Gallery walks started in 1986. Twice a year, in spring and fall, galleries at the west end of Jasper Avenue and along 124th Street officially open their doors for for visitors to come and check out their exhibitions. Nine galleries participated in the October 18/19 event.
An appealing non-figurative work by Sheila Luck in the show window of the Peter Robertson Gallery turned out to be the most interesting of her show of new paintings, while the pieces by well-known local artists Giuseppe Albi and Clay Ellis were also on display.Next up was the West End Gallery, which was featuring work by Peter Shostak. These were mainly prairie genre scenes -- pond hockey games and so on -- reminiscent of William Kurelek. The number of red sold stickers on his works suggests that Shostak does well by his painting.
Amy Dryer's paintings at the Front Gallery next door were the most engaging new works we saw during the course of the day. Canoes were the subject of several of these works characterized by bold lines and vibrant colour, along with the piece pictured here. This Calgary-based artist associated her work with German Expressionism. Dryer's paintings, along with work by Verna Vogel, is on display at the Front Gallery until November 3.
The Douglas Udell Gallery was featuring Canola-field inspired paintings by Sylvain Voyer in its front room, along with a 1986 work by Dorothy Knowles, "The Path to Murray Point," on offer for a cool $62,000.
There were two more Knowles paintings in the gallery's inner sanctum, where work by the most renowned figures is customarily displayed. The artist will be at the Douglas Udell on Saturday, October 25 for the opening of a solo exhibition, Canadian Landscapes, which continues until November 8.
Over at the Bearclaw Gallery, which deals in First Nations art, there was an exhibition of paintings by Aaron Paquette. An established artist of Cree and Cherokee descent, Paquette creates visionary works that reflect his background as a stained-glass artist and goldsmith.
Other galleries visited were the Lando, Bugera Matheson, Scott and Daffodil.
