Amelia Douglas Gallery to open new art exhibit in April
By Cheryl Minns, Contributor
This April, the Amelia Douglas Gallery will feature Kelowna artist Madelyn Hamilton’s nature-inspired artwork in the Rhythms and Energy of Nature exhibit. The vibrant, textural art depicts nature in a stylized way, inviting viewers to explore each piece in detail.
The exhibit opens on April 21 with a reception at 4:30 p.m. in the gallery, which is located on the fourth floor of the Douglas College New Westminster campus. Hamilton will present a talk about her work on April 22 at 10 a.m. in the gallery.
Hamilton spoke with the Other Press regarding her work in the exhibit.
How would you describe your artwork?
You don’t stand back when you look at my work, you have to investigate it and you have to look in very closely because there’s a lot to be seen. I work on wood panels with high texture. The edges on my pieces are not always straight edges. I shape them myself and I cut them with a saw. They’re not radical; they’re softer, more organic edges, and they’re very popular. I also embed objects that I’ve found on the street, because I believe this surface of earth is about people and nature trying to live together. There is a lot of texture in my work that comes from various things that I’ve put on it. Sometimes there is pastel work over top of it. There could be a blend of acrylic and maybe oil and anything that I’ve glued onto that surface. It is semi-abstract work, so you can look at it and put your own interpretation on it.
Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?
My ideas have been expanded over many types of subjects, but for quite a long while now I’ve just been nature-based. The reason for that is I have a big love for the outdoors and I live on a wilderness ravine edge. I have bears on my back steps. There’s a creek a quarter-mile down. It’s densely forested and wild animals live there. So it’s definitely an influence on what I do.
For more information on Hamilton and her artwork, check out her website at MadelynHamilton.com
Rhythms and Energy of Nature will run until June 11 in the Amelia Douglas Gallery on the fourth floor of the Douglas College New Westminster campus.
