AGN | Michael J. Kuczer Exhibit

ABSTRACT ARRANGEMENTS

JULY 9 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

ART GALLERY NORTHUMBERLAND, COBOURG

If you are an art lover in the Northumberland County area this summer, be sure to plan a trip to the “Art Gallery Northumberland” located in the Town Hall, down town Cobourg, Ontario.

This exhibit did not disappoint. How I have never heard of Michael J. Kuczer sooner is beyond me. I have a few new favourite paintings now (the four in the collage above!), and as an artist this show touched me deeply.

Inspired by my fellow creator Jessica Outram, I sat in the gallery with my journal, and let words flow through me as I absorbed the beauty around me… (You can read her poem too, on the AGN website: Exhibitions.)

(Journal Entry Excerpt)

Friday, July 22, 2022

Michael Kuczer. Genius. Beautiful and bold abstractions.

His early years show bold and UNFORGIVING masses of contrast… rough lines… emotion. The middle years show a bit more restraint, hints of hidden florals, a touch of nature within harder panels of paint. Did he know Georgia O’keeffe, I wonder? I could see some influence… they speak a similar language of visual sound… His later years are my favourite, he has mastered his geometry and sharp/crisp lines. There’s a containment that I find very visually satisfying. Calming. Relatable?

What is his work teaching me?

• Don’t be afraid to be messy
• to colour outside the lines
• leave gaps (raw canvas)
• it doesn’t have to be perfect
• perfection might come with age:
• with practice
• with desire
• with wisdom
• Use tape! Use your tools. Get those crisp lines in the right places.
• be bold
• have fun
• hold hope

I feel like I’m being told: Life is short. Full of loss. So what? What will you do next?

Mash up worlds. Mash up extremes. Mash up nature and industry. Metal flowers, factory forests, see the machine at the center of the flower, and the flower in the center of the machine. It doesn’t have to make sense. We live in a world of duality. Embrace it all… misery and love.

Just create. Be big. Be bold. Be YOU.

Here’s a peak at the exhibition – all in one room! What is your first impression? If you saw the show, what speaks to you the most?