More ..

beautiful Wren pieces here at the gallery!

Letting..

Go!

That's the title of this free-fall aqua painting by Phyllis, complete with horizontal string lines and beautiful blue gradation.

This is a versatile work that could also be displayed horizontally for a different look!

Letting Go
P. Serota

The..

original mango painting! Much softer than the experimental one seen below, yet still bold.

Image: "Large Mangoes", Phyllis Serota

Some..

more groovy fruit!

Here's a peak at another fab Serota piece. In this she's experimenting with texture, colour and shape, and the result is still life with a twist.

Composition and colour use, superb as always.

Nice job, Phyllis!

"Small Mangoes" by P. Serota

Phyllis..

Serota is a fabulous Victoria-based artist. Currently writing her memoirs, Serota is deserving of a wider audience for her work. Using flat-plane perspective, bright colours and soft brushwork, she creates modernist paintings with matters of subject like still-life imagery and scenarios from her personal life. Her work is in the vein of pros like Matisse, Chagall and Picasso, but never without her own special twist.

We were lucky enough to take a recent fruitful trip to Phyllis's abode, where we acquired some stellar pieces. Shown here is a wide and luxurious acrylic on canvas that boasts a mix of hard and velvet-like textures. It would be fabulous featured in a dining or living room of any design genre.

Image: P. Serota, "Plums"
Foreground: Ceramics by Wayne Ngan

We're in..

this season's issue of Boulevard magazine! Writer Alicia Gordaneer - daughter of admired Victoria painter Jim Gordaneer - has written a great article on the ins and outs of purchasing art as gifts and the do's and don'ts of starting an art collection.

Check it out online at http://www.victoriaboulevard.com/

The time..

to hesitate is through! Our graphic designer Andy Graffiti has many talents. Among them is a penchant for producing funky and innovative clocks, like the one shown here. Mercurio will be featuring these neat functional sculpture throughout the Christmas season.

Tick tock!

Mutual appreciation..

Here's Miles Lowry's favourite Ken Faulks work currently in the gallery. This piece works very well at distance, where you get action happening in the water. One of Ken's best, and most challenging, yet.

Rocks & Surf, Sunset Point
12 x 16"

Brand..

new winter jewellery from Stuart Duncan is starting to trickle into the shop. Stuart is amazing at creating one of a kind intricate pieces, wearable all year round.

Great for gifts and more to come!

Notable..

quotables!

Here's a lovely little quote from an article by Brian Grison on our recent exhibition in the latest issue of Galleries West:

"This little exhibition at Mercurio Gallery offers collectors, curators, connoisseurs and students of painting and art history an intimate insight into modernist practice among the few serious artists residing in Victoria a generation or so after Emily Carr's important and still controversial contributions to visual culture in this city."

Thanks Brian!

To see the article online, visit
http://www.gallerieswest.ca/Departments/ExhibitionReviews/6-108172.html

Photo: Untitled, Margaret Peterson

Inter..

View!

This marks the beginning of a new feature on the blog, a series of “5 questions” with local artists and figures in the Victoria arts community.

Our first artist is one of our favourites: local plein air hero Ken Faulks!

MG: Hi Ken, thanks for doing this!

KF: No problem.

MG: How do you think the hard times you've been through have affected your work?

KF: I don't look at having had next to no money, or having spent 5 years sleeping in my van 'hard times'.
It was all good. It was a choice to paint and that's what I did. I let other things slide down the priority list in order to do so.
It was a good time for the most part.
Not much money isn't a problem if one keeps their hamster wheel small.
With a really low overhead, I was able to make it all happen.

MG: If money were no object, would you still keep your graphic design company?

KF: I may still do some illustration and design, but if I did, it' wouldn't be much... maybe a bit of non-profit/volunteer stuff.
I'm sure the focus would be my own work for the most part.

MG: How do your goals as a graphic designer differ from your goals as painter?

KF: Illustration and graphic design are all about achieving someone else's agenda, ideas and goals.
As a painter, the agenda is my own, and therefore the focus is to fulfill my own goals.

