Four-week show from Brian Francis highlights ALMAG’s summer exhibits
The Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery presents “Indigenous Blue.” The exhibit will run from July 12 to Aug. 9.
When Brian Francis sits down with his easel, it is never with a pre-set theme or vision. Instead, he says “it[s] raw images” that vividly pop into his head when he “enter[s] into a ceremony prior to painting.”
When asked, Francis described his paintings as “semi-abstract and very spiritual in tone.”
His latest exhibition, Indigenous Blue, premiering on July 12 at the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery, explores this spirituality in addition to the rich symbolism that the colour blue enjoys in both Indigenous and Western cultures.
The spark for Indigenous Blue came to Francis last September when he would enter his usual dark period. Francis channelled this into his art and used it as a wider examination of how the usage and symbolism of the colour differed in each culture.
When asked how the symbolism of the colour differed between the two cultures, Francis replied that “in a way they’re extremes because one is in a dark place and the other is quite spiritual and representing light and … ceremony.”
The exhibition will feature many paintings by Francis alongside various cultural artifacts from his personal collection.
Francis noted that the cultural objects were included in the collection “because to [him] it’s a gateway from the past to now and (to) where we’re going.”
Francis will give an artist talk on the exhibit at the beginning of the opening, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.
Indigenous Blue is part of a broader initiative by the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery called Pathways.
According to Elspeth Hagan, Vice Chair of the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery, Pathways aims to “create new pathways of communication and understanding between Indigenous and settler creative communities, which we hope to achieve through a variety of projects and interactions.”
