There’s a picture of Art in the window so I assume that ‘Ron Dezvous’ must be somewhere inside. Alas, the puns only go so far.
Art is actually a self-portrait of resident artist Frank van Veen with a yellow hardhat emblazoned with the word Art across it. It is the most appropriate tongue-in-cheek sight to greet attendees for Rendezvous with Art, the new show now on at the Visual Arts Studio Association (VASA) Studio and Gallery.
The exhibit is meant to play off of the city’s yearlong celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary.
“I thought that connecting the rendezvous with art … I thought that was perfectly matching celebrating St. Albert’s 150th,” mused Pat Wagensveld, president of VASA and one of the eight resident artists at the Perron Street location.
Just like next weekend’s Homecoming is meant to encourage current and former residents to get back into a St. Albert frame of mind, Rendezvous with Art wants those same people to stop by and see the busy and creative atmosphere of the artist-run centre.
Well, it’s really just one of the now three locations of the artist-run centre. The others are in Grandin Mall and there’s a small amount of space for Wagensveld in the Hemingway Centre.
Diane Way, another of the Perron Street group, continued by explaining what helped her and van Veen to develop the concept. With the Homecoming coming up, they saw a perfect chance for cross marketing.
“We just thought that we’d like to be a part of that and just have some of our pieces here representing past, present and future St. Albert.”
The result is a small but formidable cross-section of what this group has to offer the viewing public. Along with Way, van Veen and Wagensveld, there are Monk, Bruce Allen, Bruce Thompson, Doug Fraser and Miles Constable rounding out the talent pool.
The exhibit itself is a diverse offering, but not just in style. The content too has a kind of earthy balance. Way’s Harvest Moon features a red barn scene with hay bales under a full moon at dusk. That’s opposite Thompson’s Birches, Graminia Road work with its light hues and bright, lively colours.
Fraser’s Little White Schoolhouse shows the landmark in deep winter with piles of snow and a hazy parish church on the hilltop behind it. Wagensveld’s Where the Willows Grow is a fiery summer scene with intense red trees seemingly ablaze over a hot orangish earth.
Wagensveld points out van Veen’s Marching in Time for its social commentary. The mixed media collage shows a row of soldiers parading in unison along a sharp catwalk. At one point, they seem to turn into fashion models. Perhaps this means that fashion is too militaristic or that there is nothing that haute couture hasn’t done before, making every piece of clothing a uniform.
Either way, she praises his unique views and burgeoning experience.
“He has a quirky perspective but he’s very qualified,” she enthused. “He’s coming alive.”
She said it’s otherwise important for people to see what’s going on inside the doors under the distinctive yellow awning.
Rendezvous with Art runs until July 30.
The VASA Studios and Gallery (formerly Studio Gallery) is located at 11 Perron St.
For more information, call 780-460-5993 or visit www.vasa.ca.
