March 2016 KATHY KISSIK and DAVID FREDRIK

March 2016 The Elaine Fleck Gallery presents work by renowned American artist Kathy Kissik and introduces the work of David Fredrik.


KATHY KISSIK
Kathy Kissik is a Miami-based artist known for her fusion of contemporary and historical photography with found objects. Kissik earned her BFA degrees from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA and Tufts University where she was a fifth year Travelling Scholar recipient, then enrolled in a post-graduate program at the University of New South Wales.

Photography Based Mixed Media Collage by Kathy Kissik

Trained primarily in photography and welding, Kathy Kissik’s mixed media collages are often architectural. She photographs her subjects – with a traditional medium format camera and occasionally digitally – from slightly skewed perspectives, recording the shifting of light with the passage of time. Then Kissik builds out sculptural collages with contrasting textures and found objects for a multifaceted effect. Metals have an unspoken vocabulary in her practice that subtly transmit information to the viewer.

"My vision has always been to evoke how a place feels." -Kathy Kissik

DAVID FREDRIK

David Fredrik's mixed-media works blend chaos and harmony, all while expressing different “stories from the streets”.

David’s extensive world travels inspire his focus on global subcultures. His paintings aim to reflect the beautifully imperfect surroundings of urban city life. A focus on dense layers and coarse deconstruction form his signature pieces. His background in Advertising, Graphic Design, and Typography heavily influence his compositional approach.

In 2014, David was named an "Artist to Invest in Now" by Saatchi Art. 

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.

Fleck Fine Art fall-winter 2015

http://joom.ag/JMRp

The Elaine Fleck Gallery presents "NEW WORKS" featuring KATHY KISSIK and KAREN COLANGELO for the month of July.

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KATHY KISSIK

The New York City series

“The NYC artwork never sleeps. When the lights go down the paintings change. I have used light reflective tape to highlight composition and lead the viewer’s eyes on a tour throughout each artwork. The result is a completely different painting depending upon the light in which it is viewed, calling to mind ideas about perspective and what meaning it gives to content. Tall skyscrapers, helicopter views, graffiti, and broken surfaces combine much like the city itself.  These pieces are a study of the dynamic world we live in; pulsating, changing, and polarizing.” 

- K.K.

KATHY KISSIK

Star series

“Stars at night have provided a source for contemplation and inspiration for millennia. It is our innate nature to seek a relationship to these distant lights that reflect down upon us to challenge our collective perceptions, experiences and beliefs and thus further strengthen our ties to our original source. The 13 stars I have created fold into pyramids and can be manipulated to bend into a multitude of positions. They can adapt to the space they are presented in highlighting that it is the limitless imagination that gives meaning and content to our existence.” – K.K.

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KAREN COLANGELO

The inspiration for my paintings comes from the vibrant colours of nature. I represent these colours in layers. To apply the paint, I rarely use a paintbrush; I'm attracted to objects that I use in every day life. I use large sheets of plexiglass to apply the layers of paint to the canvas and as a result of this un-conventional method; the paint when dragged across the canvas evokes a spectrum of colour and movement. It is through this process of layering that these vibrant and whimsical worlds of abstraction are created. - K.C.

"INTERCONNECTED" June 2015 at the Elaine Fleck Gallery

Featuring the work of Lloyd Arbour, Paulette Marie Sauvé and Julien Poublanc

LLOYD ARBOUR
Interconnected is a collection of new works based around isolated architectural landscapes. The artwork features collaged imagery of highway overpasses from various urban locations. The open road is a representation of the path we choose to take as individuals — the future, past and the present. Focused on moving forward these works evoke emotion and progress in every interconnected line.

These complex landscapes were created digitally by combining countless layers of collaged photographs. Inspired by brutalist architecture the imagery is made up of objects and textures found in urban environments including glass, metal beams, concrete, wood and building materials. Combining natural and man made objects together allows the viewer to experience an added sense of depth within the scenes. The goal is to create the feeling of serenity within fast paced urban environments.

PAULETTE MARIE SAUVE
These new works have evolved from the series called “River Cities”. The architectural shapes have tiny colourful windows, and reflections adorn the buildings, the sky, the streets and in some cases, the lake.

In these mixed media paintings, I have created a textured landscape by imbedding woven metal and fabric in a polymer paste. One finds silhouettes of buildings that are given more depth with collages of digital prints on cotton fabric.

On the representations of steel and concrete structures, the prism-like sketches provide a playful atmosphere.

JULIEN POUBLANC
The inspiration for my abstract paintings comes from my desire to experiment with new processes. Leaving room for improvisation, these are the processes that I want to reveal on the canvas. Using strong colours and textures, energetic and gestural lines, I attempt to evoke a spontaneous and playful feeling in the viewer

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The Elaine Fleck Gallery scotiabank Contact Photo Festival Show featuring Mark Brodkin and Jamie Day Fleck

Mark Brodkin shoots iconic locations from around the world in the way most photographers can only dream of! His boundless energy, thorough preparation, steadfastness and technical expertise is second to none. Elaine Fleck has culled through Mark's bountiful collections of photographs to curate "Reunification". Get reconnected with these natural wonders through Mark Brodkin's superb, elevating photographs.

Jamie Day Fleck's newest series of photographs titled "Earth and Sky", explores the landscapes of Ireland where historical sites blend with nature, creating a dialogue between the contemporary and the eternal. The images are at once of the present, due to the cloud formations and play of light, while being rooted in the past with ruins and timeless natural features. Using bold compositions and strong leading lines, these historic locations are refashioned to a statement of nowness showing that beauty and nature are always relevant. The images are in Black and White to further accentuate the compositional lines, symmetry and repetition creating graphic representations and reinterpretations of Irish vistas and locales.

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.