A new exhibit has opened at Minden’s Agnes Jamieson Gallery.
Shifting Lens is a selection of 29 works of art by 15 artists from the Ontario Society of Artists’ eastern hub. Shannon Kelly, Minden’s Manager of Cultural Services, says the exhibit charts the evolution of art from the late 1800s to the present day.
“The theme of the exhibit was sort of to trace the shift from the traditional media and subject matter that the original members worked on, what people are more familiar with [such as] The Group of Seven, and how that sort of has shifted to new visions and new mediums and techniques that artists are using today,” says Kelly.
According to Kelly, the society started in the late 1800s, and now has about 300 members across the province, with 40 in the eastern hub which stretches from Ottawa to Haliburton County. With that, she says, comes a wide range of styles and presentations.
“We definitely have the traditional oil and acrylics represented, but there’s also photography, scratchboard, some print making, soapstone and stone sculpture, collage and décollage,” says Kelly. “And also there’s encaustic, where the pigments are mixed with hot wax to really create a different texture and visual. So it’s a real interesting mix of all those techniques.”
The gallery is holding a public grand opening for the exhibit on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., with refreshments and the opportunity to meet some of the artists. Shifting Lens lasts until Nov. 25.