Past Exhibit: Gallery Hopping into Art History

Louise de Kiriline appears to look out to the person painting her portrait, and likely carried the artist’s name to her grave.

The internationally known naturalist from Callander, shown holding binoculars, was an author and nurse to the Dionne quintuplets. The only clue to the identity of the artist behind her portrait is the signature Barrowman on the upper left of the canvas.

“Why is it here? Who donated it? The paper trail is incomplete,” says Alex Campbell, WKP Kennedy Gallery co-ordinator.

She’s joining her father, ceramic artist Keith Campbell, to curate the show Figuring it Out, an exhibit of figurative work featuring the gallery’s personal collection.

This mix of mystery and history is one of the stops during Friday’s Downtown Gallery Hop, a free arts event featuring work exhibited at 14 venues.

The hops attract people who have never set foot in a gallery and are turning the event into a social experience to the backdrop of North Bay’s art scene.

That’s one reason Naomi Rupke wanted to take part.

She’s curator of the Discovery North Bay Museum and tried the art event during the last gallery hop in May.

She decided to make the museum a permanent stop on the venue.

“I was interested because I wanted to connect with the other galleries downtown and support each other,” she said.

“It’s a way to bring new people into the museum who wouldn’t normally come.”

The museum is featuring the exhibit Grey Owl: An Environmental Legacy which continues until July 27, with works by a dozen local artists and their interpretation of his conservation efforts and true identity.

The museum is also featuring work to celebrate the Northern Ontario Art Association’s 56th annual exhibition.

Discovery North Bay is also holding a haunted downtown walk Friday starting at 7:30 p.m. at the museum at Ferguson and Oak streets. The walk costs $3 and may not be suitable for young children.

The Downtown Gallery Hop runs Friday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The next gallery hops are scheduled to take place Sept. 20 and Nov. 15.

Previously published by The North Bay Nugget, July 18, 2013

Written by Maria Calabrese