Teresa Posyniak: Drifters & Blooms

Reception Sat, Sept. 16 from 1-4 p.m., Artist talk at 2pm.

Inspired by the beauty and complexity of nature, Teresa Posyniak’s richly textured paintings pay homage to an unsung hero of our environment—plankton. A collective term, plankton refers to a range of single to multi-celled organisms that live in water, but are either too weak or small to swim against a current, and therefore exist in a drifting state. In spite of this fact, these hardworking “drifters & blooms” form the building blocks for both marine and freshwater ecosystems, and produce over half of the earth’s oxygen.
For over ten years, Posyniak has been drawing inspiration from these gorgeous and diverse organisms, using her skills as an artist to move them out from under the microscope and into the spotlight. Her latest large-scale paintings have a palpable energy which captures the magnetism of these fascinating micro-organisms and heightens our connection to them. As our eyes trace the sinuous lines and shapes across each canvas, we are lured in, feeling the push and pull of the work just as the plankton feels the current. 
Teresa Posyniak is a Calgary artist with a career spanning nearly 40 years. Her work explores themes of vulnerability and resiliency in contemporary society.