KO Art Review of Perehudoff at the Glenbow

Tonight, back in Calgary, I had the pleasure of a private viewing of the William Perehudoff: THE OPTIMISM OF COLOUR: WILLIAM PEREHUDOFF, A RETROSPECTIVE at the Glenbow Museum with the Art Curator Colleen Sharpe for pivot. The show opened on July 1, 2011 at the Glenbow and was organized and circulated by the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I personally am not a fan of abstraction, but I discovered two favorites amoung the pieces in this show. My first favorite was a huge mural that Perehudoff painted on panel of the Intercontinental Meat Packing Plant. It was one of his early pieces (dating from 1948) and was so Diego Rivera-esque. The colors and human forms were so appealing I wish I could have spent more time with this piece. My next favorite, but specifically of the abstract work in this show is AC-83-024, 1983. This work was produced in the 1980’s and is so bold, with paint that is applied so thicks and dramatic. It fascinates me so deeply, that a prairie born Canadian painter was doing such revolutionary paintings for his time. The show is up until September 18, 2011 and I highly recommend taking the time to indulge your eyes in the colors of these paintings. (Above Photo www.mendel.ca)