Ponoka Jubilee Library has just launched an exhibition of beautiful etchings by Medicine Hat artist Garry Newton.
Newton died in 2008, but his work is experiencing a life of its own as part of a program undertaken by the Alberta Foundation of the Arts called the Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) that supports touring art exhibitions.
Library programmer Jaclyn Berry says patrons have already started commenting on the beauty of work in the library. “The whole idea is to bring art into a place that would not normally have it.”
This collection of Newton’s work was inspired from the 1975 novel, Autumn of the Patriarch, written by Gabriel García Márquez and Newton once said the pieces presented themes from the book.
“They’re not illustrations per se from the book but they attempt to capture the mood and the atmosphere and some of the events that occurred in the novel,” Newton was quoted as saying with reference to his work.
Three Alberta galleries and an arts organization co-ordinate the program: the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Alberta Society of Artists and the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre.
Newton was born in England in 1939. His family moved in 1948 to Medicine Hat, where he spent the rest of his life.
The intricate etchings will be displayed until Aug. 23 and can be viewed close to the entrance of the library and along the children’s books in the back.