Arts Scene

By Wendy Elliott

welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Combine forces

A new show will run through Aug. 22 at the Harvest Gallery in Wolfville. It is a collection of 25 new works by artists Terry Drahos and Paul Syme.

"Dig, Skim and Scrape" is a duo exhibit of works in oil by Syme, and oil and encaustic by Drahos. Together these pieces strive to find unconventional beauty in the surrounding world, says gallery owner Lynda MacDonald.

Syme's collection of 12 new pieces delves into the core of what is most simple. His belief that life's beauty is known best through the mundane becomes evident in this aggregation of new works.

Depicting seemingly uneventful images of his life, these pieces invite viewers to contemplate the magnificence of the everyday, MacDonald says. “They extend the suggestion that what surrounds us—the figures and landscapes we constantly encounter—hold a beauty we may not have realized.”

Drahos's grouping of 13 pieces displays a focus on the convergence of opposites. Her new works are an evolution of previous expression.

This new collection draws on her earlier series "Assumptions" - lost, floating bodies struggling with the formation of self. It also reflects on her series "Elemental Ratio" - geometric shapes presenting a clear contrast between systematic composition and impulsive use of medium. Lastly, it turns to the series "Perfection" - exploring the combination of beauty and imperfection that makes up the human body.

Drahos's new works are an excavation of the everyday, MacDonald said. Finding radiance in contorted figures, they search for a beautiful balance between striving and resting content.



On Aug. 1

Devon Lee-Barclay will offer a farewell concert at CentreStage in Kentville.

Heading off to school in Dartmouth in September, Lee-Barclay is planning to offer hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

He says there will be tunes by the Beatles, Jackson Brown, Billy Joel and some of his original material. A well-known actor and musician, Lee-Barclay served on the board of CentreStage.

The concert gets underway at 8 p.m. with improv by the Angry Beavers of Wolfville.

On display

The Valley Regional Hospital Art Gallery always has a show and sale on of Annapolis Valley artists. From July 31 to Sept. 25, works by Gail Davis will be featured also at the Kentville hallway gallery.

Still on

Marke Slipp’s photo exhibition “Come Back From Away” will be on display for one more week at the Charles Macdonald Concrete House Museum in Centreville, until Thursday, July 31.

The presentation of 28 photographs, triptychs, panoramas and uncommon common views of the area has attracted lots of viewers and rave reviews.

Activist Skip Hambling said of the images, "I thought I'd seen just about every photographic take there was (on Nova Scotia). Your work is like a breath of bracing fresh air off our Bay of Fundy. It awakens us to another Nova Scotia."

Hours are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily, seven days a week.

At Fundy Film

Fundy Summer Films screens Caramel, A Lebanese ensemble comedy set in and around a Beirut beauty salon.

This mature film offers great fun, romance and the bonds of friendship between the six women at its heart. It screens at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, Sunday, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are ($8) available 30 minutes before screening. Contact www.fundyfilm.ca or 542-5157.

Union St. Café in Berwick

The Aug. 1 Open Mic Kitchen Party will feature Two Roads Home www.tworoadshome.com. There is no cover charge.

Music at the pergola

During July and August every Thursday evening, weather permitting, there will be live music on the pergola at Domain de Grand Pre.

The Hupman Brothers are set for July 31 and John Tetrault Aug. 7. The music starts at 7:30 p.m.

Coming up

Starting Aug. 1

Jerome, Two Planks and a Passion Theatre, Ross Creek

Blomidon, Image and Word exhibit and 100 years of Scouting, Randall House Museum, Wolfville

Aug. 1

Devon Lee-Barclay, CentreStage, Kentville, 8 p.m.

Aug. 17

Jazzette (a little jazz) concert, CentreStage, with Cynthia and Tom Myers, 8 p.m.

Until Sept. 5

Memory, Space and Heritage, Acadia Art Gallery, Wolfville

Send arts items to: welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca