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In keeping with Loch Gallery's commitment to exhibit the finest historical works by important artists, Loch Gallery in Calgary would like to announce an exhibition and sale of portraits by Nicholas de Grandmaison from Nov. 8th to Nov. 17th.
Opening reception will be on Thursday, Nov. 8th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. All works are subject to presale. A Traveler, an Observer, a Witness: A Letter from Sonia de Grandmaison (the artist's daughter)
There
are those that can only speak of what they have seen but for some, what
they know can only be conveyed with paint, pencil or crayon.
For
Nicholas de Grandmaison, the face was the prime objective and his
handing of the medium of pastel was extraordinary. To observe him work
behind the easel was to understand how delicate his co-ordination of
hand and eye was, enabling him to create the image of the face with
deftness and surety. He built, over a simple anatomical drawing, the
muscles and flesh of the sitter's face by using a myriad of colour
strokes - creating light and shadow on the planes of the face. The
myriad of expressions were captured in the eyes which often become the
focal point of the painting. This was the artist's indefinable
signature.
Technique however, is not necessarily enough to
create a work that communicates with the viewer and begins a private
discourse between the subject and the observer. The technique has to be
coupled with the artist's ability to create an image that is also
powerful enough to engage the viewer and bring them closer to the
subject. I believe his ability to analyze not just the features and
expression of the sitter but to convey the complexity of the individual
and their uniqueness was his true talent. The image became so evocative
of the subject that nothing was lost in the construction of the
portrait itself. "People only appreciate the painting after
it is completed, finished and sitting in its frame. Very few see in
the painting the anguish, hardship, the self sacrifice, the discipline,
the enjoyment, the tears. This art, the painting, is representative of
man's discipline over himself. This is where Nicholas de Grandmaison
has succeeded. Above all he has disciplined himself to create and
capture these images."
O.N (Rick) Grandmaison from original audograph recording January 18, 1972 University of Lethbridge Archives
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Loch Gallery Locations |
Winnipeg
306 St. Mary's Road
Winnipeg MB, R2H 1J8
204-235-1033 phone
204-235-1036 fax
winnipeg@lochgallery.com
Summer Hours: Tues. to Fri. 9:00am-5:30pm
Closed Aug. 2 to Sept. 2
Winter Hours resume Sept. 3
Toronto
16 Hazelton Avenue
Toronto ON, M5R 2E2
416-964-9050 phone
416-964-2778 fax
toronto@lochgallery.com
Hours: Tues. to Sat. 10:00am-5:00pm
Calgary
1516 - 4th Street S.W.
Calgary, AB T2R 0Y4
403-209-8542 phone
403-209-2774 fax
calgary@lochgallery.com
Hours: Tues. to Sat. 10:00am-6:00pm
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