Examining patterns and details of our natural surroundings
By Nelson Daily Editor
Upon Reflection
@ Oxygen Art Centre, Sept. 2-24
- Gallery hours will be 1-5 pm, Wednesday to Saturday.
- Opening Reception and Artist Talk will take place on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 pm at Oxygen Art Centre.
Sarah Alford, Jennifer Bowes, and Dee Gibson create works that examine the patterns and details of our natural surroundings using everyday materials such as hot glue, baking parchment, butchers cord, and staples.
Through their labour-intensive, process-driven, and site-responsive practice, they create a space for contemplating and re-imagining what it means to know the world.
This will be the first exhibition for the three artists who are also long-time friends. Although living in different provinces, they communicate online and offer feedback to each other on an ongoing basis.
On exhibiting in Nelson for the first time, Sarah Alford said, “Nelson is a wonderful city with a dynamic art scene. There are world-class artists living here and we wanted to be a part of this vibrant culture.” The suggestion to exhibit at Oxygen came from none other than Bill Metcalfe, a well-known name in the Nelson arts community as well as Sarah Alford’s uncle.
“[Sarah Alford] shares with the Oxygen Art Centre a delightful, innovative spirit. That’s why I think her work will fit well at Oxygen and why I suggested, a few years ago, that she try to get an exhibit there. I am really excited that it is actually happening,” says Bill Metcalfe.
As individual artists, Alford, Bowes, and Gibson each have a unique background in the arts. Across their various disciplines and approaches, some common themes in their work are silence, fragility, and living in a rural landscape.
Sarah Alford currently resides in Halifax where she teaches in the department of Historical and Critical Studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. She has studied Art History, Jewellery, Metalsmithing, and Fiber and Material Studies and her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Jennifer Bowes is an Alberta native who is a full-time instructor and Program Coordinator in the Visual Arts Department at the Northern Lights College in BC. She specialized in Painting and Drawing at the University of Alberta. A seasoned globe-trotter, she has spent time in Scotland, England, Italy, Turkey, and Nepal.
Dee Gibson grew up in Ontario and graduated with a BFA in Painting from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. Her work can currently be found in the collection of the Art Bank of Nova Scotia. She now resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
- To find out more about the artists, visit Oxygen’s website at www.oxygenartcentre.org.
- This exhibition is free and open to the public.
