August 3, 2023 · 0 Comments
By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A new art exhibit is set to open at the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery.
Orangeville resident Harley Duck will be showcasing his work in an exhibition titled ‘Get Outta Your Head: Portraits and Such’ at the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery from Aug. 7 to Aug. 25.
Duck studied at the University of Guelph, where he graduated in 2021 with a Major in English and Minor in Studio Art. After graduating, he began teaching classes through his own company, Eraser Tip Art Classes, and will be returning as an art teacher with the Headwater Hills Montessori School.
His first solo exhibition, ‘A Clever Name for a Bunch of Rectangles’, was held at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville from Jan. 14 to May 5. Previous showings of Duck’s work include a juried exhibition at the Alton Mill Arts Centre in 2022 and a juried group exhibition in Guelph in 2021, where he placed third for his drawing called ‘The Entire History of Art.’
Duck’s process in creating his pieces of work starts with a picture, whether it’s a space or subject. But rather than recreate the image on canvas, Duck begins experimenting with it by making distorting changes until the piece is complete.
“It’s no fun if you’re just taking an image and recreating it by putting it straight onto a painting. I want to change things around when I’m painting to make it more interesting a more of a piece of art work,” said Duck. “Every image can afford to be fudged on the way to canvas. If somebody can come to one of my pieces and be emotionally affect by it, that’s what every artist wants.”
Duck will showcase roughly 15 pieces of work spanning the last three years at the exhibit.
One painting that will be part of the show is a piece Duck refers to as “a parody of a medieval painting,” which he drew inspiration from a piece of work at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Duck’s work is a depiction of a medieval painting, but where originally the main image was Saints, Duck has instead drawn himself as a replacement holding a Cadbury Crème Egg.
“I thought it would create something for the viewer and for me thought it was funny to have that kind of disjoint between the medieval composition,” explained Duck.
Duck’s exhibition ‘Get Outta Your Head: Portraits and Such’ will be held at the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery from Aug. 7 to Aug. 25.