Margaret Chwialkowska: Inspired by Nature

At Agora Gallery, September 28 – October 18, 2007

Opening Reception October 4, 6-8 PM

"I want my art to be positive, free, beautiful and romantic – something you cannot live without,"—Artist Margaret Chwialkowska

The mighty splendor of the Ottawa River and the ever-changing moods of its waters, banks and skies are the signature theme of artist Margaret Chwialkowska. In her mesmerizing oil paintings, fantastical colors and dramatic textures transformfamiliar riverbanks into emotional soulscapes in which a single tree branch may be anthropomorphized, seemingly reaching out with joy, hope or regret. “I want to capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by the natural, almost magical beauty of a landscape," she explains. Chwialkowska paints alla prima, blending pigments on canvas with a palette knife. This technique permits a loose, spontaneous style allowing textures to evolve naturally, evoking rough tree bark or a velvet snow. Born in Poland, Chwialkowska has lived in Canada since 1976 and continues to be moved by the power and richness of the North American landscape. She has painted landscapes in the Northwest Territories, Ontario’s lake country and southern California. "I want my art to be positive, free, beautiful and romantic – something you cannot live without," she says. Her acceptance into the Foyer Gallery last spring brought her work to broader audiences. Chwialkowska’s paintings have since been shown at galleries in Ontario and Quebec, and are now on display at Montreal’s chic Galerie Klimantiris. Her work was recently selected for the Beyond Borders – Exhibition of Fine Art from Canada scheduled for September-October 2007 in New York City’s Agora Gallery in swinging Chelsea. In March-April 2008, Ottawa’s Centrepointe Theatre Gallery will showcase Chwialkowska’s work at a juried solo exhibition titled Landscapes of Ottawa and Beyond.