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Mark Stebbins’s paintings tend to be small, and with good reason.
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The Point Edward native, now London-based artist, who has exhibited internationally and several times in Sarnia, estimated at least 100 hours goes into every work he creates, each a meticulously hand-crafted and detailed conglomeration of paint dollops, and sometimes ink.
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There are 27 works in his recently opened The Lingering Instant exhibition at the Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery in Sarnia,.
“It represents a few years worth of work,” Stebbins said.
That labour intensity is part of the point, he said.
“In some ways, it is a push-back . . . against the faster pace of digital culture.”
The Lingering Instant includes syringe-extruded paint on burlap, and wood panels coloured with ink and acrylic, using dip pens and very small brushes, he said.
Paintings, sometimes methodically planned, other times improvised, are layered with multiple meanings, as is the exhibition title, he said.
Titles are meant to suggest a way into the work, he said.
“Some kind of interpretation, but to leave enough openness so the person can bring their own thoughts.”
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His process always has been slow, Stebbins said.
He enjoys the detail, and drawing people who reflect on the work “into a different sort of world that asks you to slow down, look, stop, think,” he said.
Stebbins’s is one of two exhibitions at the gallery exploring how people connect to each other, nature and the systems shaping our world, said curator Sonya Blazek.
Aganetha Dyck, Diana Thorneycroft, and Reva Stone’s Together Apart | Under One Roof exhibition at JNAAG. (Handout) jpg, SO, apsmc
Together Apart | Under One Roof features works by Aganetha Dyck, Diana Thorneycroft, and Reva Stone, studio neighbours in Winnipeg for 30 years.
Focuses include feminist art practice, collaboration, and the relationship between human and non-human worlds, Blazek said.
“It’s an exhibition about friendship as much as it is about art . . . and their interest in connections between people, nature, and other forms of life.”
Both exhibitions opened April 17 and run until Aug. 30.
Connecting with old friends from the community at a recent opening reception was welcome, Stebbins said.
“I love the chance to return to Sarnia to do an exhibition like this,” he said.
He’s also hosting a free artist talk on the exhibition on June 6 at 11:30 a.m. at the gallery – people can register at jnaag.ca – and teaching an acrylic ink painting workshop at the gallery the following day. Workshop spots cost $75.
“It’s really just about community engagement,” he said. “Like making art, something that people can develop a relationship around and connect and get to know each other.”
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