Dan Holst Soelberg - Bunnies + Chainsaws closeup

Pattern – an Art Exhibition

Bending Spoons Gallery @

Vesuvio Pizzeria & Spaghetti House

3010 Dundas St W, Toronto

Show Runs until April 29, 2018

 

My new art exhibition focuses on pattern. Every piece in this show is a unique and original artwork, but each has also been developed with the intent to become a repeating pattern.

Dan Holst Soelberg - Pattern Exhibition

So, why patterns? Aesthetically, the seamlessness and infinite repetition of pattern is so damn appealing! The artwork that comprises a pattern is simultaneously contained in a finite shape and limitless in the shapes it can fill. There is also something fantastic in the messiness and organic freedom in a hand drawn pattern. Within the bounds of any pattern, there are limitless fun possibilities.

Dan Holst Soelberg - Sunday Afternoon

 

Pattern isn’t just a superficial aesthetic. In creative expression, pattern and repetition are elemental. Repetition is a powerful tool used in communication, storytelling and art. Our logical minds seek out order (repetition), and any disruption to the pattern of order signifies change that immediately stirs a response from the audience.

Dan Holst Soelberg - Bumbling Dan Holst Soelberg - Circular Growth

Repetition is often used to establish the setting in which we find the hero of a story. Think of the last time you read a book or watched a movie that relies on repetition in the first act to communicate the idea of order or a boring status quo that the protagonist is stuck in. Then something different happens that disrupts the pattern. Something new and out of the ordinary jolts the protagonist out of hum-drum boring into an adventure that sets the plot in motion.

Dan Holst Soelberg - Bumbling closeup

I believe all creative pursuits rely on pattern in some way. This exhibition is my exploration of it.

Due to schedule conflicts, I won’t be hosting a reception for this exhibition.

However, this exhibition is free for viewing at the restaurant now. I will be adding more artwork on April 8. The art will hang in Vesuvio until April 29.

Dan Holst Soelberg - Bunnies + Chainsaws closeupDan Holst Soelberg - Pattern Exhibition

 

 

Dan Holst Soelberg - Cat Print Art

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August art exhibition “Outgrowth”

“Outgrowth” is my new exhibition of art currently on display at Vesuvio Pizzeria & Spaghetti House until September 2, 2017. Please join me for the reception on Sunday August 13, 3–5pm. I invite you to leave your comment on this blog, or write in the exhibition comment book at the show.

I decided in recent years that it’s a bad idea to have an art exhibition in the summer because it lures me to the solitude of my studio when I should be outside enjoying the weather. Well, somehow I convinced myself that I could finish the artwork for my current show in the spring, which didn’t happen exactly as planned. I’m not a procrastinator in the typical way, but I do tend to cram in as many “final touches” in the very last minutes before hanging an art exhibition. If someone had forced me to hang this show an hour earlier, there would have been one less artwork!

This series of art is completely different from anything else I’ve done. It has been an indulgence for me to immerse myself in trees, examining rugged ridges in minute detail. With this show, “Outgrowth”, I am inviting you to explore every bark fold, crack, burl and crevice in the stark contrast of black ink. A close inspection uncovers my sincere and earnest reverence to the smallest features that reveal a tree’s individuality and history that may span several lifetimes. Step back, and the tiny ink lines soften and blend to form a naturalistic depiction.

The trees I studied for these pieces are all real and live near Lake Ontario’s shore in Oakville.

Bending Spoons Gallery @

Vesuvio Pizzeria & Spaghetti House

3010 Dundas St W, Toronto

Show Runs until September 2, 2017

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Shadow Abuse Awareness Month

October is sneaking up on us once again. For some inexplicable reason, many people don’t realize that October is Shadow Abuse Awareness Month. I’m not sure why Shadow Abuse Awareness isn’t trending as the most important topic right now. I mean, our Prime Minister wrote that beautiful, touching poem, and Adele sang her heart-wrenching “Abuse of Shadows” ballad with Kanye West and Willie Nelson. And the countless celebrities baring it all in those powerful youtube vines in the name of Shadow Abuse Awareness. Anyway, I’m here to announce that I’m doing my part. I know it’s only September but I’m starting early: I have launched an exhibition of original art in Toronto:

Dan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art Exhibition - Invitation

I brought my artwork on Sunday to Vesuvio Pizzeria & Spaghetti House with my radical revolutionary wife Jaime. I am super excited to share my passion for this worthy cause. My activist artwork is on the walls of Vesuvio’s until October 16th. Please come to the restaurant with protest signs and shouty voices. I’m not advocating that you streak naked in front of the restaurant waving a giant Shadow Abuse Awareness banner and post videos of the whole thing, but if that happens for some reason, please share your link with me here and on Facebook. We all must do our part. Peace out and rock on!

Dan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art Exhibition

Dan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art Exhibition

Dan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art ExhibitionDan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art Exhibition

Dan Holst Soelberg Shadow Abuse Art Exhibition


Shadow Abuse By Dan Holst SoelbergPlease help fund my campaign for this worthy cause. Buy your copy of Shadow Abuse from my online shop.

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