Extreme

Fram Page 27

The cumulative effect of these
additions is impressive. Flakes of
color emerge and recede from a
grey-white ground; the rough tex-
ture of the plywood contrasts
with the acrylic’s smooth even
shine.

Cold Mountain is unquestion-
ably one of Shive's finest pieces.

There are undeniable similari-
ties between Shives’ plywood
relief paintings and those of
Montreal’s Paterson Ewen.

But whereas Ewen paints
uncontrollable phenomena like
thunderstorms and cloud interi-
ors, Shives’ images are more inti-
mate, focusing on minute details
other artists might completely
overlook.

“Something about a Jandscape
will grab you,” says Shives.

. “Some contrast of form, or color.
\'Il photograph it, or make a
sketch to try and find its essence,
some intimate detail set against a
larger shape or bolder pattern.”

In pieces like Black Mountain,
Hidden Place, Hollyburn
Mountain and Mosquito Creek,
Shives interprets familiar land-
scapes close to Vancouver.

Black Mountain is an enor-
mous silhouette, split by drifting
bands of cloud.

Hidden Place, Hollyburn
Mountain depicts a tiny stream
that flows between the slender
trunks of alpine trees.

‘Gone are the hillside’ subdivi-
sions, the remains of logging

contrasts in work

equipment and old skid roads.
The cumulative effect of these
nieces is to let viewers enter into
andscapes untouched by human
presence,

Shives, an active hiker and
mountaineer, has donated art to
campaigns to preserve the Stein
and the Carmanah Valley. | ask
about these works —~ given his
love of wilderness, are they
didactic, polemical pieces?

“In the early ’80s 1 did a piece
with logging slash in the centre,
surrounded by standing trees, But
from an abstract point of view,
I’m intrigued by logging slash.

“If you're mountaineering on
the coast, you inevitably have to
climb through it.

“On my hiking adventures I’m
always on the lookout for visual
contrasts — stark black stumps,
the shapes of fallen trees, the
blues and greys of rack and ice.”

Shives is currently at work on
an accordian-style folding book,
Mountain Journal, which
recounts his mountaineering
adventures from the early ‘60s to
the late ‘80s.

The limited-edition books are
inlaid with aquatints of the peaks
mentioned by the text.

Shives’ acute sensitivity to
color and form emerges not only
in his discussion of the coastal
landscape, but also when he
talks about printmaking. It’s fasci-
nating how his style alters to
embrace whatever medium he’s
currently working in,

The big linocuts are made

SCULPTURED NAILS

U

DAY.
EVENING’

Manicure $12.00

Call Sharon
at

NAILS TODAY.

980-1632

SUE IGT

SUNSHINE PRODUCE.

1200 MARINE DR.

(OPPOSITE MCDONALD'S)

- 5

988-8619

Prices in effect Feb. 9-15, 199¢

trom chunky slabs of color remi-
niscent of Matisse’s cut-outs,
while the etchings and drypoints
are jammed with short, scratchy
lines that literally vibrate with
suppressed energy.

A new Series of etchings is
currently on display at the
Burnaby Arts Gallery along with
Cold Mountain.

“tasked Arnold to display
(these) because | wanted pieces
that wouldiy’t overpower (Cold
Mountain‘s) subtle coloring,”
says Todd Davis of the Burnaby
Art Gallery.

The Taiva River etchings
depict the northern river plung-
ing between black cliffs. The
contrasts in these pieces are so
extreme that the water seems to
flicker and glow like a candle
flame, or the central stripe in a
Barnett Newman painting.

Shives’ prints and paintings
are available through the Diane
Farris Gallery. Cold Mountain is
on display at the Burnaby Art
Gallery, 6344 Meer Lake Ave.,
through Feb. 20.

SNS TEN

SSR, Aaa ag at

1629 Lonsdale Avenue

Vin,

y + ORGANIC + DELICIOUS ¢ INNOVAT!
+ FRESH SEAFOOD + VEGETARIAN + ORGANIC POULTRY

IVE ¢

Candlelight dinners overlooking the water... {

CAPERS WEST VANCOUVER

2496 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 925-3316
CAFE OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY 8am-9Pm

Across from Extra Foods

N. VANCOUVER 985-6815

. SUNDAY 84M - 4em .
Bring your Valentine

and is ideat for use oO
traffic areas. White
‘STACK UP NOW

HOURS:,

Monday-Thursday: 7:00am-5:30pm

Friday: 7:0Cam-9:00pm

Saturday: 9:00am-5:30pm

Sunday & Holidays: 10:00am-5:00pm °

n ceilings & low
& Pastel Colors.

o