Opening Night for the Madonnas!

"Isis Dreams of Horus" mixed media. H. Marsh

It was a busy evening on the Kingston arts scene last night with at least 3 openings, ours at Sandra Whitton Gallery, another across the street at Aroma and another at Gallery Raymond. The snapping cold weather didn't seem deter anyone as the gallery was packed for our Black Madonnas opening. Tim out did himself with amazing "black" foods like marmite, olives, dates, blackberries etc. I contributed licorice, cookies with black sprinkles. Later dark cakes and what looked like black rice crispy squares arrived. No black drinks tho there was plenty of the red stuff! Despite all this, the art managed to hold its own. Some patrons even claimed they saw a Madonna moving.... The carefully selected music was drowned out pretty quickly by enthusiastic chatter. Here's a very little sample of the event, click on the arrow:




And a few photos:

Mounting the Black Madonna Show

On the left is one of 5 pieces I have in the Black Madonnas show. It is about 2 feet by 10 inches, mixed media. I call it "Full of Grace" a phrase I remember from an oft repeated prayer.

I spent most of yesterday helping Tim Soper (curator, he's in the photo on the right) and Sandra Whitton (gallery owner) hang the Black Madonna show. It was a good experience, Sandra has lots of expertise and seeing her in action was great. I'll be mounting a group show in July and have come to appreciate that displaying the art is an art in itself. Each piece needs to be considered in terms of lighting, neighbouring pieces, wall surface, height, and the impact of distant and close viewing. We finished up by 5pm with most of the work effectively mounted and ready for the opening on Saturday. Tim's vision is coming to fruition. Sandra has kindly let her gallery be "hijacked" for a unique show that features artists of all ages and all levels of experience.