The Sunshine Coast Arts Council presents artist Patrick Hughes, who returns to the Coast with plywood assemblages in an exhibition entitled Pieces.
Concurrently, Grand Forks artist Nora Curiston exhibits There is Something in a Face - acrylic paintings. These exhibits are at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre from May 18 to June 12. Hughes, now from Celista, B.C., was a resident of the Sunshine Coast for 10 years from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. Long time residents will remember his 1994 exhibition at the Arts Centre, Hughes New and Used. That same year the Sunshine Coast Arts Council presented Hughes with the Gillian Lowndes Memorial Award. His current work is constructed with plywood. The found material is cut into random shapes, then assembled with glue and screws. The screws are left visible to allow the viewer to experience the process of construction. The finished relief constructions are then treated as a three-dimensional painting with the application of oil paints. Curiston displays a series of larger-than-life portraits painted in acrylics. These portraits reflect a change in her work; it is the first series she has created. She found it truly satisfying, each piece prompting her to eagerly start the next. The primary focus of all her artwork is to depict the human spirit, whether she is painting, sculpting or drawing. Curiston has continued over the last decade to expand her training with classes at Emily Carr. She is active in the Grand Forks art scene and has exhibited in various venues in B.C., including Artropolis and the B.C. Festival of the Arts.
Meet the artists at the opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre.
