Art Gallery of Golden presents The Art of Gyotaku (Fish Rubbing) by Mya DeRyan - July 2 through September 5

Mya DeRyan is one of a precious few professional practitioners of the ancient Japanese art form of Gyotaku. Literally translated Gyotaku means "fish rubbing".

Through years of experimentation and self exploration Mya has developed innovative techniques and media that allow her to pull intricate detail from her subjects, while retaining the artistic expression that puts her work at the forefront of Gyotaku artistry.

With works hanging on the walls of fine art collectors world wide, and private commissions of their own trophy fish hanging on the walls  of spor tfishermen, Mya's work has transcended the boundaries of traditional art. It serves not only as expressive and intricately crafted fine art, but as Gyotaku was first intended so long ago, documentary artwork of a fisherman's trophy. Some have called it a "wife approved" alternative to taxidermy.

"A fisherman can exaggerate, but a fish rubbing never lies..."

See more on Mya's website ... click here.

Mya's talents were recently recognized by The Globe and Mail. Click the link to read the article "The obscure, high art form of Gyotaku rubs people the right way" by Mark Hume

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Impasto - Karla Pearce - Opens Feb. 26 through April 3, 2010

Please join us from 5 to 7pm on Friday, Feb. 26 as we welcome West Kootenay artist Karla Pearce to Golden.

Says Karla:

"Lately, my artwork has been influenced by the paintings of Tom Thompson. I think I have been looking at his work so closely these days because I have been painting similar subject matter. I have even have gone so far as to copy a few of his paintings, examining the order in which he builds his light.

"Familiar sights continually engage me; rivers, lakes, creeks, trees, and people all inspire me. My painting process starts with plein air sketches, watercolours and photographs. The objective of painting in the field is to see and feel the world with visual acuteness. Because working in the wilderness can be ruled by chaos and time limitations, I express my inner experience and the change that is happening all around me. I look between the conceptual and the visible world.

"If it is possible, I work on a larger version of the image later that day in my studio. It is my goal to keep brush strokes abbreviated, focusing the energy of the moment directly to the canvas. I look to unravel what the image has to say. It is my subjective emotions and responses that accurately portray my feelings and impulses within the subject matter.

"In the studio I will hit a point in my painting where it feels finished. The time and effort leading up to this euphoric moment can last for a week, sometimes even a month. It is my goal to evoke an emotional response from the viewer. One that heightens their awareness of a local scene that they have seen a thousand times but have never experienced it like my canvas.  Through the act of documenting my creative moments in paint I invite the viewer to share my perception."

See more about Karla at her website here.

AGOG : LOVE, LABOUR, LOST with artist Marijan Grobbink

Marijan Grobbink is an art therapist and artist currently making her home here in Golden. Through her training and personal art-making experience, she believes in the healing and transformative power of art, both to open and access creativity and to explore and examine painful experiences. Love, Labour, Loss explores themes of grief, loss, longing, birth and death. The work is developed using methods that are intuitive and process driven. The pieces evolve over time, through a process of creation, reflection, destruction and re-creation. The work is created, torn up and then re-made into something new. The art-making process mirrors the psychological processes of working through grief. Come join us at AGOG for 5pm to meet with Marijan and Jane Tevelein Doel who curated the exhibit to celebrate this new collection of work. On exhibit until Nov. 21, 2009

Columbia Wetlands - Natural Inspiration

Now Open all the time online.

Enter the online exhibit of Adventurers & Settlers - Click here

About the Art Gallery of Golden

First opened in February 2007, the AGOG is a public art gallery established by Kicking Horse Culture, aka Golden District Arts Council. Moving down the street in June, 2008 to an enlarged and newly-renovated space on the main street of downtown Golden, AGOG and the new Studio Gift Shop are a primary outlet for the visual arts in Golden and the Columbia Valley. For more information, please visit www.kickinghorseculture.ca

Here's a look inside the new AGOG and Studio Gift Shop!

For artists who are interested in displaying and selling in the shop, read the News Release here and then have a look at our Invitation to Consign here and then get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!

Open Monday through Saturday 10am to 6pm

This is a long awaited dream come true for Golden and regional artists and, judging from the well wishers who have been dropping by, for the whole community too. The new space is large enough for us to house gallery exhibits, a gift shop featuring handcrafted items from a variety of local and regional artists from all around the Columbia River Basin and the Kicking Horse Culture offices.

Artists featured in the gift shop so far are Cheryl Bartram, Lucie Bause, Colin Bell, Margrit Bezzola, Terri Blizzard, Deb Borsos, Trezlie Brooks, Anna Clark, Suzanne Cooper, Dave DeMuy, Jane Tevelein Doel, Sandra Donohue, William Pitcher, Penny Pitcher, Cheryl Goodwin, Shannon Hames, Brad Hill, Christine Hoeppner, Christy Holden, Jon Howlett, Junko Ida, Holly Johnson, Penny K, Kootenay Forge, Jutta Krezdorn, Judy Malone, Bev Mather, MMMetals, Share Moss, Nina's Nummies, One Sparrow Images, Catherine Parent, Enid Petherick, Pridham Studios, Joyce Priest, Marty Ryan, Robbin Wenzoski, Bill Usher and Kim Younger. We're adding artists and new products in weekly so drop by often.

Photo from William Pitcher exhibit in the first AGOG - March 2007