Art form inspired by the landscape of both Canada and Scotland on display at the Art Gallery of Burlington.,

theartsBy Staff

February 1, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

Passage. The wok of Lesley McInally opened at the Art Gallery of Burlington late in January. The Opening reception takes place on February 8th along with another exhibit that might well take up all the attention. It would be a mistake to not find time to slip over to the Perry Gallery and spend some time appreciating the slab built paper clay vessels.

McInally slab bowl

A Lesley McInally slab built paper clay vessel.

Born and raised in Scotland, Lesley McInally got her degree in ceramics and printmaking from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee University. She immigrated to Canada over a decade ago and settled in the Georgian Bay area, in Cookstown, in a landscape that reminded her of her homeland. Her slab built paper clay vessels, while functional in form are inspired by the landscape of both Canada and Scotland, especially the historic stone structures that show the accumulated layers of age.

McInally’s forms take on the soft rounded contour of stones that have faced the effects of weathering over time. These forms are often pierced with openings so that pinpoints of light illuminate dark interiors.

Her surfaces range from mists of colour to glaze that resembles cracked, blistered, and peeling paint. In the last couple of years she has developed a technique where she uses her old printmaking techniques. She layers ceramic pigments and hand coloured porcelain engobes to create complex textural surfaces that reveal hidden burst of colour similar to lichens.

McInally’s work possesses evocative powers that drive the viewer to decode the narrative elements which she hints at but never states.

Lesley McInally will be showing at the AGB until March 22, 2015

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