Marnie Faunt
and guest Karen Kaiser
present Finding Home
at Gage Gallery Arts Collective
January 25 to February 13, 2022.
and guest Karen Kaiser
present Finding Home
at Gage Gallery Arts Collective
January 25 to February 13, 2022.
Detail: Felicity in a Tree by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas.
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place we can go, as we are, and not be questioned.” Maya Angelou
The ache for home often brings about a search for home. Marnie Faunt and Karen Kaiser have enlarged their search into a theme: Finding Home. The two colleagues at Gage Gallery noticed how the theme resonated in both their collections. Kaiser’s village scenes and rustic rural landscapes emanate warmth and protection. Faunt’s portraits of people give an emotional snapshot of inner landscapes, hopes and memories. In the paintings of each artist, we encounter people and places we might like to encounter on our own journey 'finding home'.
The ache for home often brings about a search for home. Marnie Faunt and Karen Kaiser have enlarged their search into a theme: Finding Home. The two colleagues at Gage Gallery noticed how the theme resonated in both their collections. Kaiser’s village scenes and rustic rural landscapes emanate warmth and protection. Faunt’s portraits of people give an emotional snapshot of inner landscapes, hopes and memories. In the paintings of each artist, we encounter people and places we might like to encounter on our own journey 'finding home'.
Marnie Faunt’s paintings tell stories about her own experiences with “the great shape shifter we call home”.
Faunt was greatly influenced by her time in Yellowknife working for an art outlet called Northern Images. She was impressed by the talented Inuit artists who combined story-telling and art. “Their art has an integrity that links the outer and inner landscape,” she says. Faunt’s own paintings emerge from an interior space that is reflective and still, she explains. “They are meant to capture a moment, a realization, or a feeling". Faunt is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and has exhibited widely in local and juried shows. Her painting Black Forest Cake (now sold) appeared on the cover of Patricia Young’s 2012 poetry book Night-Eater. She works from home at Crowgate Studio.
Faunt was greatly influenced by her time in Yellowknife working for an art outlet called Northern Images. She was impressed by the talented Inuit artists who combined story-telling and art. “Their art has an integrity that links the outer and inner landscape,” she says. Faunt’s own paintings emerge from an interior space that is reflective and still, she explains. “They are meant to capture a moment, a realization, or a feeling". Faunt is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and has exhibited widely in local and juried shows. Her painting Black Forest Cake (now sold) appeared on the cover of Patricia Young’s 2012 poetry book Night-Eater. She works from home at Crowgate Studio.
Daughter-in-Law by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 30x24 in.
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The Gardener’s Wife by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 20x16 in.
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Faunt begins each painting by pulling a black felt pen across a white sheet of paper. She allows the lines to freely develop. Once the basic shapes are drawn, her compositional eye fine-tunes the image within the two-dimensional format. Who or what is emerging gradually becomes clear. In Daughter-in-Law, Faunt drew the mother’s face first, then added the three children. Bright colours and bold patterning are applied with acrylic paint, a process she describes as meditative. Faunt presents the smiling mother as warm-hearted, using red polka dots and purple-patterned sleeves on her top. The tea pot hat and black and white linoleum suggest domesticity. A touch of wild is added by the bird shape with tiger stripes forming a benevolent backdrop to the central figures.
The Gardener’s Wife shows a couple in a closely cropped composition, wearing jaunty hats and surrounded by bright colours and flowers. The gardener, with his expressive eyes, dapper moustache and heart symbol on his tunic, steals the emotional show. The wife gazes out from the background.
Hazel by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 36x30 in.
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Angelique and Mr Cat by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 30x24 in.
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Charlotte by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 20x20 in.
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Care of Birds by Marnie Faunt, acrylic on canvas, 30x30 in.
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Below are the paintings of Karen Kaiser.
Detail: Where Time and Tide Awaits, by Karen Kaiser oil on canvas, 12x16 in, 2021.
