Hey! David here again. Thanks for subscribing, and welcome back to The Corner! Each month, we’ll bring you the latest updates on what’s happening at the gallery, along with highlights from the vibrant arts scene in Haliburton County and the big wide world. Whether it’s upcoming exhibitions, local events, or noteworthy trends in the artscape, we’ve got you cornered. I mean, covered.
There’s a Leonard Cohen quote that I’ve been looking for online for the last 10 minutes and I can’t find it. Honestly, I kind of love that I can’t. As much as everything might be at the tip of our fingers, or immediately accessible, there are more corners than we realize where our favourite things could be hiding. Exciting!
The quote, in essence, expresses how we tend to focus in on the ‘ugly particulars’ instead of zooming out on the ‘beautiful generalities’. I’m writing all of this just to say here’s a photo my mom took of me probably finding a discarded can, or a rogue piece of string in a bush, instead of the ocean. Whoops!
Why did I start writing this? I’m never sure how to start these newsletters, but here we are again, fumbling around together. What are you noticing today? Which is it, my friends? I hope it’s the ocean. If not, keep looking. And, while you’re at it, help me find that Cohen quote, too! It’s gotta be here somewhere…
Big love, all.
David Partridge Curator Corner Gallery, Haliburton
INSIDE THIS MONTH
unPROMPTed
Artist of the Month
Get Interested
Work of the Month
Go Ahead, Inspire Me
unPROMPTed
I give you a word, you give me a work.
New work, old work, doesn’t matter! Tie it into the word and get included in the next newsletter.
This month, your word is Convention. Lots to pull from here, I think. Impress me again, gang!
Check out the entries from last month below for the word Dusk. As always, great takes.
Jacqueline Morin Dusk – The Pause Between Day and Night
As an artist, I’m always drawn to moments that stir something inside me — and dusk is one of them. It’s that quiet time between day and night when the world slows down and colors soften into whispers. Shadows stretch across the water, not as darkness, but as gentle reminders of where the light once touched.
In that calm, there’s so much to feel — the last glow on the lily pads, the warmth that lingers in the cool air. Dusk reminds me to see beauty in change, and to paint not just what I see, but what I feel in that still, peaceful moment — a space where presence and departure meet, like light and shadow.
Deborah Reed Dusk
It’s that borderline blurry window when we decide whether lights do or don’t come on. It’s old age. It’s minor key. It’s thin veil. A sacred secret for cats and cauldrons. It’s umami. Nothing sharp. A crossroads, a corner, with no beginning or end. Senses tune in or out. Extra hungry? Extra tired? Or extra edgy, where self longs to send strings of itself to other dusk-lovers using only songs and pictures.
My mum had a famous religious friend who once told her that ‘evening’ was just that: an even-ing of all things stark.
I miss my mother most at dusk.
Kathy Longmore Dusk: that time of day when quiet relaxation feels perfect.
TB Byers Dusk
Here in ends the ride Three final cracks of Helios’ reins Till only afterglow and twilight Blush the underside of billowy forms
And where, what and upon whom Did the flames fall for such a briefness Of time?
Over landscapes and dreamscapes Over majesty and folly Till all slip slowly then suddenly into The shadowlands of Selene.
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: MARISSA SWEET
I’m not sure how many times I’ve said this, but boy, never has a last name matched a human being more perfectly than in Marissa’s case. She lights up this gallery with her paintings and her personality (when she’s around, which isn’t nearly often enough no matter the frequency). Her most recent sale was to a homeowner who had rented the art for staging and couldn’t let it go. We get it, homeowner.
What? Seems weird I’m posting about Prada? I don’t seem like the Prada type to you? Well, you’re right. Very astute observation. Maybe I seem a little more like the type that would find it hilarious that two artists built a store that doesn’t open in the middle of the desert and slapped the Prada logo on it? Yeah. That’s more like it. I mean, the door doesn’t even open. At all. It’s not locked, it just isn’t a door.
It was looted the first night it was built in 2005 (smashed window…not through the ‘door’ of course), and goodness, that feels fitting, too. All of this just helps add to the lore. It’s still standing today. It’s still being kept up (which wasn’t the initial plan). It’s too bad they can’t just sell a handbag and a pair of shoes because that would probably pay off the whole venture. Read more about Prada Marfa here.
Last month, giant clothespin. This month, giant spider. What do they have in common beyond their gargantuism? They’re both trying to hold things together. Same, humongous objects, same. So, how would one make a giant spider suddenly endearing? They’d tell you that the artist created the work to pay homage to her mother. Cradling her close while standing on undependable legs. Navigating the space and time together to the best of her ability, forever contending with what she was.
I loved the sculpture before all of that context, but the context really dials it up for me. We talk about these kinds of things at Coffee+ Canvas…maybe I’ll bring in a giant spider next week and pass it around. Read more about Louise Bourgeois’ Maman.
NOT ENTIRELY SURE? RENT IT.
Did you know you can rent artwork from us?
Why would you want to do that? Well, sometimes you’re not sure if you have the right space for it. Or, you’re not sure the work will feel right where you’re picturing it. Or, you’re having discerning friends up and you’re looking to impress. Or, you’re staging the place. I could go on and on. There are an infinite number of reasons to rent art, and we’re the place for it. For only 5% of the cost of the work per week, you can make sure it’s just right. We can help.
Respond to this email and let’s look at options!
WORK OF THE MONTH:
Blooming Vase by Annika Hoefs
Stunning and topical. I entirely love this series in concept and in execution. Her words are much clearer than mine, so here they are:
Despite everything that has happened, and continues to happen, we grow; stronger, wiser, more resilient than before. Drawing from the perseverance of plant life, various stages of growth are explored through botanical-inspired forms. Embodying the inherent need for all living things to survive and thrive, the florae overcome seemingly harsh or inhospitable environmental obstacles in order to bloom.
As we currently grapple with the consequences of climate change, this series seeks to remind us to find positivity and motivation in celebrating nature’s small acts of resilience.
