exhibition

Temiskaming Art Gallery hosts Cross Cut

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After Minden and Lindsay the Cross Cut exhibition is moving up north to the Temiskaming Art Gallery. Special to the area is the visual interpretation of The Cobalt Song:

You may talk about your cities and all the towns that you know,
With trolley cars and pavements hard and theatres where you go.
You can have your little auto and carriages so fine,
But it’s hob-nail boots and a flannel shirt in Cobalt town for mine.

The exhibition opens on Sunday, September 24 and runs until November 3, 2023. You’ll find the gallery at 325 Farr Drive, Haileybury, Ontario

Kawartha Art Gallery in Lindsay hosts Cross Cut exhibition

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Cross Cut is a series of linocuts reflecting on traditional songs from Ontario with a contemporary perspective. Rob Niezen has selected 23 songs and placed the original narrative in a contemporary context by ‘crosscutting’. Crosscutting is a technique borrowed from film editing used to illustrate a narrative action that happens in several places at the same time, or in one place at different times. The exhibition aims to connect our recent history and today’s society, and the issues we face as citizens of Ontario and Canada, and invites viewers to reflect on what’s happening with them and around them. Has life improved, or is progress only on a materialistic level? Folk songs make global issues accessible to everyone, as they are created and sung by real people telling real human stories.
Rob Niezen gratefully acknowledges the support from the Ontario Arts Council.

Opening reception on Saturday July 15, 2023, from 2:00 to 4:00pm at Kawartha Art Gallery, with the artist talk at 2:30 pm.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
190 Kent Street West, Second Floor, Lindsay ON K9V 2Y6

Cross Cut exhibition at Agnes Jamieson Gallery in Minden

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The second Cross Cut exhibition at Agnes Jamieson Gallery runs from May 4 to July 1, 2023.

Started, in 2019 and continued into 2022, Cross Cut is a series of twenty four linocuts that are a contemporary response to traditional songs (circa 1800-1940) collected by CBC’s Edith Fowke in rural Ontario during the 1950s and ’60s. The underlying themes of these songs are of a timeless nature, as they deal with human existence: love, deception, politics, war, immigration, work, leisure, murder, death, etc. The linocuts use both the traditional method of carving the material, and more recent and experimental ways of mark making, including laser engraving and etching. The work invites viewers to reflect on society in the past and today; superficially things have changed, but the human conditions now are not that different from 150 years ago.

Check it out at 176 Bobcaygeon Rd, Minden, ON.

 

Cross Cut: traditional Ontario folk songs revisited at Lang Pioneer Village Museum

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Lang Pioneer Village Museum hosts the launch of a song book, double CD and exhibition under the title ‘Cross Cut’ on Friday, May 13, 2022 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building at 146 Lang Road, Keene. During the opening reception artist Rob Niezen will introduce the Cross Cut project and exhibition, Dr. Allan Kirby will give some background on traditional music in rural Ontario, and Backwoodsmen will perform some songs.

The exhibition runs from May 24 until June 4, 2022. The museum also offers exhibition pre-viewing with artist Rob Niezen present on Saturday April 30 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. As part of the exhibit, Lang Pioneer Village Museum will be hosting “Artist on Site” days with Rob Niezen from 12 noon to 3:30 pm on April 30, May 28 and June 4. Rob will be at Lang Pioneer Village Museum to discuss the Cross Cut exhibit and display his linocuts.

CBC’s Edith Fowke collected folk songs in rural Ontario during the 1950s—many in Peterborough County. Traditional music came to Ontario with European settlers. Lyrics and tunes were adapted to local experiences and the personal preferences of the players, and these offer a reflection of society at different moments in history. The underlying themes are of a timeless nature, as they deal with human existence: love, deception, politics, war, immigration, work, leisure, murder, death, etc. Musician and music historian Dr. Allan Kirby, visual artist Rob Niezen and traditional music group Backwoodsmen selected and revisited just shy of two dozen folk songs from rural Ontario. They created contemporary arrangements and adapted lyrics, resulting in a double CD and an illustrated songbook. The song book presents the songs with lyrics and chord progressions, an introduction by historian and musician Dr. Allan Kirby, and Rob Niezen’s linocuts.

