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Art in the Great Outdoors
- Posted by: Tim Johnson on October 1, 2012
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Peterborough County is a place that’s full of surprises—where you can find award-winning theatre in a barnyard, haute cuisine in a cottage setting and, perhaps most fascinating of all, one of the province’s top displays of contemporary African art…in the middle of a forest. At ZimArt’s Rice Lake Gallery, curator Fran Fearnly has brought the growing tradition of displaying Shona sculpture work in an al fresco setting (something that’s been done in the United Kingdom, continental Europe and the United States) to Canada. It seems appropriate, given that Shona works, which are created by hand in Zimbabwe, are usually sculpted in the open air. The gallery shows the work amongst towering pine trees, with birds chirping in the trees and views out on the calm waters of the lake. The beauty of man’s creation set within the glory of nature.
And just one week ago, the gallery wrapped up its largest event of the year, Rice Lake XIII, with more than 300 works displayed over two acres. For the entire two weeks of the show, 2012 artist-in-residence Stephen Murenza was on hand to answer questions and demonstrate his talent, while the sculptures offered for sale, hand-picked by Fearnly during frequent trips over to Zimbabwe, included the semi-abstract, joyful work of Authur Manyengedzo, to the storytelling sculptures of Letwin Mugavazi, who aims to explore the complex roles of women in Africa in her work. It all goes to show that, when you drive out into the country in the Kawarthas, you just never know what you’re going to find. —Tim Johnson
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