The Art Gallery of Sudbury invites you to the opening reception of an exhibition of new paintings, “Dennis Castellan: finding the figure, finding the space,” starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 24.
Castellan, a Sudbury-based artist, has been making art for more than 40 years. This will be his fifth solo exhibition.
Each of the works in finding the figure, finding the space is comprised of acrylic paint and charcoal on canvas. All works in the exhibition have been completed over the past year.
In building up each canvas, Castellan says that he relies on the power and suggestiveness of the human figure. The works represented in finding the figure, finding the space are also a visual exploration of the spatial field.
They are “an inquisitive searching of line and spatial planes evolving together.”
For the past three years, the Art Gallery of Sudbury has prioritized the organization and presentation of exhibitions by regional artists in the main galleries, including solo exhibitions by GREENBOOTS, Darlene Naponse, Mariana Lafrance, Heather Topp, Douglas Bornn and Linda Finn.
“We are excited to present this exhibition of new large-scale paintings by Dennis Castellan,” says gallery director Demetra Christakos, in a press release.
“We look forward to a simple but dramatic installation. The Overlay series, richly painted canvases in reds and golds, will be installed opposite a series of stark compositions called Black & White.”
Castellan has been actively participating in Sudbury’s art scene since the mid-1980s. He participated in Cambrian College’s Drawing Circle (1986-1992), exhibited in Laurentian University Museum and Art Centre’s “The Attic” (1987) and collaborated with three other regional artists (Ray Laporte, Luc Robert, Doug Donley) to present Dream Pipe de reves (1992) in a vacant commercial space in downtown Sudbury.
Castellan studied Science at the University of Waterloo (1973) and later pursued a degree in Architecture from 1977-1979.
“Our ability to develop and present contemporary major exhibitions by regional artists over the past three years has been greatly supported by a significant annual funding contribution that the City of Greater Sudbury committed to the Gallery in fiscal 2016,” Christakos said.
“Our programs also benefit from important artistic funding from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.”
Castellan will also present an artist talk on his past and current work June 14 from 7 o 9 p.m. at the gallery.
The exhibition continues at the Art Gallery of Sudbury until July 1.
The Art Gallery of Sudbury is located at 251 John St.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit www.artsudbury.org or phone 705-675-4871.
