Currently on display at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, Ontario is Between the Forest and the Sky exhibit by Bewabon Shilling. Shilling is a member of the Rama Mnjikaning First Nation community north of Barrie. The exhibition focuses its content on addressing the land, given the surroundings of Shillings home and studio he doesn’t have to look very far for inspiration. Bewabon comes from a family of artists; his father Arthur Shilling (diseased) is a well-known painter, and brother Travis Shilling is a filmmaker, playwright and painter (travisshilling.com). Shilling works out of a studio steps from his home, the studio was constructed by his father when Bewabon was young. (McKibbon, 2019) Surrounded by powerful imagery and landscape it’s easy to understand where Bewabon finds inspiration for his paintings.
An “architectural landmark” (maclarenartcentre.com, 2019) houses the MacLaren Art Centre is an art gallery which services the Barrie area and the region throughout the County of Simcoe. They offer a variety of rotating exhibitions which include national and international content, they focus on the local and regional artistic community. MacLaren offers am assortment of educational programs and special events for people of all ages. They “emphasizes innovative artistic production in Canada” (maclarenartcentre.com, 2019) which supports artists like Bewabon Shilling produce meaningful work that speaks to the state of the land around us. The exhibition curated by Emily McKibbon of Shilling’s work is displayed in a space opposite the main gallery (maclarenartcentre.com, 2019). The exhibition space is one room where viewers can take in all paintings part of the Between the Forest and the Sky series at one time on entry. The exhibition is also laid out to tell a story to the viewers as the subjects of the of each painting transition from a focus on the wide-open sky to a dense field and through a forest. Or if visitors begin their journey in the opposite direction, they start in a forest and make their way to a far-reaching horizon.
A work that stood out was Untitled from Forest Series for the thickness of its brush stroke and varying tones of green. Bewabon has created a large piece that represents a tree line and dense forest. When the viewer is close to the work the strokes are a jumble of patterns and textures, it is only when viewed from afar that your eyes piece together the optical illusion created by impressionist painting when the image comes together. When looking at the painting from far you see the forest floor covered in a mix of green, yellow and orange leaves. At the top of the canvas blue sky pokes through the tops of the trees, and the middle of the canvas is packed with foliage. The viewers eye is lead through the work by following the trucks of the trees as they move through the piece.
Initially I did know that I wanted to speak about one of Bewabon Shilling’s works because of his loose brush strokes, saturated colours and subject matter, but I wasn’t sure which one. Three of the forest scenes looked very similar, what drew me to Untitled from Forest Series was the point of view. For me, the vantage point in this piece compared to the others gives us the best position in which the trees take up the full expanse of the canvas without overwhelming us. The sky at the top of the canvas allows us to situate ourselves within the scene and because of the space left in the foreground we don’t get lost in the trees. When looking at the oil painting, it’s like I can feel a cool breeze making its way through the branches.
As McKibbon explains during her trip to Shilling’s home studio, he works in an open clearing by a fire pit. (McKibbon, 2019) This open-air setting connects Shilling to nature literally and creatively. Begin in nature and around living plants is soothing for the mind and spirit which translate to his work. His paintings don’t depict a land that is destroyed, his landscapes show someone who loves this land and wants to show it at its best. On her visit to Shilling and his family members began a conversation that praised the best time of year to paint, that it’s “only possible to start painting in the fall, that summer was anathema to their work…” (McKibbon, 2019). Untitled from Forest Series portrays the beginning of fall, amongst the lavish green hues in the trees are small hints of yellows with a sprinkling of orange focused in the middle of the artwork. The leaves are starting to turn to their fall colours and Bewabon is documenting the process with care.
A look like Untitled from Forest Series shows us what we can appreciate about the world and can teach us that we need to preserve scenes like this. With deforestation on the rise and concerns over global warming our forests will slowly degrade. Although the introduction of this exhibition focuses on Bewabon’s connection and love of the land, it serves as a reminder and a lesson to care for places like this before they are lost to us forever.
The work is successful in creating a landscape of natural beauty, however its impressionist style and pieced together brush strokes make it hard to read at first glance. However just as we should care about the land, we should care about understanding the images in the work. It’s through time and consideration that the image comes together and so to will preservation of the earth succeed. The exhibition as a whole is read organized and read successfully, viewers can understand how the show is organized and it leads them through the space.
Bewabon Shilling has created a series of paintings that showcases his love of the land that surrounds him. This show inspired me to hope the more people that experience these works will also want to love the land and in turn care for it. His wide brush work is full of texture and colours that light up the senses. The green colour palette throughout Untitled from Forest Series calls me into the painting, inviting me to take a walk through the trees and feel the fresh air filling my lungs. This refreshing feeling puts me at ease makings me want to stay even longer.
References
MacLarenArtCentre.com. (2019). About. Retrieved from: https://maclarenart.com/about/
McKibbbon, E. (November 2019). The quality of light, the tone, the habit and the dream: The landscape paintings of Bewabon Shilling. MacLaren Art Centre.
Travisshilling.com. (2010.) Bio. Retrieved from: http://www.travisshilling.com/