Opening Reception: Bodies of Water by Coleen Davidson

Free admission – Light refreshments – Everyone welcome. / Exhibition continues until August 30 in Library Gallery, 396 St. George St., Annapolis Royal

Coleen’s collages, soft sculptures and installations are rooted in the fragile marine environment of rural Nova Scotia, Canada where she lives. Her practice is informed by formal art training and art history, but the actual making is intuitive. Colour is important to her as she mixes silk dyes and invent new colour combinations to express the joy she feels in this coastal environment. On volumes of silk and linen fabric, she paints original designs. Coleen then takes the fabric apart, collaging the pieces together using thousands of metres of machine embroidery thread and hand stitch. The silk is transformed by an open, playful and exploratory process. Her installations are focused on the experience of the viewer as she hopes to evoke a memory or feeling of the wind, water, lightness, of a fleeting moment in time.

Coleen’s silk collages bring into view the vulnerability of our marine and coastal environments. She creates immersive installations to share her love of this coastal world. She also makes one-of-a-kind wearable art. It’s in her DNA; her paternal grandmother was a tailor in the Ottawa Valley area of Canada. In all her work we feel her mastery of her materials, her playful spirit and her commitment to excellence. Coleen teaches silk painting and exhibits in solo, and group shows. Her work is in private collections in Canada and Internationally.
website: coleenmdavidson.com
instagram: @coleenmdavidson