Features
Janelle De Souza
3 Hrs Ago
Indo Dance by Liz Gardener at Horizons Art Gallery. – Photos by Faith Ayoung
After 15 years with no desire to show her work publicly, artist Elizabeth “Liz” Gardner has decided to use colour to put some joy out into the world with her new solo exhibition, Soul, Joy & Love.
Gardener told Newsday that even though she produced several pieces over the years, she did not want to exhibit as she preferred to “be low-key,” and an exhibition is a lot of work.
Instead, she taught privately as well as at Point Cumana (St Peter’s) RC Primary School for seven years.
Pan in My Soul by Liz Gardener at Horizons Art Gallery.
“I developed a programme because a lot of schools may not have professionally trained teachers. It’s just something that occurred to me that I could do for the area I lived in, because there’s so much talent.”
While she learned a lot being a teacher, she decided to give teaching a rest and create some pieces for herself and for God.
Soul, Joy & Love has about 38 pieces, mostly of figures, done in oil paint. There are also a few wooden houses in ink and some mixed media pieces using coloured pencils and oil on canvas.
According to Gardner, the exhibition is about the earth, as well as a reflection of what she described as the inauthentic, crass, tedious and disturbing things taking place around the world today.
She said artists of all types reflect what society is, is not or should be – so too does Soul, Joy & Love.
Gentle Harmony by Liz Gardener at Horizons Art Gallery.
“It came from my soul. I wanted to be joyful, and I believe in love,” she said explaining the significance of the title.
She painted what moves her and brings her joy, producing bélé dancers, saying she saw bélé dancers in most of the islands, and believes dance, music and the sea unify the Caribbean.
She believes the centre of everything is love, starting with love of God.
“There is so much invisibility, because if it’s there, I don’t see it, or absence of love. I hope my work speaks to someone’s heart and puts more love in the world.
The Park by Liz Gardener at Horizons Art Gallery.
She hopes there is another renaissance in the arts to initiate a change in society as she believes people need to be nicer, more thoughtful and more loving toward each other, especially children.
Because Gardener loves children. She finds them free of preconceptions and discrimination; they look out for their friends and are intelligent.
She pointed out that, financed by the sale of her art, she has been doing projects to help children for about 12 years – providing glasses, food and other necessities as well as re-educating them.
“Our society needs to do that – look out for kids, look out for the people that fall through the cracks. Just look out for them.”
Part of that, she believes, is exposing children to more than just academics, football and the steelpan.
“Not every child is academically inclined. There’s some out there who are born, destined, to do other things. Expand the programmes. There are some incredibly talented children in this country – blow-mind talent that could stand up on any international stage. Expand their avenues!”
Inked by Liz Gardener at Horizons Art Gallery.
Gardner attended Fanshawe College in Ontario, Canada, for graphic design, but the day she visited its Fine Arts department, she immediately switched. There she did sculpting with wood, plexiglass and metal as well as painting, etching, lithography and other aspects of visual arts before graduating with a degree in painting and a minor in graphic design in the 1980s.
She has been working as a freelance artist and graphic designer for 30 years, but has been painting since the age of ten. She has also been involved in film, theatre, printing and fashion, and is grateful that life and God gave her opportunities to be so involved in the arts.
“I don’t think any artist can ever stop creating. A writer feasts on words. A visual artist feasts on visuals. A musician, on sound. You feast in your mind, not for people to know, very quietly by yourself, you feast on it. It just depends on which part of the arts you’re in; that is how the world appears to you.”
Gardner added that she loves to experiment with her paintings and plans to do more mixed media work and to try some techniques using water.
Soul, Joy & Love will be held from December 9-19 at Horizons Art Gallery on Mucurapo Road, St James.
Comments are closed.