Modern/Post-Modern I - Eclectic Passion

Tribute to John Handy
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Modern/Post-Modern I

Eclectic Passion: A Memorial Exhibit

We all know certain individuals from whom art seems simply to ooze. They have to do it, for their own reasons. Not necessarily to sell or make a living. Not necessarily to document or narrate or represent the reality around them or to make a statement. Not necessarily to make the world more beautiful. Simply because it is in them and needs to get out. For these artists, the process is what matters. However aesthetically pleasing it may be perceived, the product can become irrelevant. Gary Waddington, 1938 to 2006, was one such artist. He chose never to show his work and indeed threatened to burn it before his untimely death. Saved by his loving wife, who has struggled to prepare and show them, the public can now view some of the paintings in Eclectic Passion: A Memorial Exhibit. A brief biography accompanies the work: born in Oregon; studied architecture and art at university; in the American army in the 1960s; moved to Calgary in 1969; retired to Kettle Valley.

Paintings by Gary Waddington © Phyllis Waddington