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Opening the latest gallery exhibit: Appleskins by Jolene Miner.
Opening night features a cash bar and complimentary nibbles, and a chance to chat with the artist about their work. All welcome. The exhibit will be on display in the gallery through March.
Artist Bio
Jolene Miner finds inspiration in the transformational and emotive power of colour and line. She uses vibrant colours and rich texture to create artwork with a juiciness the eye can delve into. She strives to unite the elements of drawing, painting and collage, and she loves to see how experimentation keeps her work evolving.
After earning her BFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000, Jolene focused on developing her art practice and becoming rooted in her own authentic expression. It wasn’t until she relocated to Fernie in 2019 and was embraced by its vibrant art community that she actively sought to bring her work into the public eye. She has since had work in multiple group shows, instructed workshops and completed a solo exhibition. Most recently, she became a member of the artist run space the Fernie Arts Co-op, and she is excited to keep building momentum.
Artist Statement
I was a hesitant painter. I wanted so deeply to create something authentic and real that I often got in my own way. I wanted it to be raw and true and full of richness, and those wants kept me stuck in the thinking phase. I needed a way to dissolve my creative barriers, and I embarked on a journey to find it.
I resolved to connect deeply to the intuitive part of myself and create a process that supported an unselfconscious spontaneity. This meant embracing my vulnerabilities and what I felt compelled to create without questioning it. I found myself wanting to explore a shape that presented as something aware and vaguely human but with all the layers stripped away; something that could express the emotion I wanted to explore but without the distractions of a traditional subject. The simplicity left me free to act without hesitation and to immerse myself in the layering of rich areas of colour, patterns, marks and line work so a story could naturally start to emerge.
Apple Skins is me removing my layers, peeling them away in a long, bouncy curl and embracing what I find. Candid. Sweet. A little bit weird. It’s the fruits of a spontaneous creative process and the exploring of emotion without pretext through colour, line, pattern and texture. Using acrylics, paper, inks, coloured pencils and mark making tools, I layer and build. I remove and expose. I create a space to be vulnerable, to feel without judgement and create without barriers. I invite you to see it and feel it for yourself.
