restauration | restoration
Summer - June - October, 2022
Jardins de Metis | Reford Gardens
Grand-Metis, Quebec
RESTORATION is an artistic response from my experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic, and an appreciation of how important nature has become during these extraordinary times.
Covid has changed our world irrevocably, limiting our interaction with one another and reordering how we communicate. Nature has a reliable sanity. She has consistent rituals. The sun comes up and it sets. In the spring, flowers bloom. In the winter, the landscape sleeps under a cover of snow. No matter what happens, the grass will grow, blossoms will always bloom, leaves will always change colour, snow will always fall, tides will rise and fall. When there’s uncertainty in the world at large, nature is our one, dependable friend.
When we are with nature we feel renewed and humbled by its magnificence. That is a beautiful paradox...we feel better...because we are less. It liberates us, and helps us see what is truly important. It helps us heal.
The exhibition will showcase 30 original oil paintings, crystal sculpture and an art video installation reflecting the familiar rhythms and patterns of nature which bind our shared sense of humanity. This has been a time of reflection for all of us, and my hope is that this exhibition will not only celebrate nature but also go some way to restoring our human spirit. It’s a journey I hope you will join me on.
Mark Raynes Roberts FGE
“St. Laurent Passing Storm” Oil on canvas, 36” x 18” Cap au Renaud, Quebec