“New” Historic painting by John Horton
Tea time in Pagoda Anchorage, Fouchow, China (circa 1860)
Greg Pyra
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Greg Pyra’s love of art began at the age of six when he won his first colouring contest. From then on, he continued to take all the training that was available to him in a variety of schools in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
He received a Bachelor of fine Arts in Visual Art from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. After teaching at the University of Waterloo and the University of Victoria he left for Cologne, Germany for two years which was then the centre of art in Europe.
He gained much insight into the art produced in Europe, both contemporary and historical, but the experience was troubling: Berlin was still divided and fears of a Soviet invasion were very real.
Pyra returned to Canada to receive a Bachelor of Education and has since taught in rural schools for almost twenty years, primarily in the area of visual art. Pyra’s exhibition record extends to a number of galleries across Canada as far east as St. John’s and as far west as Vancouver.
Although he is a figurative painter, he is fascinated by the evolution of abstraction in Canada and has come to have personal relationships with the surviving members of the Automatistes and their contemporaries.
The light of the prairies in the dry, barren land around Drumheller fostered a deep love of changing light and seasonal conditions. Travel amongst rural westerners is typical and Pyra frequently makes reference to highway travel in his paintings.
Pyra continues a lifelong search into the traditions of spiritual expression through the visual arts. For this reason, he continues to research how cultures and individual artists express a sense of spiritualism in their artistic expression.
Ann Nelson
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In Sweden (my grandparent’s home) there is a word, “smultronstallet”. Translated literally it is “the place of wild strawberries,” but it means much more than that: it is a secret place, discovered, treasured, shared with friends. (The wild strawberries are only implicit; they suggest themselves because of their rarity and beauty.)
Smultronstallet is any personal wonderland that has somehow singled itself out from ordinariness and become free from the bewilderment of the outside world. It is filled with meaning, with compelling humor and gentleness.
Some vital spirit has been uncovered; somehow here the way of the universe has been apprehended and given actuality. “Magic is afoot, God is alive.” Familiar forms take on new aspects, evoke new resonance. Everywhere there is a delightful purposelessness, undiscovered secrets.
An affectionate bond (Thoreau called it “an infinite and unaccountable friendliness”) grows between person and place. One embraces and is embraced. Life is affirmed. It is to be celebrated.
Ann Nelson
Curriculum Vitae
Selected Exhibitions
2010 UNLEASHED, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver BC
2010 Earth Laughs in Flowers, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver BC
2009 Re-Gifted, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver BC
2004 WAC Bennett Gallery, SFU
2003 Martin Batchelor Gallery, Victoria
2001 BC Festival Of Arts Show, Surrey
1997 Surrey Art Gallery
1996 Gateway Gallery, Richmond Art Centre
1996 Keith Alexander Gallery, Vancouver
1994 Atelier Gallery, Vancouver
1992 Atelier Gallery
1992 Richmond Art Gallery
1990 Atelier Gallery, 1989 Zhuhai Gallery, China
1989 Surrey Art Gallery
1987 Surrey Art Gallery
1986 Granville Island Graphics, Vancouver
1984 Surrey Art Gallery
1983 Emily Carr College of Art and Design
Ann’s works are included in many private and corporate collections in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia and in the collection of the Surrey Art Gallery.
Education
Ann was educated at Douglas College and the
Emily Carr College of Art and Design.
Amelia Alcock-White
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About the Artist
Born 1981 on Vancouver Island in Ladysmith, BC. Amelia Alcock-White studied at The University of Vancouver Island and Emily Carr University. She has received several awards for her work, including Scholarships and Art Faculty Awards. Alcock-White’s paintings have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions. Her work is represented in public and private collections in Canada, the United States and Hong Kong.
Amelia’s paintings express the human condition and its relation to nature, the transitory character of time and the contrasting endurance of elemental forces. Psychological themes, primal emotions and archetypal figures all play a role in her works. Amelia fuses sentiment, intimacy and warmth with the enigmatic, giving her images an emotional subtlety that draws the viewer into her private world.
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