Artists Donna Gallant and Joan Xauen Wieser were present at the Crowsnest Pass Public Art Gallery on Saturday, October 30, for the opening of their exhibition, “Fragmentation”, a collection of oil and water based monoprints with a wide range of influences and styles.
During the two hour event, Wieser and Gallant spoke with gallery goers about the techniques and influences behind their works, and what inspires them.
Wieser, who hails from Calgary, works with oil based paints, applying the paint to a zinc plate, then etching her designs into the paint with a palette knife, placing paper down on the design, and finally running it through an etching press.
In addition to oil paints, Wieser uses lace and experimental mixed mediums in her pieces, many of which are later revisited and developed into collages.
“Much of my work is inspired by fall colours,” said Wieser during the event.
Lethbridge resident Gallant, who put in the duo’s submission to the gallery, works with water based paint, hand pressing her designs using a Plexiglas plate.
“Each time you do a pull (apply and remove a sheet from the design), the image becomes more ghost-like,” said Gallant, who frequently uses this technique, known as “maculature”.
The pair met at a gathering of the International Monoprinters Guild in the 1980s and quickly became friends, having both been involved in artistic endeavours for a long time.
Wieser said she received her first set of water colours from her father, who bought the set for her to help pass the time while she was bed ridden with chicken pox and the mumps.
