While visiting Gallery 1313, I came upon three different exhibitions, each by a single artist and each with a unique approach and style of painting that was powerful and engaging.
In the Main Gallery Icelandic artist and painter Jónína Björg Helgadóttir has a series of figurative oil paintings and prints titled Mindscapes. Helgadóttir brought the canvases with her and re- stretched the paintings at the gallery. Though the artist has exhibited widely in Europe this is her first show in Canada.
Jónína Björg Helgadóttir, Swims, oil on canvas 40″ x 40″
She professes that “Everything means something. Nothing is without purpose”. Indeed, where she is the principle figure in her paintings, there is a lot we can read into them. Her expressions in the colourful paintings follow her wandering thoughts and occasionally seem to stare back at the viewer. They are playful and not without humour. My two favourite works are Swims and Waits. The artist is the central figure in both. In Swims (Syndir) we see two portraits of her in sitting positions. In the one on the right side, the figure is looking down slightly, and seems to be immersed in her thoughts, while the other one turns her head up with an expression of surprise. There is a swimmer at the top of the canvas. In fact, there are several works in her show that have swimming as a backdrop. In Waits the artist sits in the middle of the composition surrounded with a strong yellow half circle. Yellow conveys energy in her painterly vocabulary, while the circle stands for repetition. The circular background behind her body might be the Earth or her personal surroundings. Sitting in the middle of that chaos, she looks on at the viewer with some kind of expectation.
Jónína Björg Helgadóttir, Waits, oil on canvas 28″ x 20″
In sharp contrast to Mindscapes is Mirren Hinchley’s exhibit Retrofit in the Cell Gallery. These are colourful and busy abstract acrylic works that are thick with pigment and dare you to touch them. Hinchley uses titles “inspired by the incredible images from the James Webb Space Telescope”. The artist seems to take the viewer on a trip to the cosmos with some of these rich paintings which beg you to stare into them. Hinchley also says that her painting has evolved over time. She wants to share with the viewer her love of colour and texture and this is evident in her densely packed but delightful works such as Cosmos 8 and Cosmos 5.
Mirren Hinchley, Cosmos 5, acrylic on paper, 40″ x 40″
Nestled away in the Process Gallery are eight gems of oil paintings on canvas by artist Alison Kruse in her exhibit called Last Year. They pull the viewer in. Kruse describes her fascination with “our connection to places we feel most comfortable”. In her statement she introduces us to writer Julie Beck and her article The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much. Memories are cued to the physical environment and that is what makes us call a home a home. These canvases indeed make you feel like they are calling themselves home. Cedar Lane and Heatwave are my favourites, but choosing these two were difficult. This talented artist has partial representation by Gallery PXP and is also a member of Gallery 1313. I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes us next.
Alison Kruse, Heatwave, oil on canvas, 16″ x 20″
The opportunity to see these three different artists’ work, each in their own space, takes your breath away. Figurative, abstract or landscape, each approach these women bring to painting allows the visitor a satisfying and wonderful gallery experience.
Colin Phillips
Images are courtesy of Gallery 1313
*Exhibition information: Jónína Björg Helgadóttir, Mindscapes, Main Gallery, Mirren Hinchley, Retrofit, Cell Gallery, and Alison Kruse, Last Year, Process Gallery, October 12 – 23, 2022, Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen St W. Gallery hours: Wed to Sat 1–5pm, Sun 1–4pm.