Something Fish is Going On...
as it appeared in The Fulcrum, November 14th, 1996
article written by Kim Vignuzzi
Please see the easy to read text version below.
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press clipping for Something Fish is Going On... as it appeared in The Fulcrum, November 14th, 1996 article written by Kim Vignuzzi Please see the easy to read text version below. |
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| ARTS &
culture Something Fishy at Creative Outlet |
| Something Fishy Creative Outlet 332 Cumberland Street Show dates: Nov. 8 to Nov. 26 Creative Outlet Gallery Fish crackers. Fish mitts. Fish on the wall. At a recent exhibition opening at Creative Outlet, fish was food for thought. Laura Margita and Darcy Schmidt, owners of the Creative Outlet store and gallery, served up an evening dedicated to fish, featuring piscine paintings and alluring aquatic art. All of the works were done by Schmidt, who greeted guests enthusiastically wearing a fish mitt on one hand. Fish crackers were served and a current of conversation flowed towards the back room where Schmidt's work was on display. The exhibition features nine paintings, a culmination of a year and a half's work. All of the works are for sale. Schmidt says his fascination with fish developed as a result of growing up near the ocean in Port Alberni, British Columbia. Although he hasn't done much fishing himself, Schmidt says he has always been captivated by the way our perception of these creatures is skewed by their watery habitat. He says that he feels an "attraction-repulsion" for fish in that they can be "nice to look at, but are really quite revolting". Fish, although not a new interest, are a different expression of Schmidt's talent. He is better known for his sexual art, such as genitalia body-piercing demo's. Although the fish in Schmidt's paintings do have a sensual, fluid appearance, he prefers to think of the works as "sexy, but not overtly sexual". Schmidt says he sees fish not as silent and passive creatures, but as aggressive and confrontational. He draws parallels between fish and people and says that although we're all human, we seem to be always working against each other. One painting in particular depicts the potential for aggression that governs those finned water-dwellers. Depending on your outlook, you may see the fish as moving together toward a common lit area; or, you may view them as facing one another in confrontation. Although all of the pieces feature fish, Schmidt says his work is "really about light, reflection and movement than anything else," and reluctantly hints at themes of hesitancy and aggression that permeate the work. Schmidt's palette is limited to blues, reds, and oranges, which he layers to give the paintings a translucency, so that when you look at the surface of the painting , you get a sense that there is something more going on deep below the surface. The effect is similar to the distorted perception of looking down into deep water. Some of the paintings, Schmidt said, have as many as 15-20 layers of paint on them. There are two funky, yet functional pieces of art as well. The entrance to the gallery section of the store is framed by a fish curtain, made from beads and colourful clay fish strung together. At the back of the gallery there is an amoeba-shaped coffee table painted in the same deep blues of the paintings, and sitting on top of the table is a bowl with three goldfish, unaware that they are art in motion. When I last visited Creative Outlet, the fish were still alive. But fish don't live forever, even if Schmidt's fascination with them will. So go down to Cumberland Street and test the waters at Creative Outlet. The fish will be biting until November 26. |
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