Wednesday 27 April 2011

Posted for a friend and great artist - 3-day show in historic J.E.H./Thoreau MacDonald House

COLOUR AT WORK
McMichael Canadian Art Collection educator, Elaine Hoffman opens new show May12th for 3-days only at J.E.H./Thoreau MacDonald House

Colour at Work will be taking place May 12-15, 2011, at the J.E.H./Thoreau MacDonald House, 121 Centre Street, Thornhill, ON.

Twenty-five paintings and drawing will be on display at the historic house once occupied by a member of the Group of Seven. Using abstract compositions, the works show Hoffman’s continuing exploration of the evocative quality of colour. Suggestion and inference are vital components in the paintings and drawings of Elaine Hoffman. Using visual language she creates vignettes that evoke emotions and sensations we all experience: frustration, anger, contentment and hope, to name a few.
Toronto artist, Elaine Hoffman says, “The process of creating paintings is very seductive for me. Using bold shapes and saturated colours, I feel a strong impulse to capture illusive emotions. Colour becomes an entry point for narrative.
Working in an art gallery created a tension in that I was always tempted to bolt up to my garret and dedicate my life to painting, but the reality of daily living interfered. Once my career path was established and home responsibilities lessened, I was able to process experiences and focus my creative energy.”
"Elaine's non-objective paintings are emotional and powerful. A bold juxtaposition of colours and shapes excite and move the viewer,” says Lila Lewis Irving, artist and instructor.
Hoffman studied visual art at York University and University of Guelph. She also studied Interior Design at Niagara College. Hoffman has taken numerous courses to enrich her art practice and is currently enrolled in, Visual & Creative Arts Diploma, at Fleming College. Since 1997, Hoffman has been involved in art education at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection where she currently is the Manager of Education.
MacDonald House is named after James Edward Hervey MacDonald, an original member of the Group of Seven painters and his son Thoreau. JEH MacDonald purchased the property in 1916 and it was here that he pained his famous canvas, “The Tangled Garden”, March 1916, which now hangs at the National Gallery in Ottawa.
Show hours: Thursday and Friday, 5:00- 9:00 pm, Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. For more information about the show contact Elaine Hoffman, elhof@sympatico.ca (416) 768-8438.

Media inquiries:

Bobbi Greenberg 905 780 8191
Amy Trachter 416 970 8438