AMY SHACKLETON "JUST IMAGINE" DECEMBER 2016 SOLO EXHIBITION

"Just Imagine" series 2016 

Just imagine a construction zone where nature is built in instead of torn out. This new series of work is inspired by buildings under construction in Toronto and New York. The structures are juxtaposed with waterfalls and mountain ranges from Iceland, California and Colorado.

My paintings are intended to portray urban life at its best, demonstrating ways that we can work with nature rather than against it. I envision post-industrial worlds where sustainable relationships exist between man and the environment. By exploring the continually evolving approaches to preserving our environment and living more efficiently, I suggest how we can implement innovative solutions for city planning and development with minimal impact on surrounding habitats.  

This synthesis of ideas is manifested in how I paint. As in real life construction, the architectural aspects of my work are calculated, measured and controlled in order to assure precise locations of each line. As in nature, the environmental elements are more spontaneous, unpredictable and liquid. Using squeeze bottles filled with liquid paint I build each piece from the ground up with hundreds of lines and/or dots. After years of experimenting with gravity and rotating my canvas, I am able to manipulate where and how each drip will fall. - Amy Shackleton

The Elaine Fleck Gallery has moved to 1351 Queen Street West. Our last location of eight years, 888 Queen Street West, was a wonderful venue and location but frankly did not have enough space for us to grow any further in. Our new location consists of 1500 square feet of usable gallery, office and inventory space with a wonderful court yard in the back. We have moved literally 5 minutes away or 1.7 km west.

I want to warmly thank Bill Riopka, Mark Liam Smith, Inger whist and Juliette Vermeersch for their great contribution to the move and renovations, they are true friends to the gallery and the Elaine Fleck Gallery is enriched because of them.

After a month of moving, renovating and organizing we are now hanging our first show in our new gallery space featuring brand new work by Elaine Fleck Gallery represented artists Karen Colangelo and Lloyd Arbour.

I encourage everyone to come out to the gallery to view and purchase this exceptional artwork. As emerging artists quickly gaining a strong following the price point of their work is still a bargain.



KAREN COLANGELO

My latest work is a Contradiction. I begin each piece with the primary colours. I allow these three contenders in the match to create a stage for mixing and matching. A dance that invites in secondary colours and eventually pushes out the final players…the tertiary colours.

I am going for the impact of colour as I lay complementary colours next to each other. As Monet once quoted in 1888, "colour makes its impact from contrasts rather than from its inherent qualities....the primary colours seem more brilliant when they are in contrast with their complementary colours” and eventually when placed next to each other, complements making each other appear brighter. This is the excitement I am trying to create for the viewer of my performance.

My painting technique uses the opposite of brushes. I putty up sheets of plexi-glass with an acrylic paint and drag the paint along the canvas surface creating my movement. As one colour dries I drag its opposite complementary colour across it. Working in this style I am creating layers of brilliant colours that grab your attention.

My goal is to create peace from Contradiction. Warm tones against cool tones. Dark colours against vibrant ones. Dry paint looking wet. All that contradiction turns into a beautiful visual harmony that is pleasing to the eye. I want the viewer to experience an inner sense of order and balance.






Lloyd Arbour

Arbour’s most recent work experiments with architecture, trains, maps, blueprints, photography and collage. Mediums play off, challenge, or complement one another. He creates unique urban designs that incorporate the new with the old to create imagery that is impactful. His recent work is a face lift to ordinary day to day elements of an urban city. His work allows the viewer to explore another perspective to the subdued or ordinary views of city life.

He uses advanced programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and various techniques to construct his complex pieces of art.

April 2015 at the Elaine Fleck Gallery "LIGHT SHOW" by Amy Shackleton - Gravity Painter - Sustainable Future Visionary!

