In Artword Gallery, June 3 to 27, two exhibitions:
Main Gallery: Linda Joyce Ott “Auto Parts: Photo Art Portfolio and Exhibition” Celebrating a pedestrian€™s vision of the abstract beauty of vintage cars.
Small Gallery: “Nautical Nursery Rhymes”, an installation by Karijn de Jong (photo right)
Opening reception with the artists Friday June 11 from 7 to 10 pm
Main Gallery:
Photo Exhibition Celebrates a Pedestrian€™s Vision of Vintage Cars: “Auto Parts”, an exhibition of photographs by Linda Joyce Ott, celebrating automobiles as seen through the eyes of a walker and a non-driver.
The exhibition (June 3 – June 27) features 15 archival ink-jet photographs printed on 13×19€ ultra premium matte paper. The photos are part of a portfolio of images recently published as an e-magazine by MagCloud.
€œI enjoy the James North gallery scene tremendously but I believe it€™s important as an artist to explore additional ways of presenting my art. The internet is an exciting and vital part of contemporary culture and, with opportunities like MagCloud, it€™s proving to be a wonderful way of reaching out to a global audience,€ Linda says.
Linda will be autographing a limited number of the 36-page portfolio magazines during the exhibition opening reception on Friday, June 11 from 7 to 10 p.m. (James St. North Art Crawl). Auto Parts magazine is also available online at http://http://lindajoyceott.magcloud.com
Small Gallery:
“Nautical Nursery Rhymes” , an installation by Karijn deJong. The artist explains: “This piece is a reflection on the life of Marilyn Monroe, exploring her 
confining role as a sex symbol and as a woman in the film industry, as well as her shared place in history as an iconic idol. It challenges the viewer to question mass culture versus the reality behind it. I am largely a self-taught artist who enjoys working with mixed media including ink and found object. Born and raised in the Hammer, I worked as a picture framer for about 8 years and so often use junk frames as inspiration for my work.”
Review by Stephanie Vegh:
http://stephanievegh.ca/blog/2010/06/17/james-north-art-crawl-june-3/
“For the first time that I can recall, Artword Artbar€™s downstairs gallery space has been split between two distinct artists, with Karijn deJong presenting in the alcove at the bottom of the stairs in what, for these purposes, is being called the Small Gallery. Nautical Nursery Rhymes describes itself as an installation dedicated to Marilyn Monroe€™s legacy as a cultural icon, which doesn€™t necessarily gel with the predominantly little-girl-Victorian objects being pulled together around the suspended anomaly of a ballerina€™s tutu. Marilyn€™s poorly-drawn visage does recur in the framed paintings peppering the space but even that explicit clue is puzzling in combination with these elements that, if narrowed down to a more concise form, could make 
for a curiously engaging installation on something else entirely. There€™s a magical quirk in the round mirror revealing a kitschy child€™s umbrella beneath the tutu, creating a moment that would have been quite telling without the clutter of sea shells confusing the scene.
Also at Artword Gallery was Linda Joyce Ott€™s Auto Parts series of photographs. I didn€™t get any decent installation shots but you can catch the gist of the show on Ott€™s website. The loving close-ups of sleek vintage car details are a lot closer to Marilyn€™s time period and eroticism, but as photographic prints they lack the crisp finish that would make that chrome truly shine.”
