Gallery 78 opens three new exhibitions this week highlighting the work of four Nova Scotia ceramic artists, and painters Amber Leger and Paul Healey.
Matt Carter
Gallery 78 has a real knack for pairing new exhibitions with the changing seasons. As spring begins to take hold introducing a breathtaking range of morning light, warmer temperatures, and new life as trees and gardens slowly start to reveal their first buds of a new year, Fredericton’s signature downtown gallery opens three new exhibitions celebrating colour, shape, and the rich rewards of imagination.
Nova Scotia Ceramics features the innovative and creative work of Marla Benton, Teresa Bergen, Alexandra McCurdy, and Heather Waugh Pitts. Ranging from decorative ornaments, bowls, and mugs to stunning sculptures inspired by the natural world, this display highlights the unique and creative possibilities of porcelain and stoneware.
New Brunswick painter Amber Leger’s exhibition Depths of Light features a selection of work created using acrylics and oils. The source of her inspiration is predominantly female, whether dancers in the studio of Dance East or her friends or family, the connection she feels to her subjects and the imagery she derives from them is palpable and the viewer is left inspired by its emotion and strength.
New Work by Paul Healey which includes tranquil and reflective still lifes and outdoor scenes rounds out this latest series of exhibitions at the gallery.
Paul Healey was born in Toronto in 1964. As a teenager he studied jazz and classical guitar. He earned his diploma from Georgian College where he studied painting, printmaking, sculpture, and art history. Following that, he attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax and then moved to New Brunswick, where he continues to pursue his many creative endeavours, which in addition to his artistic pursuits, includes creative writing and writing original musical compositions. Healey has: won the Atlantic Writers’ Competition for short fiction; had a play work-shopped by Theatre New Brunswick; had short fiction published in Toronto’s Quarterly Literary Magazine; and received a nomination for the Christina Sabat Award for Arts Criticism.
All three exhibitions open at the gallery with a reception on April 14, from 5-7 p.m. and will remain on display until May 6. These works are also available online at gallery78.com.
(biography information taken from Gallery 78’s artist database)
