{"id":16990,"date":"2016-01-29T00:28:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T08:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=16990"},"modified":"2016-01-26T16:08:08","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T00:08:08","slug":"painting-beauty-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/01\/29\/painting-beauty-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Painting beauty, meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lori Goldberg in front of one of her paintings. (photo from Lori Goldberg)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lori Goldberg is one of the artists whose work has been chosen to be part of a special project in aid of what will be Abbotsford\u2019s first residential hospice facility, Holmberg House, set to open this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Reach Gallery and the Abbotsford Arts Council, in partnership with the Abbotsford Hospice Society, selected several artists for the project,\u201d explained Goldberg to the Independent<\/em>. \u201cAfter the artworks are completed, the Reach will host an event where donors will bid on them. The proceeds will be split between the Abbotsford Hospice Society, the Reach Gallery and the Abbotsford Arts Council. Some of the works will be placed in Holmberg House. Others will be used to cover medical equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artists only receive a small honorarium for their work, which is due at the end of January. But payment comes in other forms. \u201cI like the challenge of creating an uplifting and soulful work that would give the viewer peace and joy,\u201d said Goldberg, who is coming off a fall 2015 solo show at the Zack Gallery called Urban Forest.<\/p>\n

The forest theme, intertwined with the \u201ctrue Canadian\u201d theme, has been filling her canvases for the last several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, my art often involved objects,\u201d Goldberg said. \u201cI was a single mom with two growing sons and I realized recently that the objects and still life in my art meant me being domestic. The objects were all around me, part of my family life, and each object had a story to tell about their owners and the relationships between things and people. An object could be spiritual or mundane, and the stories could change with use.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, as my sons grew, I could expand myself. Before, most of my buyers were women. Now, I could reach further with my imagery. I traveled and I taught a lot, and the more I traveled, the more I realized how important my home was: Vancouver, Canada. I started exploring the theme of being Canadian in my art.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the symbols of Canada in Goldberg\u2019s eyes is a canoe. \u201cVisually, the canoe represents something significant. Canoes took explorers across Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Red canoes float and bob on the water across Goldberg\u2019s paintings. Some of them are big, others small, but all of them are empty. \u201cA canoe is a vessel, and I make it empty on purpose. Everyone looking at my paintings can imagine themselves in the canoe. It is there for them. I did a lot of kayaking in my life, and the experience is similar. You\u2019re on the water, paddling, and there is a landscape unfolding, sometimes peaceful, sometimes dangerous. There is a relationship between the persons in the boats and the landscape. There is a home there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Goldberg, the color of the canoes \u2013 red \u2013 also represents Canada. \u201cLike on our flag,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are people who enjoy boating and water, and they like and buy these paintings. I have some new commissions of the canoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldberg loves working on commissions. \u201cI\u2019m good with commissions. People who order them usually know my work, but we always discuss what size of the painting they need, if they want some specific colors, or if they have a story to tell. Maybe they have a cabin on a lake, and then I do research, make lots of sketches, and try to incorporate their familiar landscape details into the painting.\u201d<\/p>\n

More often than not, Goldberg\u2019s canoes sail past wild, forested shores, shimmering with green leaves and filtered sunlight. \u201cI like a punch of bright red inside the green,\u201d the artist mused.<\/p>\n

Forests, especially Canadian urban forests, have become another important theme in her art. \u201cThe forest is so close in Vancouver, just behind your windows. The city is all concrete, but when you step inside a forest, you shed the city, all its artificial neon colors, all the metal and plastic. It all peels off. You become part of nature, but you also become more exposed, more vulnerable, you feel alive. Nature inspires you, but it can also be dangerous, full of beasts and unknown perils. It\u2019s beautiful and uplifting but also powerful. You have to respect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The juxtaposition of the wilderness and the city, our cultural icons among the tangle of branches is a recurring motif in Goldberg\u2019s forests. You could see a deer peeking from behind a tree, or people lugging their suitcases along the woodsy paths. \u201cWe all bring our luggage to the forest,\u201d she said. \u201cA forest is as much a metaphor of human lives as it is a real place. There is light and there are shadows there. Our cities are encroaching on the forest, but we need to become caregivers. In my small way, I do what I can, so we can find harmony with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theme of urban Canadian forests resonates with many in Canada, and more and more people have become interested in Goldberg\u2019s work. A few months ago, she and her paintings of canoes and forests were profiled in the magazines MontrealHOME<\/em>, VancouverHOME <\/em>and TorontoHOME<\/em>.<\/p>\n

More information can be found on the artist\u2019s website, lorigoldberg.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lori Goldberg in front of one of her paintings. (photo from Lori Goldberg) Lori Goldberg is one of the artists whose work has been chosen to be part of a special project in aid of what will be Abbotsford\u2019s first residential hospice facility, Holmberg House, set to open this year. \u201cThe Reach Gallery and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[5233,4635,5234],"class_list":["post-16990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-homberg-house","tag-lori-goldberg","tag-vancouverhome"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}