Two Rivers Gallery is hosting three grand openings in the coming days.
The first two happen in tandem. Thursday night marks the official launch of the group exhibition Reflections On Identity and the solo show Into The Woods by Tammy Salzl. She will be in the spotlight for an artist's talk that night at 7:30 p.m.
"Based in Montreal, Salzl is a painter working in oil and canvas and, in smaller scale, on paper," said an event statement from the curatorial staff.
"Salzl draws from her own experience as a mother of a transgendered child and in doing so, connects to fundamental ideas of self and identity. Her work focuses around representations of curious characters often placed in improbable locations, for example a chaise longue in the middle of a forest. They are often rendered in lurid colour schemes, at times seeming hurt or vulnerable, at other times oddly sage, comfortable, and at peace in a world where seven-legged lambs and other creatures populate her paintings. Rich in allegory, Salzl's work examines gender and identity by honouring the individual and the sense of self."
The group show was assembled from the rarely displayed in-house collection of art in the gallery's own archives.
"Identity is a theme that runs through many exhibitions in 2017," said the curators.
"Reflections On Identity draws from the Two Rivers Gallery Permanent Collection to explore how language, culture, place, history and the body can influence one's sense of self. Drawing from a small collection of 400 artworks means that there are limitations concerning the depth at which this complex topic can be explored. Reflections On Identity thus aims to tease out a few notions relating to this complex topic and invites the viewer to consider which factors serve as markers of identity within themselves."
The third exhibition opening is more of a wildcard. It is not being unveiled in the three main viewing spaces.
On July 27, the public will find out more information about the sculpture show Standing Split: My Place, Out Of My Place by local artist David Jacob Harder. His work with wood and ice was featured at the Neighbourhood Time Exchange studio this past winter and now he will be on hand at the gallery to talk about the next phase in the evolution of this sculptural and three dimensional mixed-media art at
7:30 p.m. that night.
Not to be forgotten, another exhibition is already underway and is available for viewing for one more week. Colour & Light Of The Robson Valley by McBride artist David Marchant will be on display until July 30 in the Rustad Galleria.
These paintings are described as "hyper-realistic works that feature mountains, flowers and many more aspects of the natural world."
The two main shows, Reflections On Identity and Into The Woods, will each be on display until Oct. 8.
