'Confidence'

Leanne Kiely

'Whatever Makes a Garden'

Shevy Levy

As we navigate the world we often attempt to make sense of the events around us & qualify our experiences. Abstract artists Leanne Kiely & Shevy Levy use art making as their means of ordering the chaos & expressing the human condition.

In her current body of work, Leanne Kiely explores the human experience of emotions by means of linework & her own visual language. Dancing between spontaneity & intentionality, Kiely has evolved a spectrum of symbols that, in themselves, represent a sense of the emotion she is trying to embody in her art. The linework in Kiely's pieces reflects the fluidity of emotions, meandering & interweaving to depict the ebb & flow of her inner world. Each stroke carries a purpose, capturing moments of introspection & unearthing profound truths that lie dormant within her. The infusion of bold colours in her work further amplifies the emotional impact. The hues she selects evoke visceral reactions, eliciting a shared emotional journey between the art & its audience. Through these intuitive explorations, Kiely is ordering the complexities of emotion into recognizable & relatable imagery. She invites the viewer to sit & absorb her work, to see if they can find commonality between her experiences & their own.

West Vancouver based painter Shevy Levy adores chaos because she loves to create order. For Levy it is important to not only see the instability & disorder of chaos but to see its real power as a fundamental, creative & evolutionary force. She works with materials & processes that allow her to maintain a high level of control (e.g pastels & pencils) combined with materials & processes that refuse to be controlled (e.g poured paints). This collision between order & chaos allows for a push & pull between Levy's own intentions & what the artwork wants to become. The tension between her own desire to control every aspect of the work - combined with the excitement that comes from the potential for unexpected things to happen - places her directly at the intersection of chaos & order within her own artistic process. Levy works in layered imagery, building complexity through the unexpected visual & conceptual connections that occur when visual information accumulates & erodes. The conversation that happens when organic forms meet geometric or when light meets shadow - all create new connections & opportunities for discovery.

Plan your visit to the Kay Meek Arts Centre. The exhibition spans the PARK Retirement Living Atrium & lobby to the McEwan Theatre lobby downstairs.