Nicholas Metivier Gallery is pleased to present North of Superior, an exhibition of new paintings by Charles Meanwell. The exhibition will open on June 25 and will be on view through July 18 with a reception for the artist Thursday, June 25 from 6 – 8 PM.
The north shore of Lake Superior, an area that stretches between Duluth, Minnesota and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is one of Charles Meanwell’s most beloved landscapes. Its unique terrain is characterized by rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches; rolling hills and ridges and rivers and waterfalls that flow into Lake Superior. Meanwell first visited the area in the 1970s while he was tree planting. The stark beauty of the landscape left a profound impression on Meanwell and he has returned to it often throughout his lifetime.
For this exhibition, Meanwell made three trips to the north shore of Superior over a six-month period. Setting out from his home in Hamilton, Ontario, Meanwell drove to Sault Ste. Marie and then traveled north, stopping to paint along the way. On the road, his car acts as a temporary studio, the hood doubling as an easel. Meanwell prefers to work on site but when temperatures are prohibitive, he paints from the display on his pocket camera. The printed photograph influences the way he sees the landscape and this is something he tries to avoid. Instead, Meanwell strives to lose himself in the moment, letting the paint translate the experience that lies before him.
Afterwards, hitchhiking home along the north shore, I longed to stop and look forever. It was the random array of elements that I couldn’t resist, and it is still the chance arrangement of things that sparks a painting.
Three recent trips have reinforced this effect. The huge hills crush all categories and block attempts to indicate with paint. I can only defer in colour to a presence that I do not understand, leaving viewers to fend for themselves.
- Charles Meanwell
Meanwell’s paintings are widely admired for their immediacy and gestural quality that often verges on abstraction. He uses brushstrokes sparingly and paints on Masonite board or Typar, a building material that is as structurally sound as gesso on canvas. Meanwell believes that successful paintings are made up of only essential elements - if a rock or cloud were to be removed, the painting would fall apart. Any superfluous marks distract from the poetry of line, colour and composition.
Charles Meanwell lives and paints in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2014, his work was featured in Painting Hamilton at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Solo museum exhibitions include On the Ground, Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, Ontario in 2010 and Windsor Paintings, Windsor Art Gallery, Windsor, Ontario in 2008. This is Meanwell’s fifth exhibition at the gallery.
