Guy Vézina
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ON STANDING TALL
END OF THE TRAIL
TROUT RIVER POND
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FORWARD THINKER I (diptych) |
FORWARD THINKER 2 (diptych)
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LA LECTURE
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DAYDREAMER |
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ARTIST STATEMENT - THE LIFE DRAWING SERIES
Life drawing amongst artists refers to the practice of using a model to improve observation, understanding, and drawing or representational skills using the human figure. One could also understand the title of this series as lessons, observations, and/or experiences drawn from life.
This series of works on the human figure stems from the Thursday nights life drawing sessions held here in Fredericton , as well as from learning experiences through life drawing courses at the Craft College . Some of the pieces result directly from these sessions while others make use of their sketches and studies. A few are my own ideas involving the figure which required working with a model to adopt the pose I was seeking.
Now, imagine being naked in the deserts of the Middle East: how would we fare with the scorching midday sun; the cold frigid nights? Imagine walking our woods nude in the spring; our winters with bare skin. Our skin is very sensitive to the delicate and the harsh. When we are naked, we are exposed and highly vulnerable to our surroundings. Our very life is at the mercy of our wits, of others' help, of our surroundings, of “God willing”…
Clothing and accessories obviously have a functional value, but they also convey social rank, social stance, and, many times, are used as props to intimidate or inspire respect from others. Some put a lot of thought and work into their presentation, asserting that they are anything but ordinary (as if being ordinary is something shameful!). Remove the garments and we are faced with the fact that we are all just plain human, some better cared for than others. Without clothing, life becomes a very vulnerable place, where everything is then defined by the way we interact together, face to face.
The ancient story of Adam and Eve tells us what happens after they ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The English translation of the text reads: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” Sometimes, I wonder if we should put aside our emphasis on the sexual aspect of their nakedness and understand it differently.
I thus invite you to consider these works with a sense of nakedness as a metaphor. For me, the figures speak of the courage of authenticity, of willingly shedding our shields and putting our true selves at the mercy of our surroundings; of being fully and freely human, without shame.
Guy Vézina, 2009
TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT 2
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DAWN OF THE BLACK MAGIC WOMAN
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OH DEAR, MY DEAR, A DEER
Guy Vézina was born in Montréal in 1961. He trained as an occupational therapist in Kingston Ontario and moved to the Atlantic Provinces in 1986 to work as a therapist and explore the area. He and his spouse settled in Fredericton in 1995. A life-long art lover, Guy had always drawn and in 1984 he moved from pencil to pastels. In 1987/8, when he took the next step in his development into oil painting, this hobby began to assume greater proportions. Guy began exhibiting works in galleries while living in St-John's NL, and started taking part in group shows at Gallery 78 in 1997. In 2005 Guy turned to art professionally leaving occupational therapy behind. Since that time he has shared studio space at the Charlotte Street Art Centre and is enrolled at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design working toward a Certificate in Visual Arts Foundation. Guy works in oils, pastels and ink. He is interested in the human figure and in the perception of the natural world. His works can be considered symbolic studies from the viewpoint of a human in the world, or simply as portraits of the picturesque.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT I tend to think in images, that is probably why drawing and painting have always been a part of my life. In childhood I developed a fascination with the various plays of light and shadow and it still persists to this day. I love the colours it creates. Painting is partly one of my ways of learning, of journaling, of sharing, and my form of praise. I seek a balance between controlled and loose marks, thus allowing unconscious elements to spring forth in my paintings. I love works of art where the texture and application of the media is revealed while being integral to the imagery as a whole. For me, Art is the expression of the human soul, its language. Inspiration comes from many different directions. At times something seen strikes the desire to visually understand it and express what is felt as striking. Then there is an idea, a dream, a memory, or a visual flash, and I work it out through sketches and various photographic sources. Other times, a painting starts from a pattern I see in random marks of leftover paints from my palette. |
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