Art during the Pandemic
FREDERICTON, NB – The pandemic has cancelled many events this past year. Now, with a vaccine on the way and regulations to help stop the spread, the public can feel safer participating in activities they once enjoyed thoughtlessly. Gallery on Queen debuted an exhibition of the works by Janice Wright Cheney and Maja Padrov, titled “Familiar Objects” free for public viewing.
The night began at 5pm, opening the door to viewers who were obligated to write their name and phone number if there were to be a COVID-19 exposure. After sanitizing, the participants had free roam of the gallery but most were careful to keep a safe distance from one another.
Graduating from Mount Allison University in 1983, Janice Wright Cheney has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Then going on to receive a Master of Education in Critical Studies from the University of New Brunswick. Currently, she teaches at the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design.
Maja Padrov moved to New Brunswick from Novi Sad, Serbia in 1997. Her specialty being the pottery sculptures on display, she graduated from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design with a diploma in Studio Ceramics. Residing in Fredericton, she is a studio clay artist while also working as an instructor at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.
Padrov’s work on display was inspired by everyday objects, and how they affect the viewer’s perception in the form of clay. The clay bowls are similar to ones that could be found in a home, the only difference is that they are interconnected. Combined with the works of Cheney, the exhibition displays commonly overlooked objects or rejected creatures and makes them beautiful.
On display at the front of gallery was the “Familiar Objects” collection, set up directly in front of the large window, a passerby could view the textile-based sculptures and installations from the street. Themed to explore the human-nature relationship, life-like rats created from donated old fur coats, felt and found wire cages, were the talk of the night. The ensemble of rat installations is titled “Cellar”, and can be bought for $3500.
“I like to use materials and explore ideas, ask questions about our relationship with nature and sort of examine aspects of that. I don’t have the answers but I hope that people will think more carefully about our relationship with the natural world, and specifically in this body of work, insects and rats.” Said Cheney on her works.
“The rats were shocking at first because they look so real!” said Tory Desroche, who was on her way to meet friends when her and her boyfriend walked by Gallery on Queen and were intrigued to go inside. “I don’t really know much about art but I wasn’t expecting that. But the closer I looked at them, there were so much detail. They really are cool.”
“If you rearrange the three letters in ‘art’, you can spell ‘rat’, one of the most frequently maligned and most misunderstood creatures” is the first sentence of the booklet “Cellar” on hand for those interested. Created by Terry Graff and Lianne McTavish on the work of Janice Wright Cheney many took a copy as they exited.
The night of humble art was a success in demonstrating that familiar objects can be and are beautiful if you look at it from the right perspective. It was a positive night for the community to come out and socialize safely during the pandemic while enjoying the beautiful works of Padrov and Cheney.