Father Douglas has finally finished a rather substantial series of artworks, one painting for each of William Blake’s 47 poems that comprised his Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Audiences will be getting an early sample of the entire collection when the artist unveils 18 pieces at Visual Arts Alberta’s Gallery A for a nearly two-month run, starting next Thursday.
People will surely remember the artist’s study of dogs in the first viewing of this series that came to Galerie PAVA more than a year ago. The concept is that Douglas takes the Blake poem as inspiration and the painting that springs from it features a dog in some way.
“It’s something that sort of grew along the way. It was Night that I first did a painting of. I thought that was neat, and as I read the poems, you could understand what he was trying to express with the Songs of Innocence showing a child’s innocence, and then with the Songs of Experience how that then evolved. The innocence was lost and skepticism and that gaining of experience was learned,” he explained.
“For some poems, I would read and get an image right away, and naturally I wanted to include dogs in it. Dogs are innocent and they became the metaphor for a child. As a dog gets older, they get more mature and experienced.”
The end results seem somewhat Surrealist, contemplative and perhaps bizarre, but very creative. Douglas takes his work seriously even if we the audience might get a laugh at the dogs at play. Sometimes he threw things in that had nothing to do with the poem, just to remind us that he can be a playful artist too.
The full series of 47 pieces is set to make its grand début at the McMullen Gallery in the fall. For the VAAA exhibit, however, he has provided an exhibition catalogue with images of the full series, each joined by the Blake poem that inspired it.
This exhibit will pair up with Deborah Catton’s show called Tengingar Connections and Contrasts in Iceland that will be on display in Gallery B. Catton previously brought The Passion Series to the Visual Arts Studio Association Gallery last March.
Both shows run from Feb. 5 to March 28, with an opening reception tomorrow from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Artists will be in attendance.
The VAAA is located on the third floor at 10215 112 St. in Edmonton. Call 780-421-1731 or visit www.visualartsalberta.com for more information.
Up until now, the artist PEKOE has been only into painting but time has a way of opening up opportunities, and he’s now looking to dress the part. He wants to dress you up too.
The abstract Surrealist urban artist has developed a new fashion line under the ABP brand, and its grand unveiling is this week.
“I’ve been doing the art thing for awhile … two years now, but I just couldn’t help it and I had to go for the whole ‘designing my own clothing line’ thing,” he exclaimed.
“I’m sitting in my storefront right now. It’s something that I never thought would happen. It’s exciting!” That storefront is located in the new Vacancy Hall in the basement of downtown’s Mercer Warehouse, 10363 104 St.
He describes the collection as “a marriage of Rick Owens and Sons of Anarchy.” He skateboarded and snowboarded a lot when he was growing up, getting a good taste of the world of extreme sports and motorcycling while he was at it. Those worlds have some pretty cool fashions, he continued, and he’s using them as inspiration combined with his own artistic sense to come up with some unique styles.
The big launch is officially set with a fashion show on Friday, which he announced on his Instagram account.
“I want it to be memorable.”
Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 p.m. with live DJ music and choreographed dance. Food and refreshments will be provided by North 53.
RSVP is required. For more information, contact him via his website at www.artbypekoe.com.
