Mar 5 - Apr 6, 2010

Joe Fidia - Nearness Of Far

In late October I found myself in a small aircraft a few thousand feet about the local landscape (one I thought I knew well). As we flew over the Ottawa River and Gatineau Park, I saw the pattern of the fields, the marking of lakes and the colour of the distant horizon-all from a new perspective. - Joe Fidia

Joe Fidia's softly luminous, deceptively simple landscapes draw us back again and again: as the light changes, as we shift our vantage point, we discover things we didn't see before.

"The paintings are created in layers," Joe explains. "First, I develop a defined underpainting showing the form I want to convey in the final image. Then I apply thin washes of paint to create a soft atmospheric quality. In some areas, I scrape and scrub the surface of the painting to reveal the different layers of colour and form beneath."

Joe Fidia