43 Horses/Enduring Spirits: equine art only in the main gallery at cre8ery.
Chinese New Year just celebrated the incoming Year of the Rooster. But at cre8ery it looks more like the Year of the Horse.
43 Horses/Enduring Spirits, newly opened at cre8ery and running till Feb. 21, offers 43 works of art.
The 43 works pay homage to the spirit of the horse and 43 horses that perished in a barn fire. In January 2016, fire destroyed Classy Lane Stables near Guelph, Ontario.
On canvas: Thunder Boy’s Horse, by Linus Woods and Horse of Ages by Sonja Strausz
Organizer Leanne Baldwin put out the call and artists responded with some 80 pieces, so it became a “juried” show.The 80 were winnowed down to 43 works ranging from acrylic on canvas to steel sculpture. Most of the artists are split between Winnipeg and rural Manitoba, a mix of established and emerging artists.
One familiar was Linus Woods, no stranger to dream-like visions of horses and a fixture at the former Wah-Sa Gallery at the Forks. Woods continues to exhibit with the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s new outlet at the Forks.
In metal: Bucking Horse and Galloping Horse by Jake Goertzen
One of three Jake Goertzen metal sculptures serves as the centre point of the exhibition.
Goertzen, from Horndean, Manitoba, has produced some larger than life work over the years. The largest is a 12-foot stainless steel eagle atop a 78-foot steel “pine” tree. It was commissioned by Long Plain First Nation and installed in 2007 at the site of a former Indian Residential School in Portage La Prairie.
In clay and acrylic: Frolic by Mary Lowe
Kenton, Manitoba’s Mary Lowe once filled the entire Fleet Gallery with four-legged creatures in clay and on canvas. She is represented here by three sculptures in clay and acrylic.
In alcohol ink on panel: Brawn & Beauty by Leslie Franklin
Manitoba Society of Artists (MSA) member Leslie Franklin has been working in mainly watercolour and ink. She has been exhibiting in galleries and shows for over 30 years. Her work has appeared at Pulse Gallery and Art Expo among others.
Center: Diamond Doug Keith’s Ground Tied
Diamond Doug Keith describes himself as a western painter and cowboy poet. He is a Winnipegger and reports he will paint on any surface from cow skulls to canvas.
Opening night brought out a crowd. Visitors were encouraged to make donations to Southwinds Horse Rescue. Southwinds, located in Oakville, Manitoba, is a registered non-profit charity dedicated to rescuing horses from neglect, abuse or abandonment.
Laser Punk Horse by Jake Goertzen
Cre8ery is open Tuesday through Saturday. The horses ride off into the sunset on February 21st.
