Exhibition: September 26th – October 6th 2018
Reception: September 27th 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Dancing With Abstraction: A Post-Painterly Cabaret
Five diverse Canadian Artists celebrating their unique approach to abstraction.
Bianka Guna, Betty McGowan, Mike McGowan, Linda Paton and Barbara Roston.
Artist Talk on Thursday October 4th 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Bianka Guna
Bianka Guna is a non-objective painter, an honors graduate illustrator from the Minneapolis, MN, US program , and beloved art teacher for a multitude of art groups and community centers in Ontario, Canada. She teaches water media (watercolour, acrylic, mixed media, critique) abstract painting classes for adults at Visual Arts Mississauga and at her Toronto studio in The Distillery District or on situ for corporate companies.
Bianka is an abstract expressionist artist who explores universal themes and symbols of humanity. Her work draws the viewer in through its strong, vivid colours and highly textured surface. The imagery is whimsical, serene, ethereal, and delicate, yet bold and direct. She believes in unity, diversity, proportions, contrast, balance and the unexpected.
An elected member of various prestigious art societies in Canada like CSPWC, SCA, OSA , TWS, IGA , CARFAC she has won several juried exhibitions in Canada and abroad and participated in numerous group and solo shows . She is a Certified Golden Working Professional Artists from 2014. Her distinctive contemporary work was purchased by private and corporate collectors in Canada, USA, Sweden, France, China, Australia, Romania, Israel, Russia, South Africa and UK.
For more information about her work visit http://www.biankaguna.com
Betty McGowan
Betty McGowan is a non-objective painter who came to painting later in life. She has worked in various styles and media throughout her artistic career, but prefers to use acrylics at present. She is a member of several Durham region art groups, including Pine Ridge Arts Council and the Oshawa Art Association. She has won several juried exhibitions in and around the Durham region and has participated in numerous group shows. She and her husband often show their work together in both the Durham region and in Toronto. She currently studies with her mentor, Bianka Guna , in the
Distillery District of Toronto.
In my paintings I like to explore aspects of non-objective forms and express them with bold gestural strokes to create a feeling of movement and motion. Often the strokes that are created spontaneously add another layer to my painting. Thus a work that begins with an idea will become something different.
I frequently begin my work wet on wet and add layers as it dries to accentuate the play of soft and hard edges this creates. Texture is created by my use of dry brush. I favour a limited palette and love creating the neutrals from these. Another important aspect of my painting is the preservation of the white. I favor preserving the white of the paper when working on paper, and, to a lesser extent, small spots of white on canvas.
In addition to being a student of the arts and an avid non-objective painter, Betty has held executive
positions in the Oshawa Art Associations, including the annual juried show held at the Robert McLaughln
Gallery, and the Art Festivals held bi-annually at Camp Samac in Oshawa. She has taught watercolor
workshops and classes to seniors as well.
Betty McGowan is a non-objective painter who came to painting later in life. She has worked in various styles and media throughout her artistic career, but prefers to use acrylics at present. She is a member of several Durham region art groups, including Pine Ridge Arts Council and the Oshawa Art Association. She has won several juried exhibitions in and around the Durham region and has participated in numerous group shows. She and her husband often show their work together in both the Durham region and in Toronto. She currently studies with her mentor, Bianka Guna , in the Distillery District of Toronto.
In my paintings I like to explore aspects of non-objective forms and express them with bold gestural strokes to create a feeling of movement and motion. Often the strokes that are created spontaneously add another layer to my painting. Thus a work that begins with an idea will become something different.
I frequently begin my work wet on wet and add layers as it dries to accentuate the play of soft and hard edges this creates. Texture is created by my use of dry brush. I favour a limited palette and love creating the neutrals from these. Another important aspect of my painting is the preservation of the white. I favor preserving the white of the paper when working on paper, and, to a lesser extent, small spots of white on canvas.
In addition to being a student of the arts and an avid non-objective painter, Betty has held executive positions in the Oshawa Art Associations, including the annual juried show held at the Robert McLaughln Gallery, and the Art Festivals held bi-annually at Camp Samac in Oshawa. She has taught watercolor workshops and classes to seniors as well.
