Dreams on the walls

July’s new exhibit at the Visual Arts Studio Association is a first for a few reasons. For one thing, the members-only club is letting its doors open for a non-member to take over with a solo show of some dream-like abstract works.

Calgary’s Vanessa Kary is bringing her massive Dream Series to local audiences starting Thursday. These 36 pieces are just a smaller segment of her Liquid Landscapes collection, but don’t make any puns about that name and the state of her hometown. She planned this work out months ago.

“It may be bad timing,” she mused, drily, before offering a quick reassurance that she and her family came out of the recent flooding OK. “We were up high, on a hill, thank goodness.”

This series was inspired by Kary’s interest in exploring her dreams and understanding their subconscious meanings. She undertook a full documentation of her dreams over a period of eight months starting last October, and then went about researching the symbolism, the imagery and the emotions behind them.

“I would use the interpretations as guidance to my ongoing waking life situations and events,” her artist’s statement explains. “Dreams are an intricate and intimate mix of memories, wishes, fears and desires. They’re an evolving code we write within ourselves every time we fall asleep.”

Everyone knows the fantastic fantasies of their own dreams. Kary figured that it was excellent creative fodder for an exhibit.

“I thought maybe this dream thing would be kind of cool to see how it played out. When I began painting, I would go back to one of the dreams that I felt like I wanted to show. I focused on the feeling of it. There was no planning. It’s all intuitive. As soon as I start painting, I just let it go. It just happens.”

The results are imaginative scapes of colour blends and bleeds, some resembling otherworldly atmospheres, while others are more akin to close-up glances at marbles. Regardless, they are easy to get lost in. One could say that they are very fluid and dream-like.

“I’m working with the subconscious so I was hoping subconsciously that it would come through into the painting,” she said.

This was a unique experiment for her – another first – and she’s pretty pleased with the results.

“There’s probably a handful that are my favourites so if they don’t sell, then I’m probably going to keep them!”