Life-Lines/Laugh-Lines

Catherine Gutsche, an Ottawa-based abstract artist, will be showcasing her latest work in a solo exhibition titled Life-Lines/Laugh-Lines from November 8th–December 1st, 2024 at Melt Studio + Gallery in Picton.

Catherine spent 18 years working as a webmaster and graphic designer and is now fully dedicated to her art practice where she focuses on exploring the intimate relationships between colour, texture, and pattern. Her work is held in private collections across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

As a process-driven painter, Catherine’s work is deeply inspired by nature’s transient characteristics and imperfections. Her technique involves layering, scratching back, rubbing away, and revealing textures that evoke the natural elements that inspire her, such as lichens, crumbling bricks, and rusting metals. In Life-Lines/Laugh-Lines, Catherine also delves into the symbolic visual language of lines and marks, exploring how they are as unique as handwriting or fingerprints. These gestural marks form a personal narrative, evoking layers of emotion and inviting viewers to embark on an intuitive journey.

Life-Lines/Laugh-Lines showcases Catherine’s dynamic works, which evolve organically through a process that mirrors nature’s transformations. Each piece offers a continuum of moods and stories, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves in her creative process and experience the improvisational beauty of the natural world.

Also opening on November 8th is The Winterline–A False Horizon, an exhibition of Bill Penner’s drawings and paintings inspired by his childhood in India. Deep reds, yellow, purple, and inky blue form the “Winterline,” a false horizon in the winter months, visible at dusk from the mountains of South India where Penner grew up. These images of imaginary landscapes, and the grounded reality of semi-feral street dogs living out their destiny, are influenced by the vivid colours and ever-shifting horizons that are part of his India.

All are invited to the opening reception for both exhibitions on Saturday, November 9th, 2024 from 1–4 PM.

Located at Base31, Barrack 3, (Dieppe Road), 343 County Rd 22, Picton.