For more information about her work visit http://www.mcgowanart.com
Mike McGowan
Mike McGowan is a non-objective painter who is largely self-taught. He has been working and studying with his friend and teacher, Bianka Guna, for six years. He has worked in watercolor, inks, mixed media, collage and acrylic, and has taken many courses and workshops to explore his preferred method of expression. He uses many different surfaces for his painting, including different types of paper, word, metal and found objects. He is a member of several Durham Region art societies, including both Pine Ridge Arts Council and the Oshawa Art Association.
German expressionism of the mid 20 th century strongly influenced my style. The colors and shapes used by these artists are incorporated into my works. I have added my own take on these artworks by using fluid acrylics and inks of different viscosities. This results in a feeling of spontaneity and movement, combined with wonderful and unique color variations. My work is characterized by a joyous exploration of color, form, and texture, that entices the viewer to explore the painting more deeply.
In addition to painting as often as he can, Mike has taken time to teach non-objective painting at a Senior Citizen Retirement home, and has organized several 70+ member group shows, as well as sitting on the executive for the Oshawa Art Association. Mike’s innovative use of color provides a wonderful element of surprise to his works. He has received recognition for his works on several occasions at local juried art shows in the Durham Region. His unique contemporary work has been purchased by private collectors worldwide.
For more information about his work visit http://www.mcgowanart.com
Linda Paton
As an adult, discovering the sensual joys of painting in watercolor was a momentous occasion in my life. Painting in a representational mode was challenging but limiting. Increasingly, I was captivated by modern and contemporary non-objective painting and needed to know why a painting or sculpture succeeded. I studied at OCA for a few years and received the Solomon Prize for Painting. Later I began to study with an inspiring teacher who became my friend and mentor: Bianka Guna.
My paintings are about the exhilaration of painting: the fact that an inert canvas, covered with marks, may connect with another soul and sensibility, wordlessly, amazes me. This may happen infrequently, but it fuels my passion and my determination to keep on painting.
I paint to communicate: to transmit a mood or attitude or moral outrage to another person, whom I may never meet. Painting accesses the deeper parts of our being, both for the painter and the viewer. I am passionately connected to the world around me: my sources may be a partially crumbling wall, a weathered door, a gymnast’s form. Or a piece of music, the branches of a tree, or an act of injustice and pain.
Picasso once said that “painting is an act of war. Thousands of images and sensations assault us each day. I struggle to create an order from this chaos. To do this I layer colours and uncover nd ambiguities, rhythm and repetition; I contrast of large and small, rich textures and transparent veils, figure and ground, organic and geometric elements. I wrestle with finding a unique way to combine these wildly different elements into a coherent, unified whole, while retaining their individuality.
The parallel sides of the canvas provide restrictions to compress my images, giving them power and energy. I find non-objective painting to be a rich and flexible instrument able to convey strong and subtle emotions: fragility and doubt, memory and loss. It can also celebrate the lyrical joy of being and cultivate wonder. I claim them all, and more I have yet to discover. I strive for authenticity: being present in the moment and allowing the inner voice to be heard.
Our skills are ever evolving: we are never finished learning.
Barbara Roston
Barbara Roston is a painter in watercolour who has worked in the medium for many years. Following a successful career in the sciences, Barbara now devotes herself full time to her passion for art. Her work has explored various genres from florals and landscapes, to nudes and most recently, non-objective paintings.
Barbara has studied with artists both in Canada and the United States, and currently studies with Bianka Guna in Toronto. As she has studied and shaped her own style, her paintings have evolved to include mixed media on a variety of different surfaces.
Art is such a broad canvas – there is room for all sorts of expression. It is what I have always loved about art. While some artists can give life to a portrait or landscape and the beauty they have created is undeniable, it is non-objective art that really speaks to me. I love creating images with different shapes, colours textures, and movement, sparking unique reactions in each viewer. With my more recent works, I continue to explore new ways to push the boundaries of traditional watercolor techniques by using everything from ink, pastels, collage, and fiber on paper and wood panel to tell my stories.
Each story is unique and I draw my inspiration from all that is around me. My paintings are deeply personal and highly subjective. Perhaps that is why I so enjoy when viewers experience different reactions from each of my works. Creating something that can touch another human being is the ultimate compliment.