Before the Sun Goes Down

Vernon Public Art Gallery hosted a solo exhibition by Todd Schulz titled “Before the Sun Goes Down”

Opening gala: 6 pm- 8pm May 23, 2019

Exhibition ran: May 23- July 13, 2019

3228 31 Ave

Vernon, BC, Canada

Artists Statement

“Before the Sun Goes Down” alludes to the period at which the sun crosses the horizon – A magical time of day, when bright unpredictable colours at their height of vibrancy dance with sharply contrasting shadows, deepening perception, to create vistas that seem to come alive.

In this exhibition, I have likewise endeavoured to capture a heightened sensation of visual acuity. Juxtapositions of hard edged rectangular shapes, imbued with intense unbroken colours, simplify spacial relationships and emphasize the flatness of the pictorial plane.

My use of anomalous colours distinguishes adjoined shapes, while arrays of subtly unnatural colour gradations act to deepen the illusion of superimposition. Additionally, by arranging the rectangles slightly askew and distributing them unevenly, a quality of fluidity was added to these open compositions.

I’ve expanded the range of curatorial possibilities by using reconfigurable diptychs to offer alternative impressions. In some cases, the pictorial image was transformed into a sculptural object by stripping away the background, making the stretcher bars conform to the contours of the coloured shapes.

Cumulatively, these visual artifices aim to foster an uneasy calmness. My desire is to disrupt the viewer’s inherent paradigms of conditioned thought with works that are lively yet still, bewildering yet comfortable, and simple yet challenging. Associative gaps are created through conflicting dualities. These disconnects encourage the eyes of the viewer to swim about the images, searching for resolution, resulting in the emergence of new perspectives.