An exhibition of new works by Jennifer Murphy and Gayle Dempsey opens on June 16 and runs to July 22 at the Gibson Centre for Community, Arts and Culture, 63 Tupper Street West, Alliston, Ontario.
The artists note that their work is “based on the landscape as a way to convey meaning, beauty, feeling, and healing…. We also engage the landscape as metaphor, finding meaning in light, shape, color, and sound. In this way the landscape becomes our starting point to paint beyond its physical appearance to express the meaning we find there.… Our intention is to share our appreciation for the beauty that we see, and we hope to enhance the viewer’s appreciation of the earth, deepening his or her respect for it.”
Jennifer Murphy has successfully shown work in Brazil, Canada, and the United States; recently she placed first in the Lloyd Gibson Juried Exhibition at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, Sarnia, Ontario. She acknowledges the well-known Canadian musician, artist, poet, and author Kenneth G. Mills as the source of her inspiration. His statement, “An artist is usually a handyman in the service of Inspiration” is the foundation of her practice. Currently she is considering the landscape as a thin veil draped over the Beauty that shines through it.
Jennifer has studied with Greg Hindle and at the Toronto School of Art and the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery; she is certified as a Professional Artist-Educator by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Gayle Dempsey is an award-winning artist who feels a deep connection to the spirit of the land, the lakes, the natural beauty, and the peace that is Muskoka.
Gayle’s work has been influenced by Canadian artists Pat Fairhead, a student of Franklin Carmichael; Kenneth G. Mills; Greg Hindle; Ojibway artist Gord Miller; international artists Otto Donald Rogers and Bryan Atyo; and by lived experience. Her work has been shown in Canada and the United States and has won a number of prestigious awards.
Gayle Dempsey owns Muskoka Place Gallery, and with her husband, Gary Froude, founded Muskoka Chautauqua. They both hold high the ideal of arts and cultural centers, as did Dr. Mills.
