PAST EXHIBITS

Geo. A. Meeres, Nelson, BC

George A. Meeres was a professional photographer who moved to Nelson in 1924. Soon after he purchased the Campbell Art Gallery (which would later become Vogue Photographic), which he ran until 1936. Always detailed and meticulous in his work, he later adopted the motto, “a good photo or none”!  

Drawn from the Shawn Lamb Archives at Touchstones Nelson, this exhibit will feature reproductions of some of the cellulose nitrate photos he took during his time in Nelson. Startling in their depth and composition, the photos are a testament to his skill and vision as a photographer. They also offer a fascinating glimpse into our community at that moment in time, through the groups, businesses and landscapes he documented.

Out of the Woods: A History of Forestry in Nelson, BC

Forestry has a long history in our region, and has played an important and continually changing role in the makeup of our communities. From the sawmills that fed the demand for building materials starting in the late 1800s to the “Stop Clearcuts” signs and “Forestry Feeds My Family” bumper stickers many decades later, our relationship with the forest has been varied and increasingly diverse. From fence posts to fruit boxes, plywood plants to protest camps, this exhibit looks at the history of the forest industry in our region, and the many ways in which it has shaped our community.

Wayne King: Retrospective

The Wayne King Retrospective Exhibition reflects the King collection of the community of Nelson and area, and the love and enthusiasm that Kootenay denizens will always have for the unabashed, unofficial artist-laureate of Baker Street. Wayne King has departed but is not forgotten, and his vibrancy, dedication to beauty and proficiency are evident in the riot of colour which will overwhelm Touchstones Gallery. This retrospective exhibition is made possible by the dozens of friends and patrons who eagerly came forward to loan their works, and was curated to best illustrate the many styles and subject matter of the late, great Wayne King. It is particularly poignant that the exhibit has its duration during what can the bleakest months of the Kootenay Winter – to quote Wayne, “be happy you are alive – the rest we don’t know.”

Greetings from Nelson: Historic Postcards from the Collection

Before Instagram and Facebook, postcards were a popular way for travelers to send a quick note and image to friends or family. Postcards can be a window on the past, showing us people, places, and even cultural attitudes, as they were at that moment in time. This exhibition will feature many reproductions of postcards from the Nelson area, along with some of the brief and at times humorous messages from the back. Also included will be a “Collector’s Choice” section, featuring notable cards and personal favourites that three local postcard enthusiasts have chosen from their own collections.

Bridget Corkery: Retrospective

For much of her life, art making was part of Bridget Corkery’s everyday existence. After moving with her family to Nelson in the mid-1990s, she was an instructor in Mixed Media at the Kootenay School of the Arts, and later a founding member of the Nelson Fine Arts Centre (now the Oxygen Art Centre).  

This exhibition will present work spanning nearly two decades of her creative practice, from the early 90s through to her untimely passing in 2013 at the age of fifty two. Through various media including painting, printmaking, sculpture and woodworking, it will show an artist whose work continued to change and evolve to reflect not only her personal sensibility, but the people and events in her life.

Regeneration

Regeneration is an exhibit by Tsuneko Kokubo & Toru Fujibayashi, two senior artists with extensive, fascinating and variant backgrounds, who have been part of the Kootenay arts and culture fabric for many years.

Regeneration evokes a minimalist design and aesthetic – like a Japanese-style garden of contemplation – with its tightly bounded compositions of gravel and rocks and sparse vegetation. Regeneration, at its heart, is a way of seeing; a study of memory and the motivations and methods with which we are able to understand lives lived. As the title tells us, these works are about life and death, but they also give us a glimpse of the doing in between.

Out of the Ordinary

Out of the Ordinary examines everyday household objects and questions our relationship to them.  It reinterprets the common, the mundane – buttons, fasteners and kitchen utensils – into exaggerated objects of questionable usage.

Unfamiliar Selves

Who are we and what is the nature of identity? In Unfamiliar Selves, artists Jude Griebel and Tammy Salzl explore this question. Griebel’s fantastic sculptural beings contrast with the quieter, more introspective qualities of Salzl’s small scale watercolour paintings. Together, they offer a diverse and engaging perspective on the uncertain notion of identity

Youth Art 2016

Celebrating the emerging talent of young artists, this exhibit showcases selected student work from LV Rogers, Mount Sentinel, Reach and Self Design High.

The Poetry of Objects

A dress covered in spoons, a garment composed only of sleeves, an arc of lampshades….in the Poetry of Objects, artist Leah Weinstein invites you to celebrate unexpected connections and discover the extraordinary in the everyday.

Using new and re-purposed materials and forms, Weinstein creates assemblages that use the familiar in surprising ways, blurring the lines between the ordinary and the profound.