Headwaters Arts kicking off new year with ReLaunch 2023 exhibition

By Zachary Roman

It's a new year and local artists have new work ready to display at an upcoming exhibition in Alton.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on January 14, an opening reception for an art show titled ReLaunch 2023 will be taking place at the Headwaters Arts Gallery at the Alton Mill Arts Centre. At the reception, guests will be able to meet the artists, view the show, and enjoy refreshments.

ReLaunch 2023 will be available for viewing at the Arts Centre from January 11 to February 12.

Featuring 21 different artists, Sue Powell, Headwaters Arts Chair of Communications, said the exhibition is bold and beautiful. She said the new year is a time for renewal and “turning over a new leaf” — and in the exhibition, the artists will be visually depicting their personal promises of new adventures, moving forward, and breaking free.

There will be over 25 pieces of art on display and a variety of unique artistic mediums will be showcased. Media include oil, watercolour, and acrylic paintings, as well as pastel drawings. Joining the paintings will be mixed media and textile art.

Jason Misurka, who is from Mississauga, is an abstract artist who's participating in ReLaunch 2023, and said his paintings engage the subconscious mind, capturing moments frozen in time and space. 

“I use a combination of layering translucent bold colour palettes while manipulating abstracted shapes and forms to evoke the senses with energy, flow of movement and joy,” said Misurka, who uses air brush, hand painting, and acrylic markers to create his abstract art. 

Photographer Melissa Kristensen-Smith is another one of the artists participating in the exhibition. Her photograph on display represents how women may show themselves to the world one way but feel something else entirely inside. She evokes this using double-exposure photography of a nude subject. 

“Women everywhere present themselves in different ways to the world. What they feel on the inside can be quite different. In the double exposure image, I try to reflect these inner feelings,” said Kristensen-Smith.

Nonie Dauphinais of Aurora is a third unique example of an artist showcasing their talent at ReLaunch 2023. She paints fluid art, or paint pouring using acrylics. 

“Fluid art has been an exciting and adventurous discovery. The process can be spontaneous or orchestrated by technique,” said Dauphinais. “It allows me to paint outside of the lines. The colours and techniques that I use infer my personal attachment to nature.”

Dauphinais is an avid gardener, and her piece on display at the exhibition is titled “Promise of Spring.” The work reflects the first outburst of colour she sees in her garden each year.

In addition to the three mentioned in this article, artists participating in ReLaunch 2023 include Agnes Bellegris, Alina Lloyd, Anita Pietras, Anne Schnurr, Carol-Ann Michaelson, Christine Schubert, Deborah Powell, Hildegarde Sausik, Jodie Willis, Julie Park, Laurie Lamb, Lynn Gilbank, Marnie Cooke, Nancy MacNabb, Patty Maher, Susan Powell, Vanessa Hertzberg and Vanessa Sica. 

The Headwaters Arts Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday.