Laurie tells a story with her art .. .and she loves to have the public engage with the piece and bring personal meaning.
(PRWEB) September 23, 2013
The "Scars" Exhibition is September 24th to November 2nd, 2013 at the Agnes Jamieson Gallery and features the latest works of Laurie O'Reilly.
Laurie O'Reilly describes herself as a visual story teller. She chooses to work predominantly in the figurative genre because she feels that it has the ability to speak to time and place in a unique manner.
She works to balance realities – sweet with harsh, finding this mix most poignant during the teen and young adult years when young people feel simultaneously invincible and vulnerable, and during childhood when children are totally dependent upon adult and cultural forces.
Using the power of the medium as well as the subject matter, she endeavours to create paintings that are open enough, both thematically and technically, to invite the viewer into the process.
“I aim for pieces that are ‘emotionally three-dimensional’, giving the viewer the opportunity to build a unique and personal third dimension to the work.
Laurie’s work for the ‘Scars’ series was partially funded by an Ontario Arts Council grant and has taken over three years to complete. While examining what she wanted to say in these pieces, she realized that she needed to look more deeply at the layers of life that sometimes bring the ‘Princesses, Darlings, Baby Boys,’ in our lives to unforeseen and sometimes undesired places.
In order to do this she used the computer to collage earlier paintings, personal photographs and sometimes, in the name of social commentary, ‘public Google images’. These collages were printed on canvas, laminated to wood, and then painted over top with en caustic (wax) images. The layering hopefully opens up the potential for a deeper, more complex experience for the viewer.
Laurie states, “I have been to many art exhibits where I hear people marvelling at the artist’s technical skills, hard work, and complex process. I am usually in agreement; however, it is not what I want for my art. I want the viewing experience to be about the engagement of the audience with the work, and the personal stories that a particular piece might bring to heart and mind.”
The ‘Scars’ exhibition at the Agnes Jamieson this October also includes an installation piece entitled ‘Daddy (sic) Dolls’. The piece speaks to the notion that the public can somehow compensate children both physically and emotionally for a parent ‘gone to war’ using dolls and taped messages.
About the Artist: “Laurie travelled extensively as a young adult, seeing the world, and participating in other cultures. Her Science Degree in Biology from the University of Guelph gave her hands-on experience in form, function, physiology, and ecology. Her minor in Fine Art helped her develop some of her technical skills.
Her work has won awards, been added to international collections, and been described as “important, intelligent, and sensual.”
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