Photography and Digital Art April 7, 2011

Four accomplished and award winning Canadian artists (Peter Adamson, Bret Culp, John Long and Mira Zdjelar) specialize in the ‘art of photography’ and each will showcase their own distinct vision. The group exhibition opens with a reception on Thursday, April 7 (6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and runs to April 30, 2011 at Leonardo Galleries in Yorkville (open Wed-Sat or by appointment).

Toronto’s Peter Adamson, who is passionate about photography as an art form states, “My recent work has focused on the interplay of line, shape, form and colour. While the subjects are secondary and the aesthetics primary, my ulterior motive is to pry the viewer away from winter and to dream of summer.”

Adamson works extensively in film and digital media and has exhibited his work in a variety of venues and competitions throughout Ontario (winning first prize at the Neilson Park Creative Centre juried art show ‘Impact 2009’). He studied photography at Ryerson University and is a frequent participant in the CONTACT Photography Festival.

Gemini award winner Bret Culp explains his black and white collection (taken in Italy and Ireland), “These are photographs of matter governed by time, chosen to illustrate the relentless determination of nature, the eternal cycle of creation out of destruction and ‘The Beauty of Impermanence’.”

Toronto’s Bret Culp is a director and visual effects supervisor for more than 40 feature films and television shows including Saw II, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and all four seasons of The Tudors (winning a Best Visual Effects Gemini in 2008). Culp spends most of his time working in Ireland, is the recipient of numerous awards and his pieces are featured in many galleries and museums in North America and abroad.

Toronto photography pioneer and lecturer John Long captivates with his latest exhibition using medium format film with stereo 3D photography. His work possesses sharpness and depth through the use of this hyper-realistic formatting and the result, he says, is the “closest link to reality.”

Long’s work, which was featured in PhotoEd Magazine, is a synthesis of the revolutionary foundations of still photography, with the continuing evolution to both how the medium is produced and what current audiences accept.

Canadian photographer Mira Zdjelar’s ongoing project ‘Urban Connections’ shows her fascination with cities and their structures, which appear similar, almost tangibly reminiscent and different at the same time.

Zdjelar’s presentation is a collection of urban fragments taken in silent protest against the reductionist spectacle of advertising billboards, hoping to open the doors towards a richer reality. She was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has travelled extensively and is presently living in Paris, France.

For more exhibit information visit; http://www.leonardogalleries.com.

As a member of the Yorkville Art Galleries Collective, Leonardo Galleries participates in the free monthly Yorkville Art Gallery Walk, which is held the first Thursday of each month and coincides with exhibition openings.

Leonardo Galleries, Toronto is devoted to the promotion of contemporary art. The gallery represents local and international artists and has a significant collection of works of art in painting, print-media, sculpture and photography. Leonardo Galleries also specializes in conservation framing and expert art restoration.

Official Website: http://www.leonardogalleries.com