EXHIBITION
Annual Instructor Exhibition:
Nocturnes
December 5, 2021 to January 9, 2022
Homer Watson appreciated the mysticism of the night and explored this theme in many of his paintings. This winter, join our instructors as they take inspiration from Watson’s love of the evening and its mysteries in our annual instructor show,
Nocturnes. The show will feature works by HWHG instructors and students as well as featuring a nocturne painting created by Homer Watson.
“…you are enwrapped with a sentiment or love of nature’s beauty at the close of day, that in the mystery of the light at that hour you are filled with a fine thought of the spirit of the scene, that you have implanted in you then an idea of the law of nature’s general harmony.”
– Homer Watson
Featuring:
Moumita Roychowdhury
“A Place Within”
I have a place deep inside, a place within. A place where I treasure my most cherished memories. This series of artworks is inspired by those beautiful moments which I have experienced at different times in different places. As one who draws creative inspiration from nature, the places within my heart are places I have seen, felt and have been moved to capture. Be it the foggy mornings of rural Ontario, or the breathtaking fall colours of Algonquin or the spectacular sunsets of Elmira, I have soaked in the various moods of this place that I call home. This body of work is a tribute to the beauty and glory of the golden autumn fields, the creeks that run through it like a needle running through a quilt and the soft embrace of its warmth that has touched my soul.
Michael Man Choi Chow
“Liminal“
Being in the liminal space between familiar and uncharted territory can provoke fear of the unknown. Or it may lead to new possibilities otherwise overlooked. After nearly 2 years of uncertainty, chaos, and the stress of reorienting, coping with a pandemic has brought this home. Being face to face with our inner fears about who we are, our strengths and vulnerabilities, even survival, can cause us to question the core of our identities, and doubt life’s meaning and purpose. In reviewing his art from 2013 to 2021, liminality emerges as a unifying theme, congruent with his personal philosophy to cross thresholds that lead to life beyond what is familiar.
Artist Bio
As a self-described “emerging” artist (recipient of a Record Readers’ Choice gold award in 2016; Jurors’ Bronze Award & Homer Watson Gallery Curator Award at KWSA members exhibition 2020), Michael Man Choi draws creative energy from fellow photographers, gardeners, naturalists, intuition, and more formal learning experiences such as articles, books, and workshops.
Inspired by others, but equally attentive to personal instinct, he has captured and transformed myriad images from the commonplace to the sublime – landscapes, nature, portraiture, still life, architecture, events. Many have commented on the Zen appeal and painterly textural qualities of his work.
ManChoi experiences his evolving art as a “progressive culmination” of his professional roles as educator, pastor, psychotherapist and spiritual healer. He feels that discovering the infinite connections among art, photography, landscaping and spirituality is not only “re-creational” and healing, but also great fun.
He is a member of UpTown Gallery, Waterloo; member of Art$Pay as well as KW Society of Artists. He has exhibited at a number of juried shows (Art$Pay and KWSA); the Art Store, Waterloo; Framing and Art Centre Kitchener; The Crawford Collective, Brantford; and Paula White Diamond Gallery, Waterloo. You can visit his page at www.ManChoi-Chow-Photographer or www.facebook.com/ManChoiChow