The 21st Annual Homer Watson Show - A Sense of Place

Homer Watson - The Autumn of the Patriarch

Terry Torra - Grand Visions

Endla Loney - Reflections

Helena Pravda - The Power of Hands

May 21 - August 14, 2011

Reception: Sunday, May 29, 2011 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Meet the Artists Talk : Saturday, July 16, 2011, from 1.00 - 3.00 pm

Homer Watson

The Autumn of the Patriarch

The exhibition, titled "The Autumn of the Patriarch" is focusing on the late years in Homer Watson's career and showcases works from our collection, from Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery and from Parks Canada - Woodside National Historical Site.

Terry Torra

Grand Visions

This series of paintings are places within the Grand River watershed that have provided moments of reflection or moments of “just being there”. Our Grand River experiences tie us to many more and much larger places that in turn, connect us to a cosmos of the small and large. These connections define us whether we are conscious or not of their subtle or profound manifestations. Just as gravity works on us even though we don’t think about it, so do the subtle and powerful effects of the place we inhabit. The Grand River is a powerful and substantial part of that.

Special moments are captured in these works. The question one can ask is what is it that brought the artist to these moments where what is seen was deemed worthy of intense scrutiny for consideration to be painted and presented as works of art. The geographical qualities alone are not sufficient even though the effect is varied and beautiful. Why is a bridge, a farm or a person added into the geographical space? It becomes spiritual, for it is only this aspect by which we can make a connection in the moment that will add to  who we are.

     As a microcosm of our planetary system, this place adds substantially to our sense of place. The stability of long term presence and the beauty and diversity of it’s surrounding catapult those who want it into the macrocosm of a much larger space. Ho do e connect to the world like that drop of rain; or even to the universe it`s selfThis is really where the journey starts. What has made this place where we are? How are these moments provided to us in such a way that we develop a conscious string connected one to the next to give us consciousness. Is this limited to one place? Look at the paintings and let them be a moment to you...

Helena Pravda

The Power of Hands

I, Helena Pravda, a multicultural artist, was born and raised in Brno, Czech Republic.  Later I moved with my family to Ontario, first lived in Kitchener, and later Cambridge.  Having spent more than two decades in Canada, I see myself as a viable blend of two different and interesting cultures.  The result is that I bring two different artistic and intellectual aspects to my art. 

My educational background begins with the study of psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, driven by my insatiable curiosity about people and their lives.  I graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Fine Arts and went on to attend the University of Waterloo, to further my studies in art.  I graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts, Fine Art, specializing in studio drawing and painting.

My works are inspired by mixture of psychology and art, as it enriches my thinking and my feelings when exploring the mystery of life.  

Where do we come from?  What are we?  Where are we going?

Turning reality into painterly effects requires not only creativity but insight and empathy.  Drawing and painting really means to open to both the big effects and the small subtleties of the visual world, and further, to have ideas about what you are seeing

My art embraces my search for life and meanings; it is not only about the outer world, it is also about the inner world, about subtle, but very important things.  They are inside each of us, the eternal truth, which is the foundation of our being.