A One-Of-A-Kind Artistic Experience in Downtown Kelowna

It will be an evening to mix and mingle, all the while enjoying, admiring, and interpreting a vast collection of Canadian art in downtown Kelowna, as both the Kelowna Art Gallery and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art will be hosting simultaneous exhibitions.

Originally hailing from Calgary, artist Shyra De Souza will be showcasing her minimalist piece Phantom Limb at the Alternator Centre.

Inspired by the glut that is sifting through thrift stores, tied with the anxiety of seemingly never ending clutter, De Souza created this one-of-a-kind piece as a means of working with materials, rather than having the objects simply taking up space.

Shyra De Souza along side her piece Phantom Limb. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com.)

“It was a process of trying to take the viewer’s attention away from what was the content of each object, and place it into something that was a little more ambiguous where the viewer is kind of responsible for figuring out what it means from their perspective,” explained De Souza. “They're kind of moving in between this space of recognizing different things, but then seeing it all as one mass as well. The focus of the work was not so much the objects, but almost the space around the objects.”

In the next room over, gallery goers will gravitate toward pop surrealism while exploring the joint artwork of couple David and Jorden Doody.

Entitled Hallow Harbour, David and Jorden’s exhibit engages vastly diverse fragments of pop culture, allowing for a more organic perspective.

Piece from Hallow Harbour. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com.)

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com.

“By taking images that are from the cultural drone, we can put together things and improvise objects and meanings that have space for free interpretation,” explained Jordan. “We’re basically pulling notes, which for us are images or thoughts and concepts, and we’re sampling those and re-mixing them, and then that’s our improvisation. Our artistic voice is the improvisation of our shared culture.”

Although the contrasting exhibitions are unique, they both emulate underlying concepts of consumerism in our culture.

Meanwhile, the Kelowna Art Gallery will be hosting the artwork of Jeroen Witvliet. Currently living on Vancouver Island, Witvliet will be in Kelowna Friday evening to debut his exhibition, Wayfarer.

The Tower from Wayfarer series. (Photo Credit: Kelowna Art Gallery website.)

“The Wayfarer paintings are dense and puzzling works, fascinating in their seemingly random detail—mounds of discarded stuff along with branches, as though the entire contents of each composition has been readied for a bonfire,” read the Kelowna Art Gallery website.

The free event at the Alternator Centre is open to the public and the Kelowna Art Gallery will be hosting a reception for members. Both events will run from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m., with time to chat with the artists just after opening. For more information, visit the Alternator Centre website or the Kelowna Art Gallery website.

The Alternator Centre is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts at 421 Cawston Avenue, and the Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street.