MG: What importance does painting with the plein-air group hold for you?

KF: I like the people.... the camaraderie. It's a great gang of people who all enjoy painting outside.

MG: I find you use fairly bold colours. Can you tell me something about your process when making colour choices?

KF: I guess I use bold colours at times. With my non-representational work, I use stronger colours on a more regular basis.
With the plein air work, I tend to go after the 'local colour'... the colour I find in the subject I’m standing in front of.
In general, I don't consider these paintings having strong colour, but I do try to achieve a strong sense of the colour that was in front of me while I was painting.

MG: Thanks Ken!

KF: My pleasure, anytime.

New..

work by Ken Faulks!

Ken's recently been up in lovely Tofino painting away.. Here's a sneak peak at one of the pieces he'll be bringing down to the gallery this afternoon!

This weekend we're having an impromptu mini show featuring Ken's latest work. They'll be cream puffs and refreshments too!

Image: Ken Faulks, Surf and Surfers, 8x10

A little..

gem by Colin Graham, RCA (1915-2010), new to the gallery!

Here's a quote from Colin during his time as Director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (1951-'73), about artist Maxwell Bates:

"The remarkable achievements of these six or so years have scarcely been seen in the rest of Canada. For this reason The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has chosen to organize as one of its 1966 centenary projects a retrospective exhibition stressing this period which will subsequently travel to other Canadian centres."

Mercurio is currently showing works by Colin Graham, as well as Max Bates and other Limners members as part of our ongoing house collection.

Excerpt: Colin Graham, "Maxwell Bates" (Victoria: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1966).

High..

praise from art critic Robert Amos.

Here is a look at the Victoria Times Colonist article he wrote on our current Victoria Modernists show, Oct. 09 2010.

We're blushing!

Coming up..

at Mercurio.. new work by Glasgow-born and Emily Carr contemporary, Ina Uhthoff!

Shown here is a close-up of Uhthoff's vibrant 'Esquimalt Fair'.

Also, swing by the gallery this Sunday to jump on some of our amazing fall deals on all ceramics, art, and jewellery!
And while you're downtown, walk a few blocks to the Strath to hear our graphic designer, Andy, and other great musicians from around town play some killer blues, from 2-6pm. Last week it was really cookin', so don't miss out!

Happy..

Birthday to us! October 17th marked Mercurio's third year anniversary - quite a milestone in the gallery world.

We are very excited to be entering our fourth year of providing beautiful and affordable works of art, and a relaxed atmosphere to examine the history and connections of the last half century of Victoria fine art!

Here are some pics from the anniversary party...

Featuring..

Kym Hill, Sylvia Graham, Jim Gordaneer, Michael Morris, Pat Martin Bates, Jan and Helga Grove, Godfrey Stephens, Laird Campbell, Miles Lowry, Ken Faulks, and more!

Photos courtesy of Ken Faulks, Hanna, and Kimberly B.

Sunny..

fall days are here in lovely Victoria!

This bright yellow graphic piece is one of Mel Munsen's kiln-formed glass sculptures.
Originally from San Diego, CA, Mel is a unique artist whose work is as technically impressive as it is aesthetically beautiful.

Metallic..

ceramics! Tobias Tomlinson is one of the many amazing local potters we feature at Mercurio Gallery.

Our latest collection of his work includes this funky bowl, which shows Tobias's signature hand-molded organic clay shapes juxtaposed with a jazzy bronze sheen.

Come by to see more of Tobias's newest work, including platters of ocean- blues and sea-greens. Great for gifts!

Emily's..

Revenge! Our new show coming in October will feature fantastic artwork by the cream of the crop of Victoria modernists.

The collection will include art from members of the Limners group (Siebner, Spreitz, and more), as well as important Victoria women Molly Privet, Ina Uhthoff, and Margaret Peterson.

Poster image courtesy of Mr. Andy Graffiti.

Kym..

Hill is the owner of Mercurio Gallery, and also of Le Soleil Jewellers. She has been specializing in custom jewellery since 1976!

