A new gallery in town is showing off another side of a Fernie artist. While her oil paintings can be seen in galleries across Canada, Angela Morgan is now able to display works in other mediums in her downtown Fernie studio.
“Most commercial galleries don’t show or sell works on paper. So a lot of my oil paintings, what’s behind them is the studies, charcoal sketches, watercolours, mixed media, pastel, and a big variety of things that I like to do. I have stacks of work that I don’t show or sell anywhere,” remarked Morgan. “The idea was to open this working studio because I’m able to set out my charcoals and watercolours and pastels and stuff like that, leave them out and work on them, and be able to show that type of work here.”
Located on the corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street, the Angela Morgan Gallery has been open for close to three months and recently held a grand opening on Saturday, March 16. Since opening her doors, Morgan has been happy to welcome in both Fernie locals and visitors.
“People are coming in who enjoy art. I think maybe even some people that don’t even know they like art are stumbling in and are thrilled to be able to see something like this,” said Morgan. “It’s been very reassuring that there has been a lot of support in the community. Not just from people that know me, but locals in town that I’ve never met, the business community, and I’ve also met a great number of people that live all over the world.”
Primarily a figurative painter, Morgan explains the majority of her work is based on a figure as a jumping off point.
“It’s kind of a vehicle for me to use colour. A lot of my work is very gestural, it’s very loose, it’s concerned with movement,” shared Morgan. “What I like to do is capture those great moments that you think back to and they spark or trigger memories.”
Morgan began her professional career as an artist in Fernie 12 years ago and continues to find comfort and support in her surroundings.
“It was a very encouraging and nurturing place to be when starting out as an artist,” she mused. “I find it’s a great place to work, it’s very peaceful here, and I think that helps keep me focused.”
Now with the new space finding her creating in the heart of downtown Fernie, Morgan is looking forward to the future.
“It’s nice for me to be part of this downtown core and I hope that it continues to go well,” she commented. “It’s given me an opportunity to show some work that isn’t available anywhere else in Canada and I think it will only help me mature more as an artist as well.”