Two exhibitions are opening at the Kootenay Gallery of Art on the evening of March 4 which invite guests to cast their eyes and minds into the cosmos. The first exhibition in the East Gallery is Tethered to Infinity by Amy Sallenbach of St Albert, AB. The second features a Castlegar photographer. Space: A Photographic Journey with Stefanie Harron will show in the West Gallery.
Amy Sallenbach has created a body of work consisting of paintings, inspired by space, and rotating sculptures that she calls “orbitals”. The orbitals are reminiscent of Victorian-era models, with a steam punk aesthetic. The exhibition is an expression of Sallenbach’s childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
Amy Sallenbach says in her statement, “The serpent pursues its tail, the wheels of time revolve, the universe pirouettes, and it all comes around to the circle. Representing returning to our roots in life, they are symbolic of protection as well as connection. My explorations are multi-disciplinary; reflecting on our world through assemblage mobiles and observational works balanced by a gravitational pull.”
Castlegar residents may be familiar with Stefanie Harron’s photographs of local landscapes and animals. But Harron also turns her lens out into the night sky. The results are photos of constellations, comets and other astral phenomena. Harron’s photos have been published in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and Sky News magazine.
About her exhibition, Stefanie Harron says, “Space contains some favourite subjects and challenges for a photographer’s considerations. There are “short” exposures of several seconds with a camera mounted on a tripod to multiple hour exposures with camera on a motorized equatorial mount. If one decides to point one’s camera towards to night skies, the vastness of Space contains hundreds of thousands of subjects to photograph, from neighbouring galaxies, planetary nebula, emission nebula, comets and meteors.”
Everyone is welcome to join the two artists for the free opening event beginning 7 pm on March 4 at the Kootenay Gallery of Art. The exhibitions continue on until April 16.
The Kootenay Gallery is located at 120 Heritage Way, across from the airport, between the Doukhobor Discovery Centre and the West Kootenay office of the BCSPCA. The gallery is open 10 am – 5 pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Admission is by donation and is free for members.
Please check the website (http://www.kootenaygallery.com) or email (kootenaygallery@telus.net) for more information.
