Artists Verna Vogel 1 page

Verna Vogel`s paintings are carefully planned and constructed.
The stetchers are built, often in a series of identical sizes like multiple windows.
Then pieces of canvas are stitched together to create city-scapes of varying degrees of abstraction. The artist sometimes adds bits of fabric, mesh, etc. on top of the canvas for added texture.
The sewn canvasses are stretched and the seams sealed, then they are coated with several layers of gesso.
Finally they are ready for the surface veneer: oil colour applied in layers of translucent glazes.

`Creating work in this way appeals to me on several levels.
The kaleidescopic effect created by contrasting surface textures, translucent colour glazes, and multiple paintings - which can be hung together in different ways to create larger images - is reflective of the shifting nature of the city environment.
The harmonious integration of sewing and architecture - traditionally separated into womens' and mens' work, using soft and hard materials - creates a subtler layer of contrast.
Finally, the city has a feeling of permanence, but will eventually decay and cease to exist. My paintings have a fleeting quality, but they are made with archival materials and may outlast the cityscapes which inspire them!`

`Where I live - the downtown core of a large city - is a place of contrasts, a world of multiple shifting layers created and inhabited predominantly by humans.

The many buildings clustered in the core of the city create a strong visual impact with their kaleidescopic variations of shape, form, texture and colour. The view from my 14th floor flat inspires in me a kind of 3-dimensional feeling of floating among the buildings; they are not towering above me nor seen from a distance, but rather we exist together somewhere between earth and sky. They, like I - like most people - have a deliberate external veneer which conceals the activity within.

In the growing city, buildings are continually going up and coming down.
The internal structures visible during demolition and construction fascinate me, as do the materials - rough lumber, rebar protruding from concrete slabs, tarps billowing over unfinished windows, dust and gravel - all are an indication of the work of human hands.
Compare to the finished product: all evidence of physical humanity hidden, internal structures enclosed in a flawless sheath of clean, smooth glass and steel and concrete. Some of the buildings look almost alien, as though they just dropped down from the sky in present perfect manifestation - but human actvity continues, concealed inside offices, shoppng malls, restaurants and corridors.
this internal/external contrast, the many layers of perception possible in my environment, and the intricate beauty of it all, are what I try to communicate in my works.` Verna Vogel

EDUCATION

1995 - 1997 Capilano College, N. Vancouver, BC
- Studio Arts Foundation Program

1998 Institut Seni Lukis (MIA), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 3rd year fine art studies
- traditional oil painting and Chinese ink painting
- recieved Asia-Pacific College Students' Award

1996 - 2002 Basic Inquiry Studio, Vancouver Institute of Art, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
- self-directed study of drawing and painting the human figure

EXHIBITIONS

Vancouver, BC:
- 2 solo shows and 3 group shows at Basic Inquiry
- 1 solo show at The Wik
- 1 solo show at Cafe Barney
- Participation in the Vancouver Culture Crawl (3 years)

Calgary, AB:
- 2 solo shows at Steeps Urban Teahouse, Mt. Royal Village
- 1 solo show and 1 group show at Untitled Art Society (UAS) gallery
- 1 solo show at UAS +15 showcase in Epcor Centre
- Several group shows and fundraisers at UAS gallery
- Participation in Calgary Artwalk (3 years)
- 3 group shows at Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts annual Christmas fundraiser event