Beth Gallup and Roni Jurgensen opened the doors Thursday night to their new collaborative art show, Burgers and Birds; a fanatical, comical mixture of food and wildlife.
The inspiration for the show is play; playing with food, playing with ideas, play with what can take flight.
In this show, Gallup, a Fernie artist, took the lead on the food; paintings which involved both burgers and baking. Jurgensen took the lead on the birds, both the paintings and the origami which hung from the ceiling.
The art show was accompanied by music and a projector display which used the hanging origami to create shadows of birds on the screen.
The two women met as coworkers, but their collaboration as artists started after Jurgensen visited Gallup’s home, saw Gallup’s painting of two empty buns and commented about how she could stick a rubber chicken between them.
“We just started making jokes, and laughing from there, and then this is what happened,” said Gallup.
After months and months of preparation, Gallup said it feels good to finally open to the public. The gallery opening was very well attended by friends and strangers, some bearing flowers as gifts to the artists.
Gallup’s paintings are a mixture of renaissance-era still-life pieces, modernized with fast food, and gourmet dishes.
A painting, titled ‘Bison Burger’ hangs on the wall, a combination of a bison and a giant bottle of mustard.
“We look at food all the time,” said Gallup. “Food can be beautiful, and it can be fun a playful.”
It’s fair to say that Gallup likes food, and she likes cooking just as much.
For years she has wanted to paint, but never found the time until a few years ago. The ideas for her paintings come from all over; a headline in a newspaper, or something she makes in the kitchen.
Her work is mixed medium, and sometimes combines photos, with newspaper cutouts, as well as paint. One of her pieces is a cake, with the instructions of how to make it as the background.
“It almost always starts with a title,” she said.
Felting also sometimes makes its way into Gallup’s work, what she considers to be the icing on the cake.
To view the gallery of work, visit The Arts Station.
Burgers and Birds will be on display until October 29, followed by Jennifer van Popta opening October 31.
