Yechel Gagnon; Spheris Gallery

Yechel Gagnon

Nomad, 2011

Carved custom-made plywood, 47" x 28"

Yechel Gagnon's solo show at the Spheris Gallery

April 30 to May 31, 2011

Vernissage April 30, from 6 to 7:30 PM

Press Release :

Spheris Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by Yechel Gagnon. Her signature plywood pieces and etchings will be on view April 30 – May 31. A reception will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 6 to 7:30 PM.

Gagnon finds inspiration in an unlikely material, plywood. Working her material of choice with power and hand tools Gagnon removes layers of wood and glue to reveal hidden patterns and create gestural and contemplative works.

Inspired by the unique nature of each plywood sheet, Gagnon is in constant “dialogue” with her material, at times allowing unique features to guide her creative process and at other times imposing her aesthetic vision upon the wood. Gagnon states “The wood stratification contains an intriguing vocabulary of knots, textures, hues and manufacturing defects that creates their character. In the beginning I have to take them into account but soon I am carried by these elements which stimulate my imagination.”

Gagnon’s plywood works are accompanied by a new series of etchings that continue her inquiry into layering and gestural mark making. The permanence of her mark on the plate mirrors the permanence of her cuts into the plywood. The subtle layers produced by aquatint add texture akin to that found in the wood veneer of the panel works. As Gagnon states “both techniques express a large spectrum of possibilities within a limited palette, bringing the attention to nuances and values, calling the viewer’s willingness to see and imagine in its own way what is mostly suggested."

Yechel Gagnon

Miyajima I, 2011

Sugar-lift, aquatint and spit-bite on Arches paper

14.5" x 26", Edition/9

Yechel Gagnon lives and works in Montreal and is the recipient of grants from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. Her work is held in many private and public collections including the Osler Hoskin & Harcourt Collection Toronto and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

The Spheris Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00, and by appointment.

59 South Main Street, Hanover, NH

(603) 640-6155