Much like the rest of the Town of Halton Hills, the Helson Gallery is donning its party hat to celebrate the municipality’s 50th anniversary.
To mark the occasion, the local venue is running a Strictly Local exhibit, which is exactly what it sounds like - a showcase of Halton Hills’ artistic talent. An assemblage of 48 artists are beautifying the walls of the former church.
“We feel like we have to support our local artists. I think it’s really important to give them the spotlight,” said Kara Bruce, the Helson Gallery's curator.
Visitors will get to see works like River Polyptych by Valerie May, Kirk Gabel’s Gates at Scotsdale and Greener Pastures by Lisa Knie. Each of those and other pieces depict the scenery and vibe of the municipality.
Gabel says he tried to show Scotsdale Farm less abstractly and “closer to reality.” He had his knee replaced eight months ago, which has pushed him to go on more hikes to stay active. As the farm’s trails are a bit easier for Gabel to walk, it holds special meaning for him.
“It’s very photogenic. You’ve got the creek that runs through there,” he said, noting Scotsdale is also a favourite spot for many other people and is used as a film shoot location.
May says she has a “personal connection to water,” and therefore chose to depict bodies of water in her work. She recalls memories of going with her father to the Credit River in Norval to watch crazy boat races.
“There was a race to see who can get down the river the fastest. That began my connection to the water,” May recalled.
The piece is a polyptych, meaning several smaller pictures form parts of a whole. They are made on quite a sturdy medium, giving them the appearance of stone. May is fine with attendees, respectfully, touching the piece - likely the only exception in the gallery.
Knie has two art pieces in Strictly Local. One is the aforementioned Greener Pastures and the other is titled Colours on Main. Both are abstract pieces, but Colours on Main perhaps has an interactive element as it captures the colours, not the form, of the downtown.
Each of the colours in the creation are those of buildings and features of downtown Georgetown. Perhaps art lovers can play the guessing game and see if they can name what's being shown.
“It was a little different concept for me. I knew I was up against people that could actually represent downtown and the views around Halton Hills, so I decided I would capture some of the colours,” Knie said.
Greener Pastures depicts the verdant fields of Halton Hills. Knie says the piece attempts to “deconstruct the landscape. It is representative of our diminishing green space, our pastures and acreage around town.”
Local art fans can see these works and others until July 21. The gallery will be hosting a reception on June 27 at 7 p.m.
The Helson Gallery is located at 9 Church St., Georgetown and is open Wednesday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit HaltonHills.ca.
