New works by Christine Koch and RFM McInnis are now on display until March 26.
This month at Gallery 78, Christine Koch presents a riveting exploration of ice against brilliantly colourful skies in Sea Ice Studies.
Primarily a painter and printmaker, Koch draws her inspiration and imagery from Canada’s mountain and northern environments, where she has travelled as Visiting Artist with scientific research teams. Her work interprets the dramatic geology and geomorphology of some of Canada’s most iconic wild places, including Gros Morne National Park, northern Labrador, Baffin Island, the Yukon, and the Rocky Mountains.
Her current exhibition features reduction linocut prints. The scenes in these series are taken from an expedition she joined aboard the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.
“There are two ways to achieve a multi-coloured linocut print,” explains Koch in her statement about this current exhibition. “One is with multiple blocks, i.e., a separate block of lino on which each colour is printed. The other way is to achieve all colours from a single block, by carving away areas of the block after each colour-run, and reprinting the block with new colour after each reduction until the final multi-coloured result is achieved.
“It is a technically complex process, the challenge residing firstly in determining the colour map of the image, and then in the actual printing of the piece, a procedure which requires great care to achieve precise registration, ensuring that the paper is aligned on the block in exactly the same place for each run through the press. Creating a reduction print from start to finish is thus an extremely labour-intensive and time-consuming process, and the resulting editions are relatively small.”
Also on display is RFM McInnis’ 80th Birthday Celebration, featuring several new works created during 2021.
RFM McInnis (Robert Francis Michael) was born in Saint John, NB in 1942. He received a diploma in Fine and Applied Arts (1961) from the Saint John Vocational School under the mentorship of Fred Ross and D. Edwin Campbell. He has exhibited internationaly and his paintings are in many important public, corporate and private collections. In 2009, a painting was chosen for inclusion into the Legacy Collection of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB.
“As long as I can paint, I suppose age means nothing,” said McInnis, in his statement about his 80th birthday celebration. “Then again, it does give one cause for pause, to reflect upon what took place from those years in Fred Ross’ and Ted Campbell’s art classes in Saint John Vocational School, Class of ’61 and the present day. A lot of water under the Reversing Falls bridge.
“My first shows were with the Maritime Art Association exhibitions, where Bruno Bobak and Molly Lamb were showing. Alex Colville was in those shows too. I was just starting out. The Beaverbrook Gallery was just new. It was a start some 60 years ago.” Read his full statement HERE.
Both these exhibitions are now on display for viewing in-person or online and will be on display from March 26.
Visit Gallery 78 online for more information or stop by the gallery at 796 Queen Street.
