Earthiness and Ethereality in Conversation: An Artist Talk

In The Middle of The World closes December 18, 2021 after a three month run. (Oct 2 - Dec 18)

The exhibition was very well received with many 'in real life' visitors.  Judy Martin, Penny Berens and Miranda Bouchard wish to thank the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario Canada.

The show was beautifully installed in one of the most unique gallery spaces in Canada.  

There will be an online zoom event at 2 pm December 18.  The link to pre-register is here.

Miranda Bouchard joined up with Judy Martin and Penny Berens in 2016 with the idea of creating an exhibition of new work by these two senior artists that would dig into their personal belief systems and express the deep connection each feels with their individual rural environments.  Judy is from Northern Ontario and Penny is from Nova Scotia.  

The artists wanted to be free to seek and explore new directions yet have a support system that kept them on track.  Miranda ,with her natural depth of understanding combined with her experience in art management and curatorial work was able to provide that kind of support.  

Miranda will lead the conversation during this zoom event, just as she has led the many conversations the three have had through online meetings and emails and face to face studio visits over the last five years.  The two artists approach their work from different slants.  

Judy's work is more meditative than descriptive.

She gets brave by looking at other fine artists' work and lives.

She believes that art made from cloth has power.

Cloth is familiar and our bodies understand it at a deep level.  

Time and timelessness combine in her work, and the marks she makes are evidence of lived time.

Her work is about the huge topic of being human.  She talks about the inner world a lot. 

Penny loves nature.  

Penny walks every day in nature with her dogs and observes it closely.

She works in solitude and allows her work to change as it goes along, but the basis remains her experience of living in a rural environment.

Her work is meditative and brave.  "No matter how you think about it" she says "you're completely exposing yourself in your work."

Over the years, Miranda has become quite familiar with the two artists and sees differences and similarities in their work.  She brought organization to the conversations and often used categories to clarify things.  

inner / outer /in between  

touch changes / heart changes / time changes

change  / open / share 

heart / head / hands

Miranda will lead the conversation on Saturday.  She has promised to ask some stimulating questions.  

Here are two examples: 

Q:  What keeps you curious?

Q:  Where does vulnerability show up in this exhibition?

These kinds of questions open up ideas and it will be interesting to hear what we say.  It will not be scripted.    The gallery has promised to record the conversation and share it with people who have registered, so that if you can not make the exact 2 pm date in this busy pre-Christmas time, I encourage you to still register and watch it later.    Here is the link again. 

https://mvtm.ca/mvt2/event-page/middle-of-the-world/

There will also be a live Q and A with those who attend.

All photos in this post are by Paul Latour except for the 4th and 5th ones (Judy Martin)