Moments Paintings

Artist Statement
Gareth Bate
View Paintings

The Moments paintings depict vast open land beneath ominous stormy skies. These imagined landscapes have an intimate scale, only 8 to 10 inches square, yet they represent an epic space. Grouped together in sequences, they create a sense of shifting time and mood. The paintings depict the "spiritual" impact of the landscape, rather than its appearance. They embody human emotions and psychological states. Imagery emerges from flowing and pooling paint without reference to actual places.

I am exploring ideas of the modern sublime by creating landscapes that go beyond the reproduction of a scene to express an inner psychological dialogue. I am ascribing human emotions and moods onto landscape. The work functions as a projection of the self, rather than a realistic depiction of a place.

My principle inspiration is a yearly trip to North Lake, Prince Edward Island. Its beautiful fields, skies, extremes of weather and hurricanes feel like an archetypal place. Although my experience of nature is one of beauty, the work often appears sorrowful or threatening. However, I eventually realized that I see all the storms as clearing, rather than descending. On returning to Toronto the creation of these paintings acts as a stand in for an absent nature. My relationship with nature is one of memory rather than daily experience.

Special Thanks: Colette Laliberté, John Brown, and Stanzie Tooth

Dates: Feb. 2010 - Dec. 2010
Medium: Acrylic on wood
Exhibitions:
Responsive Space II, Lonsdale Gallery, 2013
Moments, Gareth Bate Art Projects, May 2010
Holiday Salon Show, Loop Gallery, Dec. 2010