Norton, with Sara Norquay and Mark Dutton showed at the Naess Gallery from April 1 – May 11, 2021. Watch their artist talk that discusses their collaboration and process.
Norton artist statement – Sara Norquay and Mark Dutton
Norton is the name of the collaboration between Sara Norquay (woodcut) and Mark Dutton (silkscreen).
There are two Norton series, each conceptualized as a structured process rather than an exploration of a specific topic, idea or theme. We intend the titles to contribute a kind of interpretive lens.
The first series, “12 x 15”, refers to the size of the images. Six images have either a screened background with a woodcut completion or a woodcut background with a screened completion. The prints are in editions of six. The content was not predetermined, no discussion or rejection of received backgrounds was allowed, and titles were added after completion. The titles in the first series reflect themes of connection and relationship.
Object/Object is the second series. The parameters of this series are similar to the first series. Each artist provides the other with an edition of prints that the second artist completes. However, this time there is no rectangular picture plane. Instead, they printed images in relationship to each other as objects. The titles in this series reference the links (connection or disconnection) between objects.
There are a few interesting repetitions between the two series which are entirely unconscious, without consultation or knowledge of the other’s stream of thought. One by one, the artists faced beginnings that needed completion. The collaboration took place over the course of four years.
Mark Dutton bio
Mark Dutton is a Canadian print artist who lives and works in Edmonton. After earning his BFA at the U of Alberta, Mark took a short sabbatical from art to help build a design practice. He is currently building his art practice with independent and collaborative projects. His work has appeared locally, nationally and internationally. His work resides in private and public collections. Mark has been a part of the Society of Northern-Alberta Print Artists since 2009.
Mark Dutton artist statement
My personal work focuses on and explores personal experiences of love, loss, joy and tragedy. The work blends and balances expressions of individual or communal struggles with an underlying sense of patience, resilience, vibrancy, hope. The colors, marks, and shapes in my work mirror the frenetic, messy journey of our everyday and everywhere, a world that is at the same time buoyant and heart-breaking. My screen printing process—part focus, doubt, awe, reflection, regret, patience— reflects the same path traveled in the work itself.
My collaborative work in Norton is a conversation, a relationship. We are given a starting point – a reality to react, confront, or depart from. As in our own relationships, the work balances unity, disconnection, fragmentation, oneness.
Sara Norquay bio
Sara Norquay is