Stephen Hutchings Sea Symphony , 2012
Oil and charcoal on canvas 8 ’ x 8 ’
Stephen Hutchings
Stephen Hutchings offers viewers pathways lined with metaphors . Their trajectories offer no clear ending yet the skies are warm and benevolent . He begins by drawing in charcoal on very broad canvases , then layering them with multiple oil-based glazes . Based in Ottawa , Hutchings has studied literature and biology in addition to art , adding layers of knowledge to the delicate tints . Areas that are dark are not black , but astir with nuance and motion — the tangle of vegetation or patterned bark that leads the eye into the canopy . There is the abraded quality of old photographs , but these paintings are present and enveloping . Is the light fading or intensifying ? Mist drifts in , distant points of land seem inscrutably dark : should we turn around ? Decisions await .
Jennifer Kostuik Gallery 1070 Homer St . 604-737-3969 kostuikgallery . com
Min Ma Westcoast Wind
Acrylic on Canvas 36 ” x 30 ”
Min Ma
Min Ma ’ s paintings record his process : surfaces gouged away , added , subtracted . His compositions contrast the smooth foil of water or snow with gestural branches , the calligraphy of interlaced growth . Trained in his native China , he brings a gentle eloquence to the formal aspects of painting . His travels throughout North America and current home in Vancouver inform his diverse landscapes . Hard-edged roads cut beneath tattered clouds . Light pools behind a moody foreground . Surprise glimpses of blue , yellow , rust appear in the impenetrable greens of the West Coast . The upholstery of moss on stone , shadings on a raft of driftwood , stones that shine maroon in the deepest shadow — all speak to his painterly observation .
RendezVous Art Gallery 323 Howe St . 604-687-7466 rendezvousartgallery . com
PHOTO : COURTESY THE GALLERY PHOTO : COURTESY THE GALLERY
ESSENTIAL VANCOUVER 2016 / 17 61