***With an opening address by CBC's Shelagh Rogers***
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| Blanket II Encaustic on Panel 78" H x 46"W |
Jeff Molloy spent many childhood summers in Ontario’s cottage country. His interest in art was already strong when he had the good fortune to meet celebrated artist A.Y. Jackson at the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinberg, where A.Y. lived as artist in residence for the last six years of his life.
“We sat in the shade of an old Maple and chatted about art and life,” says Molloy. “At the time I didn't really know who he was, but I liked his kindness and generosity in sharing his stories about art... these experiences made an indelible impression on me.”
Molloy went on to study art at the Victoria College of Art and never looked back. His work has been shown in galleries from Toronto to Victoria and sustains his family and lifestyle on Gabriola Island, BC, where he now lives and works full time as an artist.
Mia Johnson of Preview Magazine describes Molloy as a Canadian artist whose work “focuses on the cultural symbols of Canada.” Molloy says: "I'm a visual storyteller, my work portrays the triumphs and tragedies of Canadian history through cultural artifacts."
Molloy has always been fascinated with Canadian history and culture.
Mia Johnson describes his work this way: “The paintings are reminiscent of Gathie Falk’s early pictures of dresses and chairs set in gardens: familiar but slightly surreal, capricious yet vaguely unsettling. The rich surfaces of mixed media, including his use of encaustic, give the artworks an earthy, home-spun appearance.”
Molloy's life-sized encaustic point blanket paintings signify far more than a warm covering to protect us from the cold. These blankets are the woolly essence of Canada. They hint of wood smoke and weary trappers, of exploration and exploitation, canoes and commerce, the history of a people and the making of a nation.
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| Blanket III Encaustic on Panel 78"H x 44"W |
Molloy’s latest show, Due North, has its roots in such Canadian lore. Old canoe paddles, hockey sweaters, mixed media cabinets that are portrayals of Canadian legends, flags hanging from old farm fragments and the blankets tell Canada’s rugged northern story in compelling colour and dimensions.
“Jeff Molloy's work has been capturing the spirit of Canada long before the rest of the world caught on during the Olympics. He is one of this country's leading editorial artists."
"Jeff Molloy is one of the most original artists at work in Canada today.”
"Jeff Molloy is one of the most original artists at work in Canada today.”
Shelagh Rogers, CBC Radio One
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| Spirit of the Metis Encaustic on Panel 86"H x 24"W |
13 years ago this May emerging artist Jeff Molloy, who had just graduated from The Victoria College of Art in Victoria, BC, opened his first solo show, Fibre of a Nation, at the Elmwood Gallery in Toronto.
He sold just two paintings, one to the Gallery’s owner. Both were life-sized renderings of the Hudson's Bay Company’s multistriped point blanket: the one that every cottage in Ontario has on the couch.
Molloy had no idea where the second painting ended up until late 2011, when he received a commission from Sheila Labatt to create another blanket painting, just like the one hanging in her parents’ Muskoka cottage.
Labatt emailed Molloy: “Everyone who has seen it has coveted it, including me!” Molloy was delighted. He couldn’t think of a more fitting place for his blanket painting to have found a home.
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| Red Ensign Encaustic on Panel 86"H x 24"W "Jeff Molloy's exquisite work is very powerful medicine...his work captures the spirit. Gregory Scofield Metis Poet and Author Due North is open to the public. The show opening will be held Friday June 1st 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Opening address by CBC's Shelagh Rogers Artscape Triangle Gallery 38 Abell St, Toronto. Show runs until June 3rd, 2012 are featured on APTN's new TV series "The 100 Year Cafe" ...coming soon! |
Inspired by the commission, Molloy is returning to Toronto on May 30th for a five day exhibition, Due North, at the Artscape Triangle Gallery, he's bringing with him more blanket paintings and other classic Canadiana, everything from old canoe paddles to hockey sweaters of the greats.
A “sculptor who likes to paint,” Molloy has applied encaustic painting techniques to unique surfaces that combine to create rugged three-dimensional portraits dear to Canadian hearts.
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| The Red Frontier 42"W x 86"H Encaustic on Panel |
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| The Rocket, Bobby Orr and Gentleman Jean Mixed media on Panel 20"W x 40"H approx |
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| Franklins Bones Mixed Media Assemblage 22"W x 16"D x 6"H |
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| Thomsons Paint Box Mixed Media Assemblage 16"W x 12"D x 16"H |
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| All Apologies Mixed Media Assemblage 54"W x 36"H |
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| Blanket II on the logs. |
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| Sheila's Blanket on the logs |
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| Red Ensign at the cottage. |
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| Studio April 2012 |
Incredible. I have fallen completely in love with Spirit of the Metis blanket painting. The write up is brilliant and I wish more than anything I could come to the show. It's something you won't want to miss! I'm proud of you pa.
ReplyDeleteSaw the show in Toronto and just loved it! Your works have been rambling around in my head ever since.
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