16 Sept – 16 December 2024
GVPL Central Branch
735 Broughton St, Victoria, BC
Artist Statement:
The figure is conjured first through the gaze of the photograph, the first reference to the image to come is caught in the wild, capturing the fleeting moment. This photo then enters the studio where it is transformed and built upon through the physical act of painting itself, a process which alternates between seeking to evoke the ‘realism’ of the subject, as well as overlaying unanticipated layers through which the painting takes on its own life, the subject becomes a symbolic being separate from the original subject and the intermediary step of the photograph. Now the singular figure can dance, become dynamic and appear as though to move while at the same time being distilled in time through the sorcery of paint and light.
Bio:
Erik Volet (b. 1980) is an artist based in the West Coast of Canada and is a member of the Inner Island Surrealist Group. He has shown in Canada, the United States and France. His primary focus is on painting and drawing. He has also produced and illustrated books, zines and has been active in outdoor mural painting. Influences which continue to be important to his process of art making are early twentieth century art movements, comic book art, graffiti, and an ongoing engagement with Surrealism.
