Giving members of Visual Arts Nova Scotia an opportunity to create an exhibition of their work.

A Reason to Smile

Randy Engelberg

January 8 – 30, 2013

Halifax based painter Randy Engelberg exhibits a series of non-objective paintings in the corridor gallery from January 9 -30. Describing her practice and this series of works, Engelberg explains:

My art practice for the last two years has been investigating and getting familiar with hard edge, non-objective, painting. As a result I have abandoned objective concerns, storytelling or trying to create a perception of some visible reality. Now when I paint without any reference I allow myself to enter a stage of pure imagination, to feel and to contemplate on the action/ reaction of self-creation through painting.

My paintings explore and manipulate the formal properties of line, shape, colour and composition to create the visual language of art. Dynamic colour is my main formal tool. Colour creates the content and space in my painting. Acrylic colour is applied in a number of thin coats on a primed wood surface. Each colour is mixed and an amount of acrylic glaze is added. This creates a vibrant effect when the paint is applied. To create the lacquer finish the acrylic surface is airbrushed with urethane for three coats. Between each layer of urethane the painting is lightly sanded and then finally buffed. This lacquer effect creates a glass-like finish in which the bright colours look suspended. The forms and the background in the painting are flat but the intense colour heightens each others presence creating an illusion of depth. It makes each element of the painting not just a means to an end but also having a distinct life of it’s own.  The dynamic nature of all these elements interacting together lures the viewer to the painting, exploring it subjectively as you would a puzzle.

Randy Engelberg studied fine art and film making in Montreal and New York before attending the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. With her focus on lithography, sculpture and art history she graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in 1986. Randy has had an innovative career in theatre, art and education. Since 1990 her work has been exhibited in galleries across Canada. She is represented in Halifax by Secord Gallery. Randy lives and creates art from her pink house and studio in Halifax

Located inside the Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) office at the Halifax Seaport, since 2000, the Corridor Gallery is complimented by a historical legacy of Nova Scotia culture, simple yet modern architectural elements and an array of current cultural activity in the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia office. The Corridor Gallery is located at 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia and is open Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

For further information regarding the Corridor Gallery or this exhibition, please contact:

Becky Welter-Nolan
Programming Coordinator
Visual Arts Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7
902.423.4694 1.866.225.8267 f: 902.422.0881
communicate@visualarts.ns.ca