Gary Dewhurst: I Learned I Wasn't Seeing Clearly

Gary Dewhurst I learned i wasn’t seeing clearly

Vernon Public Art Gallery May 23 - July 13, 2019

ARTIST STATEMENT This series of work titled, Observations of Space & Reality 2018, is my interpretation of how we understand and experience the real or not so real world. These photographs are meant to challenge consciousness, to see the world differently from one moment to another and from different positions in space. They intend to communicate some uncertainty about reality and about the meaning of space that surrounds us. I feel that how we see and experience our surroundings influences our quality of life by determining our place in the world.

Imagine yourself drifting freely among the shapes you see in these photographs – above, below, within, around you, and between. What you see can be expressed only as imagined since these shapes have no certainty to support them. The way we perceive our position in space and the world can be fluid, and our desire to recognize an object or image that is real or believable may become lost in our desire to find truth in what we see. In that sense, reality no longer has significance. The truth that these images seemingly represent may detract us from a larger conversation where we perceive things differently through our imaginings of our past, present, hopes and dreams – our own individuality.

For the past year I have been attracted to reflections of sunlight upon a wall. I have noticed that sunlight has a hypnotic and mysterious enticement for me; I could not help but look at these fascinating images for long periods of time. These photographs have been created from the vulnerability of light to uncontrollable circumstance and natural processes of nature. They were photographed from a beam of sunlight that was reflected through old window glass onto a wall surface at various angles and at different times of the day. Contributing to this process was the movement of tree leaves and branches that were concurrently reflected through the glass as the sun’s position in the sky moved. The result was a continually metamorphosing wall image that eventually dissolved into itself as the sun set.

Artists have always recognized and responded to what they experience and feel. Moving freely in the space between an image and the unknown lets us select pieces of information that we can put together to create a picture of what we would believe is real. If some of the information is missing, what we expect to see leads us to disregard what is present. This work is an opportunity for the viewer to notice perceptions of space and seeing as it is understood from the experience of their own awareness from one moment to another. I suggest that this experience contributes to everyone’s quality of life and can draw attention to how we observe the world and our place in it as a means of looking beyond perceived truth and knowledge.

This work was inspired by John Berger, who said: “Seeing comes before words…It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.”

Gary Dewhurst

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Of Space & Reality 1, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 3

Of Space & Reality 2, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 4

Of Space & Reality 3, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 5

Of Space & Reality 4, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 6

Of Space & Reality 6, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 7

Of Space & Reality 7, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 8

Of Space & Reality 8, 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in 9

GARY DEWHURST

CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION

2017 2016

BFA Visual Arts / Minor: Art History & Visual Culture, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. – studio major (painting) Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. (Study Exchange Program, UBC).

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017

Conditions of Encounter, Gallery Vertigo, Vernon, BC.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019 2018

2017

2016

2015 2014

Welcome to the [Neighbour] hood [Members Exhibition], Lake Country Art Gallery, Lake Country, BC. Members Show, Gallery Vertigo, Vernon, BC. e-Racism [Juried Exhibition], Penticton Art Gallery, Penticton, BC. Sign of the Times: The Art of Protest [Juried Exhibition], Lake Country Art Gallery, Lake Country, BC. From the Vault [Juried Exhibition], Fina Gallery, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC. Habitable Zones, Gallery Vertigo, Members Wall, Vernon, BC. University of British Columbia Graduating Student Exhibition, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC. Do Not Erase, University of British Columbia Graduating Student Group Exhibition, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. Art on the Line, Visual Arts Union Fundraiser Juried Exhibition, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. Members Show, Gallery Vertigo, Vernon, BC. Art on the Line, Visual Arts Union Fundraiser Juried Exhibition, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. Ruth & Jim Howland Community Open, The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR, USA. This is our Art, Oregon State University Student Group Exhibition, Art Works, Corvallis, OR, USA. Ink Belly-Printmaking at University of British Columbia Okanagan, a Juried Group Exhibition of print-based art, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, BC. Country Harvest, Collaborative Members Show, Community Arts Centre, Vernon, BC. Beyond the Invisible, University of British Columbia Group Exhibition, Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Kelowna, BC.

GRANTS / HONOURS & AWARDS 2017 2016

2015 2014

UBCO/FCCS Dean’s Purchase Award, University of British Columbia, Permanent Art Collection, Kelowna, BC. Honor Roll Standing, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC. Honor Roll Standing, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. (Study Exchange Program, UBC).

Killam American Fund Student Mobility Award, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. (Study Exchange Program, UBC).

Honor Roll Standing, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Scholarship Award, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC. Honor Roll Standing, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Scholarship Award, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC.

WORKSHOPS ATTENDED 2017 2015

Applying for Residencies: A workshop by University of British Columbia Okanagan instructor Katherine Pickering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. Writing the Artist’s Statement: A workshop by UBCO Sessional Lecturer Katherine Pickering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC.

ARTIST RESIDENCIES 2017

2016

Mount Revelstoke National Park Artist in Residence Program, Parks Canada Agency, Revelstoke, BC. Student Participant, Artist in Residency Program, The University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC.

DONATIONS 2017

Headwater, Interior Health Community Health & Services Centre, Kelowna, BC.

MEMBER / VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES 2019

2018 2017

Member/Volunteer, Caetani Cultural Centre, Vernon, BC. Member, The Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon BC. Director, Gallery Vertigo North Okanagan Artist Association, Vernon, BC. Member/Volunteer, Gallery Vertigo North Okanagan Artist Association, Vernon, BC.

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This publication was produced in conjunction with the exhibition: Gary Dewhurst: I Learned I Wasn’t Seeing Clearly Vernon Public Art Gallery, May 23 - July 13, 2019 Production: Vernon Public Art Gallery Cover Image: Of Space & Reality 2 (detail), 2018, archival Ink-Jet print on paper, 21 x 17 in

copyright © 2019, Vernon Public Art Gallery All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Requests for permission to use these images should be addressed in writing to the Vernon Public Art Gallery, 3228 31st Avenue, Vernon BC, V1T 2H3, Canada. Telephone: 250.545.3173 - fax: 250.545.9096 - website: www.vernonpublicartgallery.com The Vernon Public Art Gallery is a registered not-for-profit society. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee/RDNO, the Province of BC’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, British Columbia Arts Council, the Government of Canada, corporate donors, sponsors, general donations and memberships. Charitable Organization # 108113358RR

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Vernon Public Art Gallery 3228 - 31st Avenue, Vernon BC, V1T 2H3 250.545.3173 vernonpublicartgallery.com