Seen here is one of her works: a shiny piece of eye-candy featuring a stunning multi-faceted light-blue sapphire, gently nestled inside strong waves of white gold.

To see more of Kym's work, and to learn more about gems, metals, and the like, head on over to www.lesoleiljewellers.com.

A taste..

..of the latest and greatest from Ken Faulks! This is a close-up of a section of his newest 36 x 40" oil on board plein air.

Working with a gorgeous sunset as his subject matter, Ken exploits the scene's delectable jewel tones in another one of his triumphant skyscapes.

Stuart..

Duncan is one of our jewellery heroes around here. He does stunning silver work with a true artisan's touch.

Pictured is one of his beautiful showpieces. Sterling silver with 18k gold and pearls, this piece would be a gorgeous compliment to any lucky lady.

Swing by to see more great work by Stuart!

Miles..

Lowry is one of our favourite local artists here at Mercurio. One of the most frequently asked questions that we receive about his work is "..how did he do that?!"

The answer lies in the following Youtube video from A-Channel's interview with the artist, this past spring:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK12Xc1_qyI

Pictured is one of Lowry's cotton fibre sculptures from his ongoing Faylin series.

For more info on the endeavours of multi-talented Miles, please visit his website at www.mileslowry.ca.

Some love..

and appreciation for our great graphic designer, Mr. Andy Graffiti. Andy designs all of Mercurio's excellent posters that you see around town and for sale here at the gallery.

To check out more of Andy's fab visual art, http://www.flickr.com/photos/agwerkedesigns
To hear some of his music, www.myspace.com/andygraffiti.
Enjoy!

Limners..

everywhere! Here's a striking large-scale sculpture ("Synergy", 1963) by Elza Mayhew, recently installed in the new Humboldt Valley, downtown Victoria. Elza was a member of the Limners, a group of community-based artists in Victoria, formed in the 70's.

We are fortunate to have some of Elza's miniature sculptural works featured in our house collection, here at Mercurio. The miniatures are wonderful pieces of portable art; proof positive that size doesn't matter!

Entwined..

Birds, by renowned Inuit artist Pudlo Pudlat. Print, stonecut and stencil, 1991.(Close-up)

Beautiful!

Spirit Hunting..

Our annual Inuit Show is off to a fabulous start! We have pieces from Cape Dorset, Baker Lake, Arviat, and Povungnituk, just to name a few. This amazing collection includes striking stone carvings, stunning large colour lithographs, and more!

Fresh..

paintings! The great Ken Faulks dropped by the other day and brought with him some fabulous new oil plein-airs.

Check out the luscious green tones in this one..

What an honour..

it is to have piano virtuoso Dr. Tzenka Dianova joining us at the gallery! Born in Bulgaria, Tzenka has a PhD in piano performance and has played concerts all over the world. She is also an art collector, with an interest in work by our favourite Victoria group, the Limners!

If you're interested in learning more about Tzenka's studies in 20th century avant-garde music, I encourage you to visit her website at www.tzenkadianova.com. It's quite a treat!

A photo of Tzenka, preparing her piano..

In bloom..

Kym’s husband Charles is the man behind the glorious flower displays right outside of the gallery. The beds are filled with a neat mix of flower species like Mimulus (“monkey flowers”), Salpiglossis, Begonia, Nemesia, and Petunia F3 Hybrid (“space flowers”).

Come by and check them out while they’re at their peak!

Great...

news! We are holding over our Estelle Curwen show due to its overwhelming popularity! We have had visitors from all over the world at our gallery in the past week, and they have all been blown away by Estelle’s beautiful wearable art.

A picture of my favourite piece in the collection..

Art of Enamel..

Here’s a pic of one of Estelle Curwen’s enamel pieces. These pieces are just gorgeous. Must be seen in person to appreciate the workmanship. Coloured in sumptuous jewel tones, they shimmer like nothing else! Wow.

In honour of Estelle’s amazing achievements in the art of enamel, we are hosting an artist reception for her this Thursday July 29th, between 5 and 8pm. Please feel free to join us for an evening of wine, warmth, and jewellery!