Photo: Contributed

Three art exhibits featuring the work of eight Kamloops artists will debut at the Old Courthouse gallery later this month.

The exhibits, presented by the Kamloops Arts Council, will include pieces by artists Deb Fong, Gail Clark and Tricia Sellmer and the Pond Painters.

The exhibitions will run from Jan. 29 to Feb. 20.

Fong presents Life and Art Interrupted, an exploration of classical still life images juxtaposed with contemporary aesthetics. In a press release, the Kamloops Arts Council said Fong’s work shows a new approach to still life painting.

“It also reflects on the current state of life during the pandemic, when normal life routines have been so disrupted,” the release said.

Gail Clark’s exhibit, Heart Works, includes a collection of 14 hearts, the shapes pieced together by collections of found materials bound by beeswax and resin. Clark used rusty metal, old jewellery, forest growth, and paper currency to create the pieces, saying she found an inherent beauty in these abandoned objects.

This is Clark’s first solo show with the Kamloops Arts Council.

The third exhibit, In the Time of Solitude, features works from Tricia Sellmer and the Pond Painters, a group of local artists who Sellmer gathered to paint together in various locations, adhering to physical distancing guidelines.

The group painted in Sellmer’s studio and at the Pond Country market in Barnhartvale. Artists include Deb Fong, Bonnie Kavanagh, Jackie Zeihe, Sherry Bezanson, Penny Heaslip and Lori Pilon.