Welcome to the Vancouver Review Media on-line gallery. In the months and years ahead we will be presenting work by new and established BC artists with occasional guests from further afield. There will be photography, painting and mixed media work representing a diversity of practices. We’ll also be doing some collaborative work exclusively for the space. Look for new work to appear every few months. We will alert the community via our Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for looking!
Artist and musician Lee Hutzulak is no stranger to VR and VR Media. We’ve been publishing his work in various forms for years, most recently in the VR Media “Pole Position” feature on his poster designs. But he’s also Dixie’s Death Pool a deathless musical entity lead (in many directions) by Lee and an ever-morphing cast of fellow musical travelers. His latest paintings are more connected to music-making than usual. So herewith, a quick chat with Lee and a selection of his latest stream-of-consciousness concoctions. Or perhaps the term “confections” is more fitting given the playful, bold and colourful dreamworlds they evoke!
MM: What are you listening to these days? And how is the music affecting your artwork?
Lee: My new favourite song is called “Connect” by Vampire Weekend. So “connection” is a theme. These paintings and drawings are connected to my songs. Lyrics often find themselves doing double duty as painting titles, and some of the themes of the characters in my paintings are also found in the songs. I think there’s also a deeper connection between the two as modes of improvisation and composition, making something out of nothing – one for the eyes and one for the ears, both for something more…
I’m working on a new Dixie’s Death Pool LP which collects a number of love songs written for acoustic guitar and voice. As I complete mixes of each tune I’ve been posting them on Bandcamp and creating a visual for each single. That’s really driving the art right now.
MM: I’ve always found your work to be quite singular but nothing is formed in vacuum. You’ve exhibited in donut shops and comic book stores so there’s broad appeal but I’ve never heard you cite your influences.
Lee: Bosch, Gauguin, Matisse, Dali, and children’s art always. The work Joan Miro was doing about 100 years ago is particularly fascinating to me these days. I’m influenced by so many amazing artists. And thanks to my kids, Pokemon and Nintendo are in the mix too!
MM: You’ve been on a real hot streak lately. What’s the impetus?
Lee: How can you catch a cloud and pin it down? Quantity without quality is an empty promise. I pretty much lost February to pneumonia, and since recovering I’ve felt a real drive to create.
MM: And nature is figuring more prominently in the new work.
Lee: 100%. I love painting and drawing landscapes, primarily based on time in Stanley Park where I filmed a nature series during Covid called The Meadow.
MM: It feels to me as though you may be sending specific people messages with your new work?
Lee: Yes. In most cases I don’t know what the message is though. It’s not literal. It’s more suggestive and open to interpretation…or projection. As an artist, songs mean so much to me – currently they’re inextricably tied up with matters of the heart. Art helps with the pain too, I’m looking forward to a time where dancing is the only thing that really matters.
– Mark Mushet
Lee Hutzulak is having a solo show of his new paintings this fall in Victoria. And, as always, follow him on Instagram @leehutzulak
It’s a real treat to launch the new VR Media online gallery by featuring the photography of Janet Baxter. I had the pleasure of commissioning Janet to shoot the final photo feature for the final print edition of the magazine in the fall of 2011. It was a for a feature on some of Vancouver’s lesser known heritage buildings including Joy Kogawa House, the Gardens Auditorium, the Wing Sang building and others. She brought an atmospheric, reflective touch to the project, even to images of the Dal Grauer substation on Burrard.
As with many contributors to the print-era VR (Janet served on our board), we’ve kept in touch over the past decade (!) and there’s been a lot of evolution, both personally and professionally for both of us.
Janet worked for twenty years in the photography realm, honing and sharpening her skills as a photographer, printer, and photo editor. Ten years ago she switched gears into social service work and now works with The Kettle Society, a mental health organization, as the Member and Community Engagement Manager. She has continued her photographic practice and uses it as a therapeutic tool for her mental health.
Arranging and photographing fresh cut flowers is an ongoing pursuit. She sees her floral stills as portraits, endeavouring to capture and elevate the beauty of the blooms. Each of these images was shot and edited using an iPhone between 2019 and 2023. The soft, somewhat romantic touch is still present in this new work but the arrangements and compositions simultaneously hint at some disquiet adding an extra level of intrigue.
All images are available in editions of 25 and are printed at 10” x 10” on Cold Press Bright — Uncoated, acid free, 100% cotton rag media with a bright textured finish. They are printed with a half inch border for handling.
$75.00 each.
Contact: jancathbaxter@gmail.com
