Margo Cooper and Elizabeth Carefoot
present
Eccentric Deliberations
March 30 - April 18, 2021 at Gage Gallery
present
Eccentric Deliberations
March 30 - April 18, 2021 at Gage Gallery
A lively Spring tonic awaits visitors to the Gage Gallery in early April 2021.
Margo Cooper and Elizabeth Carefoot present a vibrant series of abstractions titled Eccentric Deliberations. The artwork of this talented duo is eccentric in the best possible way: avant-garde, whimsical and extraordinary. Both are mature artists with a wealth of experience and stories to tell. It's evident that during Covid-days, they’ve used their extra studio time well.
Elizabeth Carefoot Studio in March 2021
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Margo Cooper in Studio March 2021
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The Big Wait, acrylic and cold wax on canvas, 36x36 in, 2021
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Within the eye of the pandemonium, mixed media on canvas, 36x36 in, 2021
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Margo Cooper joined Gage Gallery in the collective's first year - 2015.
She has participated in several group and solo shows. The titles of her new artworks comment on our Covid times: the social isolation and confusion, as well as our hopes for the future. In spite of the subject matter, the paintings are balanced and harmonious with muted colours and flowing shapes. Overall, her palette has lightened. We see a rich array of aqua blues and greens, rosy hues, sunny ochres and bluish washes of Payne’s gray.
She has participated in several group and solo shows. The titles of her new artworks comment on our Covid times: the social isolation and confusion, as well as our hopes for the future. In spite of the subject matter, the paintings are balanced and harmonious with muted colours and flowing shapes. Overall, her palette has lightened. We see a rich array of aqua blues and greens, rosy hues, sunny ochres and bluish washes of Payne’s gray.
Cooper has a unique painting style and process. She uses a hand-held rubber spatula to apply and move around the pigments. Once the entire canvas is covered with a multi-coloured ground, she defines certain areas with white paint. “I work intuitively,” she says, “patterns and shapes spring to life and move me forward.” Details and linework are added with pencil crayons, a fine-tipped stylus or paint brush. In works like The Big Wait, Cooper introduces circular swirling energy. Emanating from bottom left, the revolving shape appears to hover and spill out into space. This dynamic area is off-set and balanced by three small totem figures top right. “I like my paintings to tell a story,” she says. This one speaks about a restless energy waiting for release.
Beyond the Bubble, acrylic and cold wax on canvas, 36x24 in, 2021
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Eccentric Deliberations, mixed media on canvas, 36x24 in, 2021
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In Undoing Disconnection, Cooper articulates her concerns for post-Covid social interactions. How will we find connection again after being socially distant for so long? The painting’s rough-hewn shapes look like massive boulders with subtle gestures and expressions. The artist rounded their stoney edges to awaken connections and interactions. Then she used a linear grid pattern to lace together the forms. “In my paintings, I want all the elements to be in relationship,” she says. Cooper has a background in figure drawing and sculpture, two mediums she excelled at during art school.
One of her teachers in art school was renowned abstract painter Gordon Caruso. In 1986, Caruso taught painting, drawing and printmaking for the Fine Arts Foundation program at Langara College. “Don't think - PAINT!” was the motto of her gifted teacher, who encouraged Cooper to cease worrying about rules and perfection. “Gordon was my mentor,” she says, “he applauded my paintings and gave me confidence.”
Undoing Disconnection, mixed media on canvas, 30x30 in, 2021
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When I could not find a friend, acrylic and cold wax on canvas, 36x24 in, 2021
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Green Tara, acrylic on canvas, 48x36 in, 2021
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Bouquet, mixed media, 18x10x10, 2021
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Elizabeth Carefoot has a lifetime of experience making three-dimensional sculpture.
Her repertoire includes boxes, dolls and papier mache objects in multi-hued colours and various textures. (See her eye-popping sculpture Bouquet, which is included in the show.) Other mediums include acrylic paintings and watercolour and digital drawings. Her fibre pieces reside in international collections. For 30 years she earned income from performances of middle-eastern dance. Mysterious, mischievous and ever-evolving is her personal approach to creativity. A community-minded artist, she joined the Gage Gallery in 2019, shortly after moving to Victoria. She received a Surrey Civic Treasure Award in 2014.
Her repertoire includes boxes, dolls and papier mache objects in multi-hued colours and various textures. (See her eye-popping sculpture Bouquet, which is included in the show.) Other mediums include acrylic paintings and watercolour and digital drawings. Her fibre pieces reside in international collections. For 30 years she earned income from performances of middle-eastern dance. Mysterious, mischievous and ever-evolving is her personal approach to creativity. A community-minded artist, she joined the Gage Gallery in 2019, shortly after moving to Victoria. She received a Surrey Civic Treasure Award in 2014.
Carefoot is excited to be sharing the exhibition spotlight with Cooper. "We connected right away," says Carefoot, “and are enjoying working together on the upcoming show.” This is Carefoot’s first time exhibiting her abstract paintings. She is feeling confident about her new series. Like Cooper, Carefoot had an important mentor during her art school days. At UBC she studied painting with ground-breaking Canadian artist Gordon Smith. “He was a kind man and demonstrated his techniques to us,” she says, “but always encouraged us to find our own path.” Carefoot follows the tenets found in Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist. She loves to experiment, and works intuitively.
Goldrush, gold leaf and acrylic on canvas, 36x18 in, 2021
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Lodestone, gold leaf and acrylic on canvas, 36x18 in, 2021
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A confident colourist, Carefoot’s skills are evident in Green Tara. Rich flowing hues and organic shapes create movement and energy in this expansive vertical composition. “My process involves lots of layering,” she says, “seeing how different shapes and colours react to each other.” She delights in texture and employs sgraffito - scratching back through painted layers. In Goldrush and Lodestone, gold leaf is judiciously added to the tall and stately paintings.
Themes and symbols give depth and drama to Carefoot’s artworks. In Buddhist philosophy Green Tara is a divine female archetype, so the shapes and colours take on new meanings. One of her favourite motifs is the circle. “A sphere is female and fecund,” she says, “and holds the power of potential.” Carefoot is also playful and incorporates the unexpected into her paintings. (Look for a tiny lizard figurine scuttling across a painting.) Repetitive shapes and patterns are made by stamping. “These days my favourite stamp is the heel of a cast-off running shoe,” she says. “It makes jaunty circular dots.”
Sunrise Canyon, acrylic on canvas, 36x24 in, 2021
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Convergence, acrylic on canvas, 36x24 in, 2021
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Eccentric Deliberations spotlights the unique creativity of two dedicated artists. They welcome your interest.
Email Margo Cooper: [email protected]
Email Elizabeth Carefoot: [email protected]. Website: www.elizabethcarefoot.com
Meet the artists in the gallery:
Margo: April 2, 2-5pm, April 6 & 13, 11am-2pm.
Elizabeth: March 31, April 2 & 7 &14 & 21, all 11am-2pm.
Margo: April 2, 2-5pm, April 6 & 13, 11am-2pm.
Elizabeth: March 31, April 2 & 7 &14 & 21, all 11am-2pm.
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