Circle of Cottages (All is Quiet) oil on canvas, 12x12 in, 2021.
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House atop the Hill, 24x24, 2021
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Karen Kaiser describes home as both a place and a feeling. Kaiser has lived in Eastern, Atlantic and Western Canada, exploring each area with her artist-husband Marshall Hugh Kaiser. In the Finding Home series, she combines east and west coast elements in her compositions, working from memory and imagination. Kaiser takes the viewer on a cross-Canada tour, painting small communities in a variety of settings. A bright blue trawler steams past a fishing village in the Lunenburg area. There are snow-covered hillsides in the Eastern Townships and West Coast towns enfolded within mountainous terrain. Kaiser’s sun-dappled palette and keen sense of perspective brings these scenes to life. For Kaiser, “where you come from” is a set of intertwining experiences, fuelled by her personal yearning to wander.
We Return, Year after Year, oil on canvas, 16x20 in, 2021
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Contentment of Home, Honeymoon Bay, oil on canvas, 20x24 in, 2021
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Kaiser and her husband lived in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, known for hiking trails, rolling farmland and quaint towns.
In August, it’s a tradition that people go home to visit family and friends. The small villages overflow with tourists enjoying the area. In We Return, Year After Year the bus and wandering visitors tell the tale of happy reunions.
In August, it’s a tradition that people go home to visit family and friends. The small villages overflow with tourists enjoying the area. In We Return, Year After Year the bus and wandering visitors tell the tale of happy reunions.
Honeymoon Bay is a small village located on the southern shore of Cowichan Lake, a scenic resort area. In this painting, a cluster of rustic homes is surrounded by green hills and swaying pine trees. A lone figure pats a dog on the back stoop. The quiet village radiates balance and serenity. The interesting composition features overlapping shapes and forms that recede into bright areas of foliage, moving the eye from ground to sky. An harmonious palette includes shades of ochre, vermillion, olive green and rusty orange.
Where Time and Tide Await, oil on canvas, 12x16 in, 2021.
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The Blanketmaker’s Cottage, oil on canvas, 12x12 in, 2021.
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The paintings of these two talented artists are different in style, format and technique. Yet they are united by the theme of Finding Home. The paintings show different ways to find the care we need to thrive and grow. Care of community and care of self go hand in hand. When there is a balance between the human and natural worlds, home is a place of stability and equilibrium.
Contact info:
Marnie Faunt: m.onthelane@gmail.com. Karen Kaiser: karenlynnkaiser@gmail.com
Visit the artists at Gage Gallery at the following times:
Marnie Faunt: Jan 25, Jan 29 and Feb 5, 2:00 - 5:00; Feb 6 and Feb 13 12:00 - 4:00.
Karen Kaiser: Jan 25, Jan 29, Feb 2, Feb 5 and Feb 8 from 11:00 - 2:00.
Marnie Faunt: m.onthelane@gmail.com. Karen Kaiser: karenlynnkaiser@gmail.com
Visit the artists at Gage Gallery at the following times:
Marnie Faunt: Jan 25, Jan 29 and Feb 5, 2:00 - 5:00; Feb 6 and Feb 13 12:00 - 4:00.
Karen Kaiser: Jan 25, Jan 29, Feb 2, Feb 5 and Feb 8 from 11:00 - 2:00.
Gage Gallery Arts Collective, 19 Bastion Square, Victoria BC. V8W 1H9
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 5:00. Sundays, 12:00 - 4:00. Phone: 250 592-2760
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 5:00. Sundays, 12:00 - 4:00. Phone: 250 592-2760
During their first week Marnie and Karen had many visitors at Gage. Join them soon at the times listed above.
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Web Design and Content by Kate Cino Arts writer published in Focus on Victoria, Yam and Boulevard. History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from the University of Victoria This website and its content is copyright of Art Openings, 2009. All rights reserved. Written permission is required for reproduction of photos or text. kate-cino@shaw.ca 250 598-4009 |