Observance

Observance, Job's Cove, o/c, 40" x 40", Steven Rhude, Emma Butler Gallery

As I see it, there is a modern exuberance of shape and form to the boat, the buoy, the shed, and the lighthouse. Qualities both abstract and figurative. Ironic, since these objects predate modernism by centuries. So in them, there is a sense of the minimal before the minimalist. Modern before the modernist. Formal before the formalist. Their maker’s intent wasn’t to create something beautiful; more like something utilitarian. However, it just so happens their intent was beautifully realised.  

Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

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