Gallery: April 2018

Amy Sallenbach & Dominika Koziak

Be sure to check out the Gallery Reception on Wednesday, April 4th. Details Here.

Amy Sallenbach

Amy Sallenbach is a multidisciplinary artist and pilot who has frequently left the constraints of gravity behind, one way or another. Reflecting on our world and the nature of time through assemblage mobiles, scientific theory utilizing profuse colour, and observational works balanced by gravitational pull, she seeks a panoptic theory clear of language. Her inspiration is found in outer space, movement of air and water currents, antique technology, trees, flying, and the inner voice. Amy is an Alberta based artist, raised in Lethbridge, and received her BFA in Fibre from ACAD in 2001. She is best known for my playful exploration of astronomy and outer space through kinetic sculpture and installation, as well as acrylic paintings that contemplate the inner environment, and its connection to the conscious via colour and form. 

Artist Statement

Interspace seeks to create an engaging visual environment, one that allows the viewer to experience the harmonies between the natural world and those of the theoretical and intangible. To bring forth a visual language that explores scientific theory and the history of those discoveries. To connect with the origins of the Fibonacci sequence, how it intersects with the Spiral Dynamics model. To explore theories surrounding the structure of the multiverse, patterns of thought, and the formation of neural pathways.

Check out more of Amy's work here.

Dominka Koziak

Dominika Koziak is a Canadian artist with a Ukrainian-Polish cultural background. Born in
1991 at Edmonton, Alberta, Dominika completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Alberta in 2013. Dominika then moved to New York City where she attained her Master of Fine Arts degree at the School of Visual Arts. Dominika also received intensive training at the Rome Art Program in Italy where she focused on painting and drawing from classical architecture and art. In New York City she attended
at the Prosopon School of Iconology, where she studied classical techniques and the
style of Icon writing.

Artist Statement

The icons written in the image of BIGBANG go beyond mere “fan paintings.” While inspired by found imagery, through the icons these images are transcended into a new purpose — to enlightened, sacred, and metaphysical objects of pure devotion and spirituality. It is BIGBANG themselves in a state of pure refinement and awareness, existing in a perfect form. As an icon, they exist as windows between the imagined and reality, giving a spiritual link. As a relic, they are a tangible object with a physical link giving the viewer an audience with BIGBANG. Together they grant the viewer with a metaphysical manifestation of the quintessential version of BIGBANG, existing in the realm of enlightenment and eternity one can personally engage with.

Check out more of Dominka's work here!

Special Gallery & Discussion: Ancestors & Elders

Ancestors and Elders: The Creative Journey

Presented by Shumka

Gallery Reception: March 29th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm | FREE
Gallery on Display: March 25th - 30th

Get your tickets here!

Join the creative team and cast members as they provide a glimpse into the
collaboration and creative process of Shumka’s world premiere production, Ancestors and Elders. Ancestors and Elders features a cast of Shumka Dancers and multidisciplinary Indigenous artists. Together they share the story of the first Ukrainian
newcomers to Canada, exploring the shared values and respected differences between these hopeful settlers and the First Nations people they encounter in a new land. The evening will feature visual art by Lana Whiskeyjack and Svitlana Kravchuk and discussion from members of the creative team.

Details on the event here!

 

 

 

Gallery: March 2018

Jill Thomson

Be sure to check out the Gallery Reception on Wednesday, March 7. Details Here.

Artist Bio

Jill Thomson's artwork evokes her personal history of a small town/prairie childhood, an urban Montreal young adulthood and a settled life as artist and mother of three in Edmonton. Her rich colourful palette and complex compositions celebrate a creative life in cities with generous front porches, cafes, bookstores, bicycle paths, gardens and ravines.

She received her BFA from Concordia University in Montreal. She is represented by Gibson Fine Art in Calgary and AGA Art Rental and Sales in Edmonton. She has work in the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and in international public and private collections.

Thomson’s neighbourhood painting for Premier Rachel Notley depicts the Legislature from a Strathcona neighbourhood perspective, and hangs in the Premier’s Office in the Alberta Legislature. “Edmonton Neighbourhood” was purchased by the Edmonton Arts Council as a gift for their capital campaign and hangs in Edmonton City Hall. Nine of her paintings are featured in a permanent alleyway mural for the Alberta Ave Alley Project, as part of the revitalization of Alberta Avenue. Her painting, “Heritage Quarter” was brought to life as the setting for three operas in a collaborative video projection project with Mercury Opera and Guru Digital and was recently screened in opera festivals in the UK and Ukraine.

Check out more by Jill Thomson here.

Sara Norquay

Artist Bio

Born in Edmonton, raised in Toronto, Sara trained as an artist at the Alberta College of Art and
developed her art career in Santa Barbara, California where she lived for 20 years.
She has been making artist books since 2001. Her books have been made in different mediums including printmaking techniques, drawing and painting, stitching and painting on fabric, mixed media and digital printing. Some books are one-of- a-kind while others have been made in small editions. She also makes fine art prints and works with felt. Moving back to Canada in 2009, she writes short stories and exhibits her work in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and California.

The Coats Project: A coat is a necessity of life in the north. Most of us have several coats to keep us warm and dry from the variety of temperatures we live in throughout the year. The coat can also symbolize or be a metaphor for comfort, protection, public identity, memory, and aspiration. In this series, the coat connects with an earlier series of prints representing the four elements: earth, water, air and fire. These prints are collaged relief prints: woodcuts and linocuts.

Check out more by Sara Norquay here. 

Gallery: February 2018

Keita Kankam

Kicking off The Carrot's annual Black History Month, we welcome Keita Kankam to our gallery. Originally from Ghana, Kankam's art is inspired by the shapes and colours of his hometown.

Be sure to check out the Artist Meet & greet on Wednesday February 7. Details Here.

Artist Bio

I studied at the Ghanatta college of Art and Design in Accra, where in 2006 I obtained a diploma in Art and Design. Often I create what I feel, think and see around me. My favorite genres are abstract compositions, landscapes and village scenes. I prefer using acrylic colors, inks, pastels, and charcoal because they are easy to use once one knows how to manipulate them. Starting to paint on my own as an independent artist has not been easy. There have been times of success and downfalls, but with the passage of time I have seen the beauty, humour, and value in all my work.

Artist Statement

As an artist I strive to develop paintings which express the beauty that exists in the world to myself and to others. Often I create what I feel, think, and see around me. An important part of my process is sketching what i have seen during my daily activities or what I have felt, and then recreating this on canvas. When painting, I want to create something beautiful and expressive, so I put so much of energy and passion into the work to create something unique. At times I have to work on a sketch in order to develop different styles and color schemes. By playing with colors and styles, i hope to create something that is attractive and enjoyable by art lovers, collectors, and newcomer alike. I prefer using acrylic paint, water colours, pastel, ink, and charcoal because once one is familiar with them, they prove to be comfortable and reliable tools. Currently, I am developing a painting style that incorporates a toothbrush and sponge to create an impasto effect in my work. Typically, my preference is for bright colors because color is light and makes the world a better place to live in. Art constitutes an important part of my life as an artist. I hope to bring viewers into a place where they see a reflection of everyday life.

Follow Keita on instagram

Gallery: November 2017

Catherine McMillan

Artist Bio

Catherine has always been an artist, a traveller and a night owl. After Art & Design studies at MacEwan University, her desire for travel and her passion for drawing people took her wandering around the world as a street artist. Alongside her travels, Catherine studied fine art and painting for many years under the mentorship of American painter Eileen Raucher Sutton (whose past students also include Brian Selznick—author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret). 

When Catherine and her husband Mark finally moved back to Edmonton, her hometown, she started her company called The Quirky Art Cafe and spent many years drawing live at events, teaching art classes, hosting art & wine nights and gallery shows, doing illustration work and serving coffee in her cute little shop conveniently located right across the street from the elementary school that her three children attended. While she thoroughly enjoyed all of the aspects of her creative business, Catherine always knew that her true passion was painting and so in January 2014, she closed her café and began to paint full time.

She approaches her paintings intuitively, beginning the conversation with thick textured gesso followed by layers of fluid acrylic paint repeatedly applied and wiped off until a luminous colour relationship is created. Sometimes she starts with a clear destination in mind, but often her ideas come out of the work itself; an authentic, emotional response to some unplanned creative interaction. 

Catherine is just as inspired by the real people in her life, her daily physical surroundings and the places she travels to as much as she is by the figures, the words and the magical settings in her imagination, thus forming the constitutive elements of her work. With incredible texture, rich colour, and her own unique sense of perspective, she manages to seamlessly consolidate these separate worlds in a way that entices us to accompany her in a new version of reality.

Gallery: February 2017

Generations of Afro-Latino Art: A Basquiat Tribute

February's gallery features one-of-a-kind works inspired by the groundbreaking NYC artist Jean Michele Basquia, curated by Edmonton artist Pedro Rodrigeuz featuring his works alongside Elsa Robinson and Dora Restrepo. In addition to visual art, this opening will also feature live poetry readings by Shima Robinson, performances by Allan Suarez and Sebastian Suarez and live projections.

Pedro Rodriguez De Los Santos

Pedro is from Montevideo, Uruguay and has been living in Edmonton, Alberta for 12 years.  Since this time Pedro has established himself as a successful visual and public artist in Alberta. He has completed multiple exhibits, coordinated public art and education workshops and completed several murals included two with youth.

