The landscape genre has developed a strange condition where it's seen as something at best left to the Impressionists and, at worst, left to Bob Ross. It carries the stigma of being either out of date or in the realm of the amateur. However, the latest exhibition of paintings at Galerie de Bellefeuille presents stunning, innovative evidence to the contrary. The gallery has assembled very recent work from a range of contemporary Canadian artists as a meditation on the notions of context, representation and, of course, nature.
As group shows go, this one is a precious rarity; nearly every work is varied, interesting, and well-executed. Highlights of the consistently excellent show are Mike Smith's frenetic "Incursion," Martin Bureau's deft, intelligent "Fenêtre sur paysage," Paul Beliveau's "Les Vies Parallèles," and Marion Wagshal's starkly poetic "Climacteric." All in all, this is a thoroughly contemporary show. At 1367 Greene, until Aug. 19. :
The landscape genre has developed a strange condition where it's seen as something at best left to the Impressionists and, at worst, left to Bob Ross. It carries the stigma of being either out of date or in the realm of the amateur. However, the latest exhibition of paintings at Galerie de Bellefeuille presents stunning, innovative evidence to the contrary. The gallery has assembled very recent work from a range of contemporary Canadian artists as a meditation on the notions of context, representation and, of course, nature.