CAS at Carringbush Pop-Up Art Exhibition

Carringbush Hotel, 228 Langridge Street, Abbotsford

Opening Night, Wednesday 15 February

Report by Vida Ryan

It was a warm barmy Wednesday evening at the opening of the CAS Pop up Exhibition at the Carringbush Hotel in Abbotsford. The venue was very inviting and had a feel of familiarity and a friendly smile from the staff. The rustic decor included fire places and open spaces with an adjoining courtyard that allowed the breeze in on a warm evening. The exposed brick walls held 23 works proudly on display. Each artist brought their own expression of their own interpretation of a variety of subjects. These ranged from landscape, still life and abstract all in varios mediums.

All the works in the exhibition were thought provoking and gave the viewer visual stimulation to ask questions and immerse themselves into the subjects being painted.

A few that came to my attention while viewing the exhibits were the paintings of Anita van Grootveld. A pair of paintings called “Walking the Pavements”, an abstract done in acrylic with a wash of purple, pink and cream merging through a back tonal grid of squares, somewhat like windows of thought. The pattern holds the eye but at the same time the colours merge outside the grid into a calm space with no grid which allows contemplation.

Nathan Moshinsky delves into the unconscious in his abstract “out of Depths”, it is done in acrylic on canvas. It gives the impression of a dream like state where everything is jumbled and floating upward. The motifs include an orange fish, bubbles of air and flicks of white paint that balance out the darker shapes. The orange hues bind the internal structure with light and dark blue.

Another work was done by Cressida Fox, titled “They said they were our friends” done in a mixed medium showing the narritive of how trust can be challenged. The painting depicts two horse like creatures thinking they were safe with who they thought were their friends but there are two menacing creatures in the background creating uncertainty and doubt.

Yukiko Abe-Kruithof’s work called “Bold” is a beautifully executed hand cut black paper cut out of a flower done on cotton paper and with a soft pastel watercolour washing the background. The flower stands out but it has a softness to it with the supple pastel hues showing through.
These are just a few of the 23 works exhibited in the CAS Pop up Exhibition.

Once we viewed the art our small group sat down and enjoyed a meal together which was lovely, there were vegan and vegetarien dishes and many kinds of beer and other beverages. A pianist was playing and singing in the background and we all enjoyed the evening and headed home at around 8.30. A good time had by all.

******