Dora Restrepo

Dora originally hails from Columbia but now calls Edmonton, Alberta home. Still a newcomer to painting, her inspired works show the depth of her artistry. Painting on canvas with acrylic, her use of colour and perspective speaks of her time growing up in South America.

Elsa Robinson

Elsa Robinson was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. After taking a few art classes in high school and post secondary, she moved to Edmonton in 1984, the same year she welcomed her daughter Shima into the world. Robinson went on to earn her Bachelor of Education Degree at the University of Alberta in 1990. After nearly a decade of teaching, Robinson’s artistic curiosity caught up to her when she completed her first painting in 1999. Since then she has gone on to win awards and earn her Bachelors Degree in Art and Design.

Shima Robinson

Amiskwaciwâskahikan aka Edmonton (Treaty 6)-born poet and spoken word artist Shima Robinson embodies, with every poem, the ancient meaning of her chosen pen name. Dwennimmen is the name of an ancient African Adinkra symbol, which means strength, humility, learning and wisdom. It is no surprise, then, that this veteran of the Alberta poetry community uses a searing intellect and dynamic precision-of-language to create poetry which ushers her readers and listeners toward greater understanding and poignant reflection. For Dwennimmen, poetry has long been a compass, a salve, an anchor and guiding light. She uses the potential and force of poetry to uncover the full range of her cerebral, linguistic and spiritual fortitude. This is why her every poem and performance testifies to an emerging power and wisdom, an authentic, deeply human potency which she hopes to pass on to listeners and poetry-lovers around the world.

Gallery: January 2017

January Gallery:

This month The Carrot Gallery will feature the L’hiver  |  Pipon  |  (zyma)  Visual Arts Gallery

Visit this special January exhibition featuring artwork by several local Francophone, Indigenous, and Ukrainian artists.

Artists:

Oksana Zhelisko Classically trained in Eastern Europe, Oksana began her career as an artist in L'viv, Ukraine. Oksana entered the Ivan Trush College of Decorative Arts in 1996. There, she studied all aspects of art and decided to make painting, especially of murals, her major. In 2001, she held her first solo exhibition at the L'viv University of Ivan Franko. It was in preparing her works for this show that she realized she had a love for the medium of oil. She finds that the truest hues are to be found in this medium due to its prolonged drying time and its ease in mixing. She finds it best to begin her work, not on a crisp, blank canvas, but on one that has been coloured, and or stained to allow her chosen medium to release its inner beauty and charm. Although aptly able to capture any image with an artist's eyes, Oksana's work as of late has revolved around the theme of woman in various stages, poses, and emotions. She equates her disdain of starting on a blank canvas to that of simply painting woman as an exercise in figure. In her view, woman is neither crisp nor blank, but coloured and tinged; each being an image or an iconoclast that is warm, or perhaps cold, but always strong, alluring, full of mystique, and of course, true inner beauty. Her most recent works are displayed in Webster Gallery, Calgary. She currently resides in Edmonton.

Candace Makowichuk professional visual artist, arts educator and arts administrator, specializes in alternative photographic processes and techniques for her artwork. She works with a variety of photographic materials and printing proceses including: gum bichromate, cyanotype, tin type, gel and other transfer processes, multiple image printing, handpainting, and mixed media. Candace has extensive experience in educating the public on the importance and impact the visual arts have on our community and lives. Through workshops and residencies on historical photographic processes she has instilled a renewed interest in non-digital and historical photography.

Her education includes Art & Design from the University of Alberta, Photographic Technology from NAIT, Arts & Cultural Management from Grant MacEwan and various workshops. Her work is represented in public collections within Alberta, private collections within Canada and exhibitions throughout the province.

Theodora Harasymiw is Visual Artist and Art Educator working in Edmonton, Canada. In addition to working in her studio she has been working as an Artist in Residence since 1997. Working with schools I develop art programs which culminate in a permanent installation...

MJ Belcourt Moses  Melissa-Jo Belcourt Moses comes from a rich Métis ancestry and possesses a wealth of cultural skills acquired from Métis and Aboriginal elders throughout northern and central Alberta. As a certified instructor, she has taught decorative arts and creative skills within the Native Cultural art programs on Native reserves and Métis settlements. A deep connection to her roots is the inspiration for much of her artwork and ongoing research in developing in others an appreciation for the Métis contribution to our country’s homeland.  In 2006 Belcourt Moses was invited to represent Alberta cultural heritage in Washington DC for the 49th annual Folk Life Festival. Belcourt Moses was also given the Aboriginal Role Model of Alberta Art Award in 2009 for her work as an Artisan and as a recognized cultural art instructor. 

Curtis Johnson My name is Curtis Johnson and as you might have guessed I'm an artist who loves hockey. From realism to abstract, I try to explore the many facets of our national obsession. I also create paintings that have nothing to do with Hockey – these abstracts represent my experience growing up on the Canadian prairie. 

Jaye Benoit invokes artistic expression as a gateway to self-understanding, and ultimately seeks societal evolution. Her work is a searching for the place where the tangible and intangible meet, to express a value that has been lost in our time.

Jaye holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the university of alberta, with a focus on painting and drawing. Her studio practice includes painting, mixed-media works, and installations, which are exhibited throughout canada, and are in private collections in canada, the usa, and the united kingdom. Jaye provides instruction and mentorship for artists of all ages and abilities, and has been involved in the development of many community events and artistic initiatives.

A born artist and yogi, jaye practices and instructs sattva yoga as a foundation to her life’s work. She resides in Airdrie, Alberta with her husband and two feline friends.

Rebecca Pickard

Gallery: November 2016

November Gallery:

This month The Carrot Gallery features collage artist Jess Dupuis.

Artist Bio:

Jess began secretly drawing cartoons all over her walls around 10 years old (much to her parents dismay). She managed to avoid becoming a graffiti artist extraordinaire and instead went to design school and graduated a graphic designer (much to her parents delight).

Fast forward eleven years, a few awards, loads of design clients and projects, an awesome husband and two small kiddos... Jess is now pushing to find time for herself and focus more on her art (you know, for her sanity). :P

"I find collage to be incredibly rewarding. The treasure hunt to find that first image that sparks an idea/concept. Cutting, pasting, painting - the bits and pieces that combine to tell their own new story. I relish in the artistic process the most as I am the only one making decisions for the outcome of the piece. There is no client to deny a mark or colour or combination of anything. Only myself, my gut and my critiques. It is liberating and therapeutic after many years of client-driven design and illustration projects.

My art (and heart) are a tad curious / odd / strange – and that's just the way I like. Enjoy."

 

Gallery: September 2016

September Gallery:

The Carrot presents Denise Lefebvre, Fine Art Painter for the month of September. Come enjoy the view (and maybe even purchase) some of her beautiful work!

Artist Bio:

Denise Lefebvre was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1970. 

She continued her post-secondary education at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta in 1988. After graduating from Visual Communications in 1992, she continued her education with a major in photographic arts for 2 years and a minor in printmaking.

After college, Denise did some traveling in South East Asia and Eastern Canada, and since 1999 she has called Edmonton home once again.

She is currently employed as a free-lance artist specializing in menu chalkboards, murals, and numerous styles and mediums included in her fine art paintings. She has several art shows each year and is included with a talented group of local artists who call themselves Night of Artists. www.nightofartists.com

She is also involved with Lewis Lavoie and Phil Alain doing several mural mosaics which can be viewed atwww.muralmosaic.com These giant, stunning murals have included hundreds of artists including Robert Bateman and celebrities like Felicia Collins and Kevin Hearn.

Gallery: August 2016

August Gallery:

The Carrot presents Larysa Eliuk Matchak, Fine Art Painter for the month of August. Be sure to come in and view (and maybe even purchase) some of her beautiful work!

Artist Statment:

Color, rhythm, contrast, and forces of nature, all contribute towards the inspiration for my paintings. When I paint and express myself through art, I am able to experience a euphoric feeling of freedom and contentment. My paintings are characterized by vivid colors and bold expressive brush strokes. I rely on my Ukrainian heritage, extensive travel, nature, and my surrounding environment for inspiration. I believe that we are all drawn to original works of art because they represent and radiate the soul and spirit of the individual who created it.  Thus, through my artwork I strive to share my life and my spirit with others.

Gallery: July 2016

Featured Artist: Jay Bigam

July Gallery:

The Carrot is happy to present Jay's abstract landscape paintings during the month of July! Drop by before July 30 to view and purchase one of these great pieces! 

Jay is a self-taught artist who paints abstract landscapes, skyscapes and spacescapes. Known for his use of colour and movement, his paintings are a reflection of his love of nature and science.

Quote from the artist:

“My work is inspired by the landscape, sky, water and ice of a place, and especially of my home, Alberta. I try to capture the feeling and not a literal representation. I am particularly inspired by the sunset. The grand light at the end of the day, reflecting upon clouds, the landscape and the falling off to the deep indigo of the night sky. We are all familiar with the saying, “In Alberta, if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes.” I use colour and movement to try to capture the sense of change we see on a daily and even minute by minute basis, whether it be the slow movement of a glacier, a violent summer storm or a lingering summer sunset.”

You can follow Jay on Instagram @JayIsPainting Facebook @JayIsPainting