Local artists to keep an eye on - Amy Schissel

Amy Schissel

Amy Schissel completed her BFA in 2002 from the University of Ottawa and her MFA from the University of Ottawa in 2009. She was Canada’s 2009 recipient of the Brucebo Fine Arts Award – a fully funded three month residency in Visby, Sweden. Schissel has shown both nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the University of Brussels Gallery, Belgium, the Karsh Masson Gallery in Ottawa, and at Centre d’art Imagier in Gatineau, Quebec.
She is currently a professor in the Fine Arts Program at Algonquin College here in Ottawa, and is co-organizing the grad show, happening at the end of April. The grad shows are always great, and I hope to go to check out the new talent. I like to encourage the youngins to stay here in Ottawa as best they can.

She does great vibrant pieces, sometimes huge, and they are stunning.
Here are some of her recent works;

1. Traceroute (on the run).  2011

ink, oil, acrylic,on wood

72” x 82”

2. Zycloid blast.   2011

ink, oil, acylic, encaustic on canvas

38” x 55”

 3. High Frequency. 2010

ink, oil, acylic, plaster on canvas

96 x 42”

4. Neuro-City  2011
acrylic on wood
130” x  91”

5. Detail -  Neuro-City 2011
acrylic on wood

 6.    Prolix V .    2010

acrylic, plaster, ink, paper on wood

72” x  72”

 This was selected for the finalist Canadian tour of the 2011 RBC Canadian Painting Competition http://www.canadianart.ca/online/slideshows/2011/08/04/rbc_competition/index13.html

7. Outbreak.  2011
ink, oil, encaustic on canvas
52” x 59”


Amy will be having a solo show at Patrick Mikhail Gallery
 opening on April 20th (on until end of May).
She will show her largest work yet! (14 feet by 9 feet). She will also will have about 3-4 monster size paintings (as she terms them) and then some more regular sized work as well.

 In March, Amy will prticipate in Papier12: Contemporary Art Fair Works on Paper in Montreal (courtesy of Patrick Mikhail gallery)
 And in September she will be showing at the Toronto International Art Fair, also courtesy of Patrick Mikhail Gall.
Check out these links for more images and info.
http://www.amyschissel.net/
http://www.patrickmikhailgallery.com/

Amy's work is on my wish list of artwork that generous people could buy for me
if the feeling strikes them. Just mentioning it for future reference.

Artists who are friends. Alternative title - Friends who are artists. Stephane Lauzon

These photographs are from my freind Stephane Lauzon. He teaches at SPAO (the School of photographic Arts in Ottawa), as well as works at the CAO (the Council for the Arts in Ottawa), where I am on the board and hang out a lot. I love his work - they always display a dry sense of humour - my favorite.

The first are from a series, titled "Things I Should Do but Photographed Instead", that he based on the theme of procrastination.

Instead of doing household chores, he took pictures of them.

.

I love them. I think they are funny, and I like that they are round.

Ironically, he never got around to finishing the series.

He also has a series entitled "The Photographers" , wherein he  secretly photographs people taking photographs, ensuring to include the person taking the picture as well as the subject. He makes sure to keep the subject in the appropriate amount of focus for the camera being utilized,usually a bit blury.

I love them as well.

 I am currently in negotiations with Stephane to obtain one for my personal collection.

 The negotiations are at a very exciting stage now.