Nature’s Way

Opening show at Hatch Gallery celebrates spring

Two abstract artists whose works evoke the feeling of nature are featured in the opening of Hatch Gallery’s 2023 season. Yechel Gagnon is a Montreal-based artist who uses plywood to create bas-reliefs representing fictional landscapes, where the natural colours of the wood provide the shadings of light to dark. Gallery owner David Hatch was very impressed upon seeing her work. “Even though it was abstract, in the carved surface I noticed there was an element of nature to it, and it evoked the feeling of looking at rivers and streams, and I thought it would be a great way to start the season,” said Hatch. He was looking for another artist to share the opening exhibition and came upon the work of Kurt Swinghammer, who had visited the County and the gallery this time a year ago, and had since created a number of paintings to celebrate Lilac Season, inspired by his visit. Hatch thought the juxtaposition of Gagnon’s earthy tones and Swinghammer’s vibrant colours would be perfect for the opening exhibition.

Kurt Swinghammer has been drawing and painting for as long as he can remember. “There was never a time when I wasn’t making art. I attended workshops when I was a teenager, where I would be the youngest person surrounded by all these elders. I went to the Ontario College of Art for a couple of years, but I wasn’t really connecting with it, and I thought I was already on my own path,” he said. Commensurate with his art, he also has a music career, with his first public performances at around age 18 or 19. “The two practises have been complementary. Sometimes I’ve supported myself and my family through my music, and other times more through visual work. I try to keep a balance,” he said.

His early art influences were from the Group of Seven, in particular Tom Thompson, after he went to see a retrospective of that artist’s work at the Art Gallery of Ontario. There’s also an echo of Lawren Harris in some of Swinghammer’s work, and all of it is rooted in nature. “This current work comes from an appreciation of looking at landscapes. To be active and creative and productive is inspiration in itself,” he said. He uses bold and saturated colours, in lenticular or circular blocks, and he very subtly modifies them to create an illusion of depth. “I’ve explored a lot of different techniques over the years, and this body of work is about colour and creating a sense of depth with the very careful mixing of colour. It’s basically emulating what you see in nature— you see a green tree far, far away and it turns purple, so I’ve been exploring how to achieve that by mixing colour to create depth.”

Swinghammer has created album art work for a number of musical bands, including the Shuffle Demons, and that opened the doors to doing art direction in music videos. He has created animated videos for artists like Buffy Sainte- Marie and Bruce Cockburn. He has a well established career in music, mixing genres such as pop, jazz, progressive rock and bossa nova, and has also collaborated with other musicians in music production, which he sees as an extension of making his own music. “Sometimes an artist has to collaborate with someone to help realize their vision,” he said. He has also created music for film and television projects. “That is very different, because often the director has a very specific idea of what should be there. It’s an opportunity to make a living as a musician. Doing music for film is a paycheque, whereas sometimes making your own music feels like a gamble.” Visitors to the gallery at the opening reception on Saturday had the opportunity to see both Swinghammer’s art as well as listen to his music, when he played a song in tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot.

Hatch Gallery is located at 8 Stanley Street in Bloomfield. The exhibit Nature’s Way runs until June 27. For more information, please visit hatchgallerypec.com.