Don Russell: Re-presentation

October 13 to December 18, 2005

Guelph artist Don Russell has stood on many shores, peering across their rolling surfaces and envisioning their depths.  He is drawn to the landscape of lakes, rivers, and oceans that have long engaged historical and contemporary Canadian artists.  He renders these bodies of water in oil paint, transcending the ubiquity of his subject, as well as the challenges of a tonal palette.  More than traditional landscape paintings, Russell’s works enter into a postmodern trajectory where meaning is created by the viewer. 

Russell is also engaged in a non-representational practice.  His abstract paintings are defined by their compositional grids and encaustic surfaces.  The stained canvases and translucent shelves of wax belie the history of the work.  By digging into and peeling back the layers of wax, Russell reveals the paintings’ structure and revisits the history of his own mark-making.  In contrast, the water works comprise gentle brush strokes applied with a deft hand and the tip of a fine brush.  Russell’s practice may seem divided by this dichotomy; however, upon closer inspection, his works are inextricably interrelated. 

The exhibition Don Russell: Re-presentation featured both his water works and abstractions including a painting that was commissioned for the Art Centre’s permanent collection.  The exhibition and brochure were supported by the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.  Exhibition coordinator Dawn Owen wrote the brochure essay.  Don Russell gave an Artist’s Talk on Tuesday, November 22 at noon.

Image:
Untitled, 2005
Purchased with funds raised by the Art Centre Volunteers with support from the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance Program, 2005
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Collection.