Hiking Johnston Canyon is one of artist Sheila Kernan’s earliest childhood memories of Banff National Park.
So, when the time came to submit a piece in response to a nationwide call for artwork by the Banff Community Art Committee, the Calgary-based artist naturally chose her 2012 painting of Johnston Canyon.
“Revisiting these waterfalls and attempting to capture their beauty is pure delight for me; when I close my eyes, I remember,” she said.
When I Close My Eyes, the title of the oil on canvas, was selected by a jury for the first of two large-scale mural exhibits in Banff – a new direction for the Community Art Committee. The work will be reproduced to 24 by 30 feet and installed on a concrete wall facing a parking lot in downtown Banff. The installation will be celebrated at 220 Bear Street, on Saturday (Jan. 26) at 12 p.m.. A reception with hot refreshments will follow the launch at Canada House Gallery, until 3 p.m.
Large-scale, two dimensional artworks on exterior walls is a new direction for the Community Art Committee. Up to now, sculptural pieces have formed the nucleus of Banff’s public art program. The exhibition will grace the side of Bear Street Mall for five years.
Additionally, three artworks will be installed for 18 months successively on the back of Banff Town Hall at 110 Bear St.
Two artworks have already been selected for the Town Hall installation, but, in another new step, the committee is asking the Banff community to select the third piece from a choice of three artworks by Banff artists – Rainbow Hunter by Denise Swick, Raven No. 2 by Lynne Huras and The Banff Bubble by Sarah Fuller.
Voting will start on Saturday (Jan. 26), after the celebration, with stations set up at Banff Town Hall and the Banff Public Library, as well as online at www.banff.ca/publicart
For more information on new and existing public art installations in Banff, visit the Town’s website.
