Painting of the Week and Moncton Art Scene

This painting is called "Luisant." It means "shine."

Last Thursday Maurice Henri had a great turnout for his art exhibit opening "Abstraits," but you can always count on Maurice's openings to be packed with a friendly crowd. Achille Maillet, the mayor of Dieppe gave a speech on appreciation for abstract art and the University of Moncton donated- I don't know precisely- over $1000 (I think it was $1900) for Maurice's cause, "Cameras for Healing." He's using the money to build a third school in Sierra Leone, Africa and to help children suffering the aftermath of war to work through their trauma through photography. He's worked for many years in helping people who've retreated into themselves to come out of their shell with the help of art. For this project Maurice is partnered with a trained psycologist.
It was a great show full of bright colors and incredible textures. Maurice said that the color was his way of lifting himself back up after witnessing so many horrors and hearing of so many soul anihilating experiences that the people have suffered. If you're in Moncton, go to the Centre Culturelle de Dieppe (beside the new town hall) for some color therapy. It's an uplifting, not-to-be-missed show.

Dave Skyrie has a show in the Moncton City Gallery that will really make you travel! He called it "Breviary", meaning a book of prayers or a collection of meditations. Dave defines the show as "the detritus of the daily arguments between my mind, spirit and canvas in the search for peace and a certain state of grace." It's very effective. I tried form my own impressions before reading the titles. I could feel a flitting movement in one painting. It turned out to be titled "Thoughts like butterflies." That's one I could so identify with!!! I have a million thoughts at any given time scattered all over the place. Another one I found to be especially moving was "As Boundaries Disappear." When meditating have you ever felt your thoughts get so uplifted that they seem to be above you? Wow- that sounds freaky-sometimes it's best not to try and describe art, especially if you're not a writer. Ok- I'll tentatively try this again. Well, when I looked at this painting, it felt like I was so uplifted that my whole body was up there with my thoughts.