SHOW STATEMENT:

This new series of work is inspired by colour and brightness—the visual sensation produced by light. Light Show could refer to a natural occurrence (like a sunset or colourful sky) or an artificial display (like festive or urban lights). Everyday, we rely on a balance of both—and as solar technologies continue to emerge the division is blurred. Sunlight is a key ingredient in sustainable building projects. Drawing inspiration from the visible light spectrum (all the colours of the rainbow) I explore the beauty and energy of both natural and artificial light in California, New York and Toronto.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

With my work I aim to stimulate dialogue and propose new possibilities for co-existence between man and the environment. My paintings are intended to portray urban life at its best, demonstrating ways that we can work with nature rather than against it. I explore continually evolving approaches to preserving our environment, living more efficiently and using fewer natural resources. My art suggests how we can implement innovative solutions for city planning and development with minimal impact on surrounding habitats. I developed a unique technique to complement my themes. I don’t use paintbrushes—I drip paint with squeeze bottles to build layers of organic lines (by spraying water and rapidly spinning each canvas) and straight lines (using a level). As in real life construction, the architectural aspects of my work are calculated, measured and controlled in order to assure precise locations of each line. As in nature, the environmental elements are more spontaneous, unpredictable and liquid.

Amy Shackleton "REFLECTIONS OF THE FUTURE" January and February 2014

Elaine Fleck Gallery Represented artist Amy Shackleton has been SELLING OUT SHOWS at the Elaine Fleck Gallery for several years now and her trajectory for the New Year is straight up.

2014 starts out for Amy with a rare honour for an artist, a two month SOLO SHOW at the Elaine Fleck Gallery.

Exhibition Title: "REFLECTIONS OF THE FUTURE".

Artist Statement: “My new series of work is inspired by a recent trip along the coast of California. Throughout my travels I found myself gazing into water, admiring the movements, colours and reflections of the world around me. Reflections can be clear or distorted—transforming our view of the present. In this show I use reflections in pools, lakes and skyscrapers to manipulate my surroundings. I distort the present to reflect my vision of a sustainable future—a future where cities welcome the natural world.”Amy Shackleton

January and February 2014, showing at the Elaine Fleck Gallery, Wednesday to Sunday noon to 5:00pm and by appointment.

Thursday January 9^th, 2014, 6 - 9 pm. Opening Night!

Join us at the Elaine Fleck Gallery for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Elaine Fleck will introduce Amy Shackleton and Amy will present a twenty-minute talk on her newest work.

Tuesday January 14, 2014

Elaine Fleck and Amy Shackleton are conducting an Art Talk at SOHO HOUSE Toronto. Soho House has established itself in London, New York, Toronto, Berlin, LA & Miami as the preeminent private members club for those in the creative industries.

Thursday – Sunday January 23-26, 2014

Amy Shackleton is painting “LIVE” at the Interior Design Show! Home Hardware has commissioned the painting which will be placed in a DRAW! A very lucky winner at the Interior Design Show will take home the painting.

February 2014

Fashion Magazine is featuring a two-page spread on Amy Shackleton including photos and an interview discussing her very ambitious “Canadian LEED-scape project”; a 53-foot-long, 13 panel painting that explores the natural environment and the recent development of sustainable buildings across Canada.

The Elaine Fleck Gallery 

Presents

C A P I T A L

Michael Conway

“In this century, it will be the city—not the state—that becomes the nexus of economic and political power. Already, the world’s most important cities generate their own wealth and shape national politics as much as the reverse.” Parag Khanna, When Cities Rule the World.

"Capital” is a large scale (36”x48”) photomontage series that re-imagines / re-constructs various global cities. By dissecting these cities through the physical cutting of photographs, the work explores emergent aspects of the nation in a time of increasing cultural hybridity and planetary interdependence. Michael Conway. 2013.

Michael Conway B.Arch, Dip-Arch Tech, OAA

Opening Thursday September 12, 2013 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Show runs the month of September.

How to Succeed in the Art World Seminar

Join us Sunday May 19th from 2-5pm for our Seminar "How to Succeed in the Art World." With over 20 years experience as a Curator and Art Dealer, Elaine Fleck has designed this seminar that explains the pit-falls in the Art World, how to navigate around them and promote your work successfully.  Suitable for artist, photographer and art dealers, the seminar explains what to expect when dealing with buyers and galleries, how to promote your work and made it in the Art World.

With only a few seats left, confirm your attendance today!