continues to reveal intensely personal content that invites reciprocal identification by the viewer. The business of scumbling and scraping applications of paint, in order to bring forth an image, can be likened to the process of therapeutically peeling back layers of the psyche and the imagination in order to expose truth. The difference is that the search is actually a physical operation whereby the unknown can be realized. Figurative mysteries initially presented as raw expression, resolve into allegorical paintings that hold their form, line, colour and subject matter with equal importance."
"My current series of drawings and paintings, titled MAGIC, are a continued exploration into aspects of transformation, a theme I began working on in 2000 with the Corvus Rex images, and continued to develop through 2005 with the Chrysalid works. Each of these projects revolves around themes of gestation, birth and metamorphosis. The Magic series alludes not only to transformation, but to illusion and the unknown, with subject matter drawn from myth, imagination, the psyche and acts of prestidigitation." - Duncan Regehr
Images from Duncan Regehr's 'Corvus Rex' series and 'Chrysalid' series will also be on display.
We are proud to present SHAWN SHEPHERD's solo exhibition URBAN/GARDEN. Uniting two recent themes in in his work, Shepherd explores usages of type written information alongside graphic botanical imagery.
April 4, 2008 - April 18, 2008
April 4, 6-9pm
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URBAN / GARDEN places two recent themes in my work side by side and explores usages of recycled type-written information and recycled materials alongside graphic botanical imagery.
The urban aspect of this exhibition is found in my "Information Paintings", and also my "Car" and "Small Bus" sculptures which have been exhibited in Victoria (Martin Batchelor Gallery) and Nanaimo (Nanaimo Art Gallery). These paintings and sculptures are based on a culmination of ideas which explore type-written information, recycling, and post imaging. Using recycled street sign aluminum, vinyl, and pop rivets, I construct sculptures of automobile forms. Recycled magazines are a source for advertising text for collages which act as drawings for my Information Paintings. Through the dissection & compaction of corporate mass media lettering and the displacement, rearrangement, simplification and proportional shifts of the familiar; consumer culture discards are converted into visual poetry.
The "Garden Paintings" in this show utilize the botanical motif which exists just outside my studio window. The exterior, natural world is edited through a combined process of drawing and collage; then painted in a graphic yet sensuous manner.
The speed of information movement in the world, our insatiable ability to consume and discard, and the peculiarities of human vision continue to inform my new work.
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Petley Jones Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of nude paintings, sculpture, etchings and erotica. Including works by Picasso, Volti, Alex Colville, Goodridge Roberts, Don Li-Leger, Scott Plear and Duncan Regehr, Darrell Underschultz, Shawn Shepherd and Georgia Hunter, to name a few
An opening reception will be held at the Petley Jones Gallery on February 13th, 2008 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.
Opening reception Nov 22, 2007 6pm-8pm - Exhibition continues to Dec 8, 2007
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the exhibition, click on image.
David Tycho's abstracted landscapes are based on his frequent backpacking treks to the cinder flats, lava flows and ice fields on and around Black Tusk, an extinct volcano near Whistler B.C. Tycho uses the oxidizing black basalt, white snow, blue sky and glacial lakes as reference points from which he departs on a journey where many of the original elements are submerged under intuitive aesthetic impulses and his love of painterly expressionism.
David has exhibited in Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Edmonton, Seattle, Los Angeles, Geneva, Brussels and Manila, and his work is collected worldwide.
