SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Tracey Bryant's Northern landscape paintings are dreamlike and abstract, like fragments of memories in the mind's eye.

Tracey Bryant's art show, Rekindling Fires, kicked off at JAMMed Studio Friday. "I enjoy playing with juxtapositions of the literal and the metaphorical, for my work to occupy the space between abstract and reality," she says. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo

"The forces of nature and weather at work in my images are metaphors for subconscious issues of the heart and mind," the painter says about her work, which is on display at JAMmed Studio in the Yk Centre Mall, starting today.

"I enjoy playing with juxtapositions of the literal and the metaphorical, for my work to occupy the space between abstract and reality."

Rekindling Fires is the name of Bryant's first solo show in several years. The painter, who is also known for her art program for young children - Masterpiece Sunday - said the new show includes a body of work from the past two years. It reflects her passion for the "rugged and fragile Northern landscape."

"Landscape is my inspiration . but I'm influenced by contemporary artists and abstract expressionism," she said. "And, as a painter, not just necessarily reproducing or recording or being realistic. It's also about the process and the mediums and what they do, and I've always loved the element of surprise, where you go, 'Whoa!'"

Bryant grew up in Yellowknife and began painting in high school. She attended the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and then earned a degree in interdisciplinary arts from Concordia University. While she worked in theatre design, she said painting has remained a constant in her life.

In the show, all the paintings have Northern and contemporary themes and exhibit her experimentation with different mediums and techniques.

While she works with acrylic paint, she said she also uses iridescent, interference paints, texture and pourable mediums. Her paintings are composed of many layers of textures and glazes, which create a sense of depth, atmosphere and mood.

The paintings explore themes of destruction and the revival of the spirit. She said her art strives to evoke a memory, a feeling, or place and connects with the viewer on a deep level.

"I like when my work operates on a surreal plane," she added.

One painting, Pyrrole Orange, which is the name of the orange colour use in the landscape, depicts a forest fire, inspired by the forest-fire season in 2014.

"The lighting was crazy," she said, remembering that summer. "There was smoke everywhere, and everything had a peachy kind of glow to it."

She didn't paint Pyrrole Orange from an actual scene but a memory, she said - which gives it its impressionistic style.

At first, Bryant said she didn't finish the painting and only came back to it a couple of months ago. And, while it had depicts the smoky haze that surrounded the forests at the time, she recently added the fire in pyrrole orange.

"I'm juxtaposing that peaceful, beautiful, serene scene with fire, which can be unsettling," she said, adding the painting also symbolizes a rekindling in her life.

Rekindling Fires is also open on May 6 and 9, with a limited showing until May 26.

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