Beth Stuart, The Cliques

October 6th - October 30th, 2011
Opens: Thursday, October 6th, 6-9pm
1086 ½ Queen St. W. Toronto, ON
Hours: Wed – Sat 12-6 pm & Sun 1-5 pm

The Cliques constitutes a new series of paintings by Beth Stuart. The paintings are presented in pairs; not as diptychs, but as distinct personalities whose meeting elicits a conversational resonance. Two paintings that speak without arguing, that rub against each other - inciting friction and forgiveness. This work probes, more deeply, a continuing interest in the problems and possibilities that negotiation offers. The negotiations played out in the studio between figure and ground, between abstraction and representation, interior and exterior offer manifold parallels to the nuances of human dialogue. While negotiation risks both parties remaining unsatisfied, it also chances that differences may combine to open new avenues of understanding.  It is the challenge of the former and the spirit of the latter that is the genesis of the works in the exhibition.

Beth Stuart lives and works in Toronto Ontario. Since receiving an MFA in 2009 from the University of Guelph, she has had three significant solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions. Stuart has been shortlisted for the 2010 and 2011 RBC Painting Competitions, and looks forward to an upcoming solo exhibit at La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in Montreal in the spring of 2012.  She is currently represented by Erin Stump Projects in Toronto and is working with Battat Contemporary in Montreal.