December 2011- January 2012

Through the holiday season, the Bellevue Gallery will exhibit a rotating group show titled “Articulating Prosperity”. This show will feature smaller works, perfect for gift giving, as well as new and unique pieces by our gallery artists. Prints by printmaker/painter Gillian Armitage, will be on display along with works by Chris Anderson, Wayne Eastcott, Michael Elkan, Erica Grimm-Vance and Michiko Suzuki.

Opening Reception Tuesday February 14, 2012, 6-8pm

The Bellevue Gallery is pleased and excited to exhibit the newest body of work by gallery artist, Galen Felde.  In this series titled, All: The Span of a Heart,  Galen elaborates on her re-occurring theme of exploring and reconstructing  memory .  Galen creates a personal document referencing thematic elements and visual vocabulary from the last 10 years of her creative process.

March 29-April 28, 2012

Opening Reception Thursday March 29, 2012, 6-8pm

From March 29 to April 28, 2012 the Bellevue Gallery will feature Systems, a new and intriguing series by gallery printmaker, Wayne Eastcott. In this series Wayne addresses the interconnectedness of our universe and how basic forms are dictated by the same basic influences of forces such as gravity, heat, light etc. These new works explore the relationships between nature and technology and how they interact and form the human condition and environment. The surfaces of these works are developed by various combinations of digital silkscreen and hand painted stenciled enamel as well as pigments of mica and metallic dusts applied to either paper or riveted aluminum. The images combine, city, machine and landscape forms as well as geometric shapes and lines. Wayne’s goal is to make works that will slowly, optimistically and profoundly resonate with the viewer and that create an interconnection with what they can see and more importantly, what they can’t see.

October 13- November 12, 2011

Opening Reception: Thursday October 13, 6-8pm

From October 13 to November 12, 2011, the Bellevue Gallery will feature Snow Asylum, the latest works by Marion Llewellyn.

For Marion Llewellyn, this new series of paintings is born out of her experience with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nineteenth century language associated the word asylum as a place of punishment and incarceration. Marion’s choice of the word for the title of this series refers to its original meaning: a place of refuge, a haven. Using a subtle, muted colour range Marion has imagined a snow landscape that creates a feeling of calm. Snow is seen as both camouflage and protection.

What roots Marion to her journey through the post traumatic stress experience is the prevailing ambiguity the icons and imagery provoke in this series. For example, does the image of an arrow convey impending attack or is it a symbol of the messenger of good news? It is the artist’s intention to demonstrate that when we witness or experience conflict or injustice on an scale, we are changed. To what degree, or how we process the conflict is unique for each individual. Marion challenges the viewer to explore their own set of symbols and how they influence our lives.

In this unique series of paintings Marion tells a story, underscoring the point that history not only bears witness but also retells our own stories.

Written by Mia Johnson

Marion Llewellyn’s new paintings are alarmingly simple in appearance. Quiet expanses of snow, oblique planes of steel blue, tranquil expanses of mountain, floating feathers – and among them, explosions, eruptions, ominous shadows and speeding arrows.

The Welsh artist grew up in Stony Stratford, England, a medieval town pre-dating the Romans. She is known for her explorations of the inner landscape in a manner that is simultaneously autobiographical and conceptual. Sixty years later, in Snow Asylum, images of her heritage are emerging: finely sketched medieval goose feather quills and delicately painted references to the ancient fortresses, gates, fences and portcullis still found in the Stony Stratford area.

Capturing critical psychological moments frame by frame, Llewellyn sets up visual metaphors for her own experience with post-traumatic stress disorder. Research suggests that as many as 10% of the Canadian population will be affected at one time in their life with PTSD, a clinical condition that can cause feelings of impending disaster, a foreboding sense of doom, and a constant feeling that danger is nearby.

Snow Asylum explores dichotomies. Snow gives a feeling of desolation and camouflage yet can also appear serene and comforting, like a blanket. Arrows may be weapons or signs of good news; mountains may beguile or threaten. Savage titles like From the Gulag of Bearing Witness, Shock and Awe and Beyond the Wire show the intensity of the feelings behind the work. The images are as much about a journey through psychological pain as they are narratives of history and place.

Marion Llewellyn was born and educated in the United Kingdom, where she graduated with honours from Manchester College of Art and Design. After working for several prestigious publishing houses and design firms in England, she immigrated to Canada in 1975 and became a master typographer and serigrapher. For almost 20 years she was a partner at Long and Llewellyn, Vancouver, an art and design consultancy with over 300 awards in Canada and USA. Her large format posters have been collected by the National Archives, Ottawa. The BC Government commissioned 12 paintings for Expo 86. She has been profiled in Novum Gerbrauchgraphik, Berlin, translated into 5 languages.

Marion Llewellyn’s artwork has been shown and collected in Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco & Portland.

For more information, please contact:
The Bellevue Gallery
604-922-2304  www.bellevuegallery.ca

September 8-October 4, 2011

This Fall the Bellevue Gallery will be showing Reminiscence, a group show featuring new works by Lynn and Leszek Wyczolkowski. Lynn’s new solo series salutes the striking form of the horse in compositions ranging from solid silhouettes to highly decorative pieces. Together, Lynn and Leszek also created a collaborative series which marries Leszek’s simple compositions with Lynn’s free flowing textures. The combination results in works that are a melding of realistic and abstract. Complimenting their art are pieces by Galen Felde, Emma Milley, Pari Azarm Motamedi and Nadine Stefan.

During the summer months Bellevue Gallery will feature Promise and Passion, a rotating group exhibition. Our featured artist will be Galen Felde.  Galen brings new and exciting works to the gallery, adding to her collection of fine paintings.