New Paintings by WILL RAFUSE
EXHIBITION DATES
April 2 - 25, 2015
KIMOTO GALLERY
1525 West 6th Ave
Vancouver BC
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Save On | 48 x 40 | Oil on canvas | 2015 |
ARTIST STATEMENT
With this series of paintings I have
titled “Deja Vu,” I returned to the familiar imagery of Vancouver’s neon
signs and lost storefronts. My artistic life has always been influenced
and inspired by Edward Hopper’s style of rich paintings of Americana. I
wanted to capture the highlights, colors and shadows of those iconic
buildings and signs from a bygone era. Part of my series focuses on
“Save-on Meats,” the "Aristocratic Restaurant” and the infamous “The
Only Seafoods.”
These grand signs were originally
designed to attract consumers and sell products. Some see them as works
of art worth preserving while others consider them old relics and would
rather see them torn down. My hope is that they evoke a sense of
nostalgia and their images re-created on my canvas’ preserves them
in another sense.