Newzones

Ke vin Sonmor
Newzones
Kevin Sonmor: The Utilitarians
November 27 to January 10, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 27, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Sonmor’s iconic work pushes the boundaries between the historical conventions of landscape painting and the
contemporary aesthetic of the abstracted landscape. An inspired student of Flemish painting, his visions are dark and
atmospheric, filled with familiar still-life objects. These objects float through Sonmor’s rich, painterly
landscapes,creating powerfully intriguing works that hover between contemporary and historic painting traditions.
Kevin Sonmor, "Iberian Dreamers," oil on linen, 72" x 102".
In his new body of work, “The Utilitarians”, Sonmor muses on the conventions of historical subjects including marine,
romantic landscapes and vanitas still-lifes. Sonmor uses familiar historical practices, though slightly shifting many of
their known properties such as colour or space. The resulting paintings celebrate these historical subjects in today’s
culture. Sonmor captures the feeling of Northern European still-lifes and Vanitas studies, rendering images in hues
and shades of feeling while still carrying a distinctive contemporary edge.
Born in Lacombe, Alberta, Kevin Sonmor completed his MFA at Concordia University in Montreal in 1991. Since then,
he has exhibited widely across Canada, the US, andmore recently, Europe. Along with several exhibitions in
established commercial galleries, Sonmor has enjoyed solo exhibitions in many public galleries and museums
including University of Waterloo, Mendel Gallery in Saskatoon, the Art Gallery of Mississauga and most recently at
Sherbrooke Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec and the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie in Alberta. Sonmor is a recipient of
numerous Canada Council Grants and his work may be found in many private and public collections including the
University of Waterloo, Art Gallery of Algoma and Government of Canada.
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
403 266 1972
Ke vin Sonmor
Newzones
Sonmor show examines
the utility of art
By Alexa Huffman, Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune
Thursday, October 30, 201
The utility of art is a subject Kevin Sonmor is very interested in.
As a result, the artist’s new exhibit at the Art Gallery of Grande
Prairie (AGGP), appropriately titled “The Utilitarians,” explores
this theme through a variety of abstract landscape oil paintings
filled with still-life objects.
“It’s about how (art) is used by me as an artist, by viewers as the
public and by larger institutions in general, just culturally how
art functions in our world ” said Sonmor.
“That’s my sort of thinking behind the assembly of the
exhibition, although not so much the making of the paintings.
Each of the paintings is a more self-contained.”
Artist Kevin Sonmor stands with four paintings called “The Iberians,” one of the art
pieces in Sonmor’s exhibit, “The Utilitarians,” at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie. Alexa
Huffman/Daily Herald-Tribune
The exhibit, curated by Doug Wills, runs from Oct. 23 to Jan. 15,
2015. While the exhibit itself is new to Grande Prairie, this is not
Sonmor’s first time in Alberta. He grew up in Calgary and attended the Alberta College of Art and Design there. He later went on to get a
master’s degree at Concordia University in Montreal and has been working in Quebec ever since.
His style of painting over the past 25 years of his career is inspired by the Old Masters, who learned how to place colour strategically in
paintings, as the cost of paint was expensive.
“A lot of (my paintings) are fairly black, brown or white. And then there’s punches of unique colour placed in there,” said Sonmor. “It makes
the painting look much more colourful even though there’s often not very much colour in it.”
The sceneries in Sonmor’s paintings are references to historical landscapes found in classical art pieces, including artwork of the Romantic
Era. Sonmor also explores the techniques found in marine art and still life images. Many of his paintings also feature prominent horses.
“They’re painted life size and there’s a genuine presence to a life-size painting of something as opposed to what I think of as a picture,” said
Sonmor. “It that might not work with other animals like life-sized dog.”
With this particular exhibit, Sonmor hopes to change the lives of the people who visit “The Utilitarians” by communicating how he sees the
world around him.
“I’m not telling stories, I’m not making political statements, I’m just giving people my views of the world in the way it interests me,” said
Sonmor.
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
403 266 1972
Ke vin Sonmor
Newzones
Kevin Sonmor: The Utilitarians
at Newzones, Calgary,
Nov 27 to Jan 10
November 27 to January 10, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 27,
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Sonmor’s iconic work pushes the boundaries
between the historical conventions of
landscape painting and the contemporary
aesthetic of the abstracted landscape. An
inspired student of Flemish painting, his
visions are dark and atmospheric, filled with
familiar still-life objects. These objects float
through
Sonmor’s
rich,
painterly
landscapes,creating powerfully intriguing
works that hover between contemporary and
historic painting traditions.
Kevin Sonmor – The Education of Pegasus: Train Wreck, 2014
In his new body of work, “The Utilitarians”, Sonmor muses on the conventions of historical subjects including marine,
romantic landscapes and vanitas still-lifes. Sonmor uses familiar historical practices, though slightly shifting many of
their known properties such as colour or space. The resulting paintings celebrate these historical subjects in today’s
culture. Sonmor captures the feeling of Northern European still-lifes and Vanitas studies, rendering images in hues
and shades of feeling while still carrying a distinctive contemporary edge.
Born in Lacombe, Alberta, Kevin Sonmor completed his MFA at Concordia University in Montreal in 1991. Since then,
he has exhibited widely across Canada, the US, and more recently, Europe.Sonmor is a recipient of numerous Canada
Council Grants and his work may be found in many private and public collections including the University of
Waterloo, Art Gallery of Algoma and Government of Canada.
NEWZONES
730 11th Avenue SW
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Newzo ne s
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
N e w z o ne s
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972
Kevin Sonmor
w w w. n e w z o n e s . c o m
730 11th ave sw calgary ab t2r 0e4
Ne wz o n es
[email protected] 403 266 1972