The Charlotte Street Arts Centre opens two new gallery exhibits this Friday featuring work from Theresa MacKnight and Kevin Melanson.
There are two new exhibits opening at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre this Friday. Signified is a collection of new work by St. Andrews-based artist Theresa MacKnight that will be on display in the Charlotte Glencross Gallery.
“Signified is a body of work that I have been developing during the last four years, the majority of which is completed in encaustics,” says MacKnight, in her artist statement for this exhibition. “Encaustic is simply paint made from natural beeswax, tree resin and dry colored pigments. Many containers of hot translucent colors are laid out on a heated surface and further mixing with brushes happens directly on this hot palette. Later, the surface is fused with a torch or heat gun. There is often much scraping and ironing involved as well.”
MacKnight’s recent body of work was created in part as a statement on the importance of understanding and co-existing with the countless animals and insects that surround us.
“With deep family roots in rural Charlotte County, I have been raised with a respect and consciousness of animals and insects and the awareness that we are not separate from them. Sometimes, in my opinion, humans create hierarchies of animals, preferring the prettier or more useful ones. I am fascinated and often shocked that people are repelled by bats, bees and sometimes birds. There seems to be a complete disinterest in the low- to- the- ground porcupine and a love-hate relationship with the deer.”
A collection of work by Sackville, NB artist Kevin Melanson will be on display in the Penny Gallery.
“My work and my life have always been centered around found objects and experiences,” says Melanson. “Some people who know me well consider me to be a hoarder; I would never go that far in describing myself, but I will admit that I love collecting strange things and I have got a lot of things in my collection. I have collections of pop cans that I find crushed in parking lots and grocery lists that I find on the floor at the grocery store, among other things that most people would see and then promptly leave on the ground where it probably belongs. I am interested in showing people that there is value in the things I am collecting by presenting them in ways that viewers normally would not see. Much of my recent work involves contour drawings of objects in order to create new collections which have the opportunity to generate visual interest in frequently overlooked objects.”
Both exhibitions will be on display from February 23 until April 9.
There will be an opening reception February 23 from 5-7 p.m.
