On July 31, a special community show that offers an artistic take on agriculture opens at Arbor Gallery in the Pemberton Smith Room. “Art on the Land” highlights the region’s agricultural landscape and the people who live on and work the land. The exhibition features artworks by farming families of yesterday and today, as well as historical and contemporary examples of functional objects that are elevated to the level of art by the hand of the maker and the eye of the beholder. “Art on the Land” also encompasses representations of local agriculture by those who don’t work directly within the sector but who are inspired by its beauty.
Local individuals and institutions have generously offered over 30 pieces for the show. Included are contemporary works by such artists as Matthew Steele, Tina Petrovicz, Jane Macmillan, Reenie Marx, Robin Whitford, Maggie Winchester, Isabelle Perdigal and Lisa Szabo-Jones, with represented mediums ranging from photography and watercolours to fibre arts and floral arrangements. The Glengarry Pioneer Museum, Ouimet Farms Adventure, the Vankleek Hill and District Historical Society and several locals have loaned pieces that add historical content to the show, including farm tools that show the maker’s artistic flair, hair art, a crazy quilt fragment, silhouettes, a hand-carved butter mould and a period embroidery sampler.
“This is a fun show that invites the viewer to look at the everyday from a new perspective,” said the exhibition’s curator, Andrea Belcham. “We hope that locals as well as visitors coming to Vankleek Hill for the fair will stop into the gallery to discover these unique interpretations of our region’s agricultural heritage.”
The public is welcome to meet some of the exhibition’s contributors at the vernissage on Saturday, August 2, from 1pm to 3pm. During the event, Jennifer Black, curator at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum, will give a short presentation sharing the backstories of the artworks on loan from the museum. The vernissage for the Arber Room’s August artists, Crystal Beshara and Shelley Freeman, will take place at the same time.
“Art on the Land” runs until August 24. The exhibition and its related events are made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Ouimet Farms Adventure, Tolhurst Law Office, Roy’s Accounting and Vankleek Hill Veterinary Services. Arbor Gallery is located at 103 High Street, Vankleek Hill.
Submitted
