Curatorial opening statement and artist exhibtion statement
Curator, Barb Olsen's opening remarks
Good evening everyone, and welcome to the Malaspina Exhibition Centre. This month we are featuring a selection of prints, watercolour, acrylic, and oil paintings by Alfred Muma.
I first encountered Alfred's work in 1994. He was living and working on the Queen Charlotte Islands and I was working in the old Prince George Art Gallery. The gallery had an art rental program in which Alfred had this watercolour landscape. It was mysterious, with an arching sky over a calm sea. You felt like you were remembering a place or had glimpsed it somewhere. Having never been to the Charlotte's I felt that there was something in this water image that gave me a hint of the landscape, its moods, and its temperament.
This evening Alfred is bringing us images of our landscape. Places around Powell River . . . and to speak to that I give you Alfred Muma.
Powell River Vignettes
An exhibition by
Alfred Muma
Vignette, from the Canadian Oxford Dictionary/vin'jet/ n . 1a . a brief descriptive account, anecdote, essay, or character sketch.
Powell River Vignettes is a brief snapshot of the City of Powell River as seen over time and from various locations. A couple of the places no longer exist in their form as originally sketched. The Starving Artist is one such place. It was a bustling meeting place to enjoy food and art. The building is still an eating place but of a different kind of cuisine. As in life the same holds true for any town that change is a constant given for survival. If one looks closely at the works in this exhibition one will see other subtle changes that have taken place over the last 9 years.
An interesting question to ponder…is our beautiful town situated in such a paradise changing to meet the future or is it just changing?
One last observation, the mill is featured predominantly in this exhibition as it does in real life. The mill is what made Powell River and has shaped it, given Powell River its culture and secured its existence up until now. Will Powell River Vignettes become a historical footnote in some obscure history of BC or will there always be the occasion for vignettes of Powell River ?
Some pictures of opening night
