I met Ashleigh Bartlett at the Esker Foundation. I was participating in a workshop that was a visual response/reaction to the Jack Bush and Colleen Heslin exhibit, one of the most powerful visual experiences I had had for a very long time.  Ashleigh really impacted me with her approach to the workshop and I saw the evolution of non-objective forms more clearly than I had in the past.  I also became very engaged in process, materials and colour.

Ashleigh is presently working out of Boston and she has become a social media friend.  I enjoy visiting the art exhibits she attends through posted images and sometimes get to see work that I admire, through her eyes.  Most recently…just yesterday…she posted an image of a piece by Kara Walker, an artist I’ve been intrigued by the past several years.  Her paper cut outs related to the topic of slavery are potent and important.  Anyway, point being, social media may have its downfalls, but more often than not, it creates interesting connections.

Ashleigh Bartlett curated the current/soon departing exhibit For You/And Me at the Paul Kuhn Gallery.  I couldn’t let it leave town without seeing it.  After all, yesterday was a snowy and grey day.  One other person was wandering the gallery, but soon, I was alone in the space.  And…my readers know how I feel about that glorious feeling of being alone with work.  I’ve snapped some photographs of my favourite works.  I’d describe this group show as elegant and restful.  While colour on the larger fabric collages is intense, there is a dominant sense of balance and that leads the viewer into an experience of meditation.

In regards to my experience, I was curious about the technical aspects of the work.  There were some very engaging approaches to use of media.  Jim Verburg’s approach in his two layer paintings was lovely…so subtle, that photographs would not do them justice.  Paint on mylar in front of paint on mat.  Nice.  Jessica Groome’s Glimmer, Gazer and Pearl, documented below…my favourites!

This little piece was probably the one I wondered about the most.  Mark Clintberg’s Two Coins was simple, but complex at the same time.  I like the projection of the shadow onto the back mat.  I like the texture of the embossed gold leaf.  I wonder about the connections with Felix Gonzales Torres’ Drawings and Sculptures.  This captures the sensibility of the exhibit in full…elegance.  Congratulations to Ashleigh, the participating artists and Paul Kuhn.

I’d love to have Erica Mendritzski’s Girls hanging in my home.  This is the stuff that dreams are made of.