Xchanges Artists’ Gallery and Studios is pleased to present its first online exhibition Covid LIFE: Virtual Drawing in the Time of Covid. This online exhibition was first conceived of when we brought our life drawing sessions online in May 2020. Artists came out in numbers we didn’t expect, and we learned so much – about how Covid-19 was impacting them at the moment and how life even before Covid-19 impacted them. We learned some surprising things and it gave us courage to keep experimenting and trying new things online. It was our models however who showed the most courage and support to help us all get online with grace, confidence and with the spirit of pioneers.
Over the summer and fall we met so many new artists and welcomed new members and models from outside Victoria – other parts of Canada and the USA for the first time. Through the summer, more than 85 American artists alone participated in the program.
This online exhibition is a celebration of life drawing – a special and age-old practice of artists and models who share a unique time together that has a purpose different from any other. Here is when we struggle and achieve little and big successes, breakthroughs, and sometimes humiliation and frustrations. There are always surprises, especially since online we all have the same perspective to draw from – unlike when we are in the studio, arranged in different positions around the model. Yet, as you will see from this exhibition, each artist – whether experienced or beginner, brings unique visions, interpretations and materials to their approach to the model.
Some of these artists have singular challenges that are different from the studio environment – unstable internet, looking at a monitor, sharing their household, physical and mental health challenges, even raging forest fires nearby, and the ubiquitous, oppressive shadow of Covid. The quiet engagement of life drawing with welcoming colleagues online is a respite, at least for a little while.
This body of work represents a tiny fraction of all the drawings created since last May. The original vision of long-time Xchanges member and Life Drawing Coordinator, Brian Chandler (whose image and drawings are also contained in this show), was that we could produce a printed book of the drawings. We may still get there, but for now, today, we can ALL access and enjoy the images here online.
We hope you enjoy this exhibition. Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page or send us your thought via email to info@xchangesgallery.org.
Below is the list of participants and the link to enter the ‘gallery’.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Xchanges.
Heidi Bergstrom
President
Exhibition Participants
| Name | Artist (A) or Model (M) | Location |
|---|---|---|
| AJ | (M) | New York, NY, USA |
| Arunima | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Alex Nagel | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Amber Lomax | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Andrea Eggenberger | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Brian Chandler | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Beverly Patterson | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Brian Chandler | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Miss Natasha Enquist | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Danika Bezuidenout | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Dominique Eustace | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Douglas Fraser | (A) | Brandon, Manitoba, CANADA |
| Erica Violet Everage | (A) | Santa Monica, CA, USA |
| Heather Reid | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Peter Hodgins | (M) | New York, NY, USA |
| Keith Jenkins | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Heather Simonds | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Heidi Bergstrom | (A) | Metchosin, BC, CANADA |
| Leslie Graham | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Jessica Mosher | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Marilyn Stempel | (A) | North Hollywood, CA, USA |
| Mark Schmiedl | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Tara Nelson | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Marti Force | (A) | Seattle, WA, USA |
| Mel Peppas | (A) | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Stu Philips | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Celeste Ramsey | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Michèle Hayeur Smith | (A) | Providence, RI, USA |
| Meredith Sawatsky | (M) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Pamela Millar | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Steve Shaffer | (M) | Seattle, WA, USA |
| Richard Motchman | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Rosie Coleman | (A) | Athens, GA, USA |
| Peter Stenshoel | (M) | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Taryn Burgar | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Tenli Yavneh | (A) | Emeryville, CA, USA |
| Terry Wright | (A) | Victoria, BC, CANADA |
| Tianyu Liu | (A) | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Wendi Chen | (A) | Seattle, WA, USA |
| Models | Artists | |
| Canada | 9 | 17 |
| USA | 4 | 9 |
Sneak Peek Gallery
Enjoy these few images before the opening on December 12, 2020 at 4pm. Please use this pre-registration link for the opening.
Enter Covid LIFE: Virtual Drawing inthe Time of Covid Exhibition
The link below will be activated at 4pm on Saturday, December 12, 2020.
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