Exhibits

Exhibit May 7 to 31, 2024

In the art exhibit at Old Town Hall in Newmarket, titled AmbiEssence: The Triplicate Flame, three remarkable artists—Sam McLeish, Ashley Wetmore-Caissie, and Lora Brownson—bring their unique visions to life, exploring profound themes of time, nature, and the human body through diverse artistic mediums.

AmbiEssence: The Triplicate Flame invites art lovers to immerse themselves in a transformative experience where the invisible and the immaterial are made tangible through art. McLeish, Wetmore-Caissie, and Brownson collectively illuminate the intricate connections that define our existence, challenging modern perceptions of separation and highlighting the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.

About the Artists:

Sam McLeish, a Canadian artist and fifth-year BFA student at York University, delves into the immaterial elements of human existence through a variety of mediums, including sculpture, print, drawing, painting, watercolour, collage, and embroidery. McLeish's work is characterized by spiritual symbolism and automatic drawing, a surrealist technique, which allows her to create art that invites both self-discovery and viewer interpretation. Her work challenges the notion of pre-existing identity versus experiential shaping, offering a reflective space where the audience can explore the depths of their own consciousness.

Ashley Wetmore-Caissie, a multimedia artist from Barrie, Ontario, with advanced education in Fine Arts from Georgian College and a BFA from York University, utilizes an experimental, process-based approach to her art. Her creations, inspired by personal history, family origins, and monumental life events, explore themes of mortality and human presence. Wetmore-Caissie’s use of sculpture, print, and painting transforms traditional viewing spaces into immersive, humanistic experiences. Her installations, such as the bronze and plexiglass sculpture "Match Head," highlight the cyclical nature of death and rebirth, inviting viewers to navigate through the gallery space in a deeply personal way.

Lora Brownson, a multimedia artist who studied Fine Arts at York University and is currently enrolled in the Registered Massage Therapy program at Algonquin College, merges her artistic practice with her understanding of the human body. Brownson's work, which includes photography, digital collage, printmaking, painting, and drawing, explores the connections between anatomy, nature, and spirituality. Her "Tarot Series," featuring digital photo collages that combine elements of nature, human anatomy, and witchcraft, reveals the invisible connections between life and death, past and present. Brownson’s art bridges the gap between the seen and unseen, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things.

Exhibit June 18 to 27, 2024 
Life is like a musical sentence, gradual, harmonious, dissonant, and colourful, containing joy and sadness, peace, love, and hate. These paintings are part of this life, in colour, and in the art, they express some of these states. so, they are a warmly Colour Maqams.

This exhibition evokes part of the artist's memories in his homeland, during his time in Canada. The difference between the existence of fear, censorship, and deprivation of freedom of expression, even in colours. Today in Canada, he has complete freedom to think, draw, and colour. He evokes images of countries destroyed by war and presents us with the story of Cain and Abel, to say: Enough violence and hatred, let's move towards beauty, towards peace and freedom, it is the only way for a better humanity.

Mwafaq Katt

Mwafaq Katt, a prominent Syrian Canadian artist, is recognized for his remarkable contributions to political cartooning, animation filmmaking, and painting. Born in Damascus, Katt made history by creating the first Syrian animated short film in 1990, marking the beginning of his illustrious career into filmmaking. Throughout his journey, his works have garnered numerous awards at esteemed international film festivals, including the Carthage and Cairo Film Festivals. His contributions to political satire, animation filmmaking, and painting have earned him widespread acclaim and recognition, solidifying his status as a trailblazer as an artist, educator, filmmaker in the broader artistic community.

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