CANMORE – Art comes in many forms, and one form that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves is three-dimensional art.
To help put the spotlight on this art form, and the artists who create three-dimensional work, the Canmore Art Guild is hosting its 17th exhibition of three-dimensional art.
The show began in 2003 when Richard Lamartine, Joe Martin and Priscilla Janes decided it was time to celebrate the art form at the gallery.
“The Canmore Art Guild has always had regular and ongoing art shows and they have all been basically paintings and prints,” Janes said. “We decided to celebrate three-dimensional art in the Bow Valley.”
The result of this collaboration was the first three-dimensional exhibit called Off The Wall.
“There was a huge demand for it, everyone loved it, so we decided to carry it on and open it up to more artists in the Bow Valley,” Janes said.
Since then, the art show has only grown, hosting 10 to 20 artists per year. This year, 15 artists will be featured in the show running from Nov. 4 to 27 at the Canmore Art Guild.
The art show serves as a great opportunity for three-dimensional artists to get out of the studio, meet others who are also working in the same art form, while showcasing their own artwork.
“This show brings people out and everything in the Canmore Art Gallery is run by volunteers,” Janes said. “These people who come to the 3D show are not usually in the other shows, so they volunteer their time to set up the gallery and some of them help put the show together. It is a nice volunteer effort for people to come out of their studio.”
Paintings, sketches and photography tend to get most notice when it comes to art, but three-dimensional art is a unique art form in its own right and shows such as the three-dimensional art show, help foster that art form.
“There has always been the problem with defining artisans and art,” Janes said. “A lot of three-dimensional artwork is definitely art.”
Janes hopes the people who come out to the show are inspired to realize how great the Bow Valley is, especially when it comes to the artists who live there.
“The Bow Valley is full of creative people and I hope they are inspired by it all, either to go and make their own or appreciate what other people can create.”
