An Aboriginal artist whose iconic paintings and sculptures enhance public spaces across Alberta will fill an Okotoks gallery with his latest work in a summer-long showcase.
Jason Carter created Prairie Princes: A Celebration of the Grain Elevator, boasting his unique style of simplistic lines and shapes, specifically for the Okotoks Art Gallery.
“It’s a whole new show designed especially for that space,” said Carter last week. “I conceptualized the show about two months ago. I hung the entire show in my studio and painted it.”
The exhibit runs from June 25 to Sept. 3 and consists of 100 feet of two-dozen bright and bold paintings.
“The show is essentially giant 80-inch by 120-inch paintings of a road with prairies on either side and mountains in the background,” he said.
“It’s just before harvest with one side a pasture with cows and the other side canola. If you put them all up side by side it would look like one big painting.”
Carter said he was inspired to create the oversized images from his frequent trips through the Alberta countryside.
“I spend a lot of time driving between Edmonton and Canmore,” he said, explaining he has a studio in both places.
“You’re driving along on beautiful days and the canola is just popping and you see the cows and grain elevators - all of these elements that are so obvious and so succinctly Alberta.”
Distinct grain elevators appear throughout the landscape as a reminder of the once dominant landmarks across the prairies, Carter said.
Rather than represent specific elevators, he said Prairie Princes is symbolic of a state of mind and feeling people get as they drive by the elevators.
“I spent a few years in southern Alberta driving through the coulees and the open prairies with grain elevators off in the distance,” she said. “It’s also a reflection of the fact they’re a dying breed. It’s disappointing because they are beautiful and fantastic and a centre piece in Alberta’s psyche and it’s a sign of progress and moving forward and growth.”
Putting the collection together took a lot of preplanning to ensure the horizon lined up in all the paintings so it appears to be one large painting.
In the small gallery, Carter will display his illustrations from the Who is Boo children’s book series by author Bridget Ryan. Book panels will be placed below the paintings, he said.
Carter said Ryan was inspired by his wildlife sculptures to write the series and the two collaborated on the project.
“It came to us that it would be a great children’s book and something we both really wanted to do,” he said.
Who is Boo tells the story of a trickster rabbit who is in a never-ending race around the world with his brother, yet they forgot where the finish line is. Boo takes frequent breaks during the race to help animals in trouble along the way.
Carter said he initially began painting while planning his first exhibit as a sculptor.
“I wanted there to be something on the walls so I painted versions of my sculptures onto bright-coloured canvas that I thought would add to the show and it evolved from there,” he said. “My work is very blocky, therefore my paintings are very blocky. It’s a very obvious transition.”
Dozens of private collections and public shows feature Carter’s work across Canada, including at the Edmonton International Airport, Beaver Hills Park in Edmonton, the Moose Hotel & Suites in Banff and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Carter was the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Emerging Artist Award winner in Edmonton in 2012.
The public will have an opportunity to meet Carter during an artist’s reception June 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Okotoks Art Gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.
For more information about Jason Carter and his work go to jasoncarter.ca