Rob Niezen created a series of linocuts reflecting on the narrative of the songs with a contemporary perspective by applying the concept of ‘crosscutting’. Crosscutting is a technique borrowed from film editing used to illustrate a narrative action that happens in several places at the same time, or in one place at different times. In creating his artwork Rob Niezen uses both the traditional method of lino carving, and contemporary and experimental ways of mark making, including laser engraving, etching and collage; going against the grain, or ‘cross cutting, as it were.

Rob Niezen gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Art Council for its support of the exhibition.

Rob Niezen again participating in the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour

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Sandy MacFarlane and Rob welcome you to their studios during the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour on September 25 and 26, from 10am to 5pm, for a view of what they have been up to the last few years.

Last year we could only do this by appointment, so it is a relief to be able to open up. To make everyone feel safe and at ease, we will follow COVID-protocols as laid out by the Peterborough Public Health Unit and the Government of Ontario.
• Masks are required while visiting the studio
• Physical distancing measures will be in place
• Hand sanitizer will be available
• Maximum capacity for the total of our studio spaces is 12 persons
• Visitors are required to complete COVID-19 screening questions and contract tracing prior to entering the studio

As always the event is curated and organized to perfection by the Art Gallery of Peterborough, and you can find all you need to know about the studio tour, including an interactive touring map and a printable map, as well as artist links and bios on the gallery’s website.

Fire and Ice receives Honorary Mention

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At the Art Gallery of Bancroft’s 37th Annual Juried Exhibition, jurors Laura Culic and Marc Gagnon, awarded Fire and Ice an honorary mention in the Still Life category. This 24 x 24″ oil painting shows the last light shining through a glass of white wine and two water glasses with lots of ice; through the window we see a downtown Tucson, AZ street with a yellow umbrella and woman on her phone: a moment of reflection. The painting was created as part of Rob Niezen’s Celebration series. The exhibition of close to a hundred artworks at the Art Gallery of Bancroft runs through December to the end of January 2020.

Shows in Fall 2019

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This fall is turning out to a busy and exciting time, with a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Bancroft titled Nocturnal Reflections, opening November 1st, and participation in a number of other shows.

Also opening November 1 is Squared, a 50/50 fundraiser for the Art School of Peterborough. Six of my Celebration pieces, ranging from 6×6” to 24×24” are on the walls looking for new homes and supporting the art education programmes for this not for profit organization.

November 7 will see the opening of PRINT 2019 at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto, for which one of my Heads & Tales linocut-mixed media prints was accepted. This is a promising exhibition for fans of printmaking.

Five of my oil paintings are part of A Holiday Art Market at the Colborne Street Gallery in Fenelon Falls. This show runs from Thursday, November 7, 2019 until Sunday, January 5, 2020, with a reception on Thursday, November 21.

On November 23 and 24 I’ll be participating in the Jamaican Self-Help Artisan Show and Sale in Peterbrough with linocuts and my Heads & Tales works, as well as doing demonstrations. Funds raised during this show will support education and community development programmes in Jamaica, and in the inner-city of Kingston in particular.

And lastly, my most recent Nocturnes can be found at Studio22 Open Gallery in Kingston and at Meta4 in Peterborough.

Rob Niezen opens studio during 2019 Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour

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Sandy MacFarlane and Rob Niezen invite you to their studios in Douro, just east of Peterborough. Get the brochure issued by the Art Gallery of Peterborough, that you can pick up at the gallery and at many other locations, and  map-out your itinerary.
We hope for some fine fall days for a drive in the country, and are looking forward to seeing you Saturday September 21st or Sunday the 22nd.

Rob Niezen Artist