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KIMOTO GALLERY

DÉJÀ VU

New Paintings by WILL RAFUSE

EXHIBITION DATES
April 2 - 25, 2015

KIMOTO GALLERY
1525 West 6th Ave
Vancouver BC

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.