Soft panels contrast the bold geometry and slashes of colour that festoon other areas of the gallery. The panels are subtle and with the natural imagery complementing the view into the courtyard; calming.
The quieter of two exhibitions by homegrown artists on display now at Newzones Samantha Walrod’s Majestic Wanderer takes time and contemplation to fully appreciate. But just as the unexpected view of an ambling bear or majestic elk will fill a viewer with some small amount of grace and wonder so too will Walrod’s paintings strike an unexplained chord among her audience.
Although the animal motif is certainly far from unique in Majestic Wanderer Walrod’s first solo gallery exhibition since her 2013 graduation from the University of Alberta with a masters of fine arts the mixed-media approach brings texture and life and the imaginative placement of the animal in its surroundings brings a truthfulness and tension rarely seen in traditional pristine wildlife paintings.
“It’s important for me to acknowledge myself or people like me in regards to the animal” says Walrod. “I was thinking how do I see the wild animal? I don’t want to go out and run into a bear in the middle of nowhere. I don’t want to do that. When I see a wild animal I see it on a road. I see it in a national park while I’m driving by.”
Thus the subjects are portrayed as a fleeting glimpse partially obscured and melding with their surroundings as if viewed from speed. They are more the memory of an image than the reality of one.
“The animal on the road is an interesting subject first because it is a genuine space where I would witness an animal and secondly because it’s dangerous both for the animal and the driver” says Walrod explaining her fascination with the subject. “It’s a moment in time where you are so excited and so grateful. There is also tension there between witnessing and potentially harming this animal.”
Born and raised on the Alberta landscape and heavily influenced by her travels through Calgary Banff and Jasper it’s no wonder that a distinct Canadiana comes through in Walrod’s wildlife portraits. Yet these traditional values are complemented by an interest in pop culture Japanese manga and experimental techniques involving Photoshop and collage. Nowhere are these techniques and influences more noticeable than in the series of abstract paintings that are also a part of the exhibition. An approach that Walrod returned to only after completing her MFA the abstract paintings still incorporate natural imagery while playing much more with geometry imagination and colour.
“It’s very emotional it’s very intuitive it’s very fun” says Walrod. Where the animal paintings tend toward conservative colour arrangements Walrod’s abstract creations feature bold designs deep reds and for the first time in her artistic career lush greens.
Although some of the initial planning and experimentation is done on the computer Walrod finds the medium cold and counters it through her fascination with collage assisted by a small team of friends and family who are constantly on the lookout to feed her studio with interesting scraps of tissue paper. “It’s really important to me that you can see my hands the artist’s hands in the work” says Walrod. “So the viewer can see the marks that I’ve done.”
The abstract paintings dance with colour and life and animals gaze out from a world we share with them to be met and interpreted by the viewer. These elements when combined with her skill as a pure painter lend Walrod’s artwork a further depth setting it apart from the pristine idealized wildlife paintings that have come before.
Majestic Wanderer is on exhibition until Saturday October 18 at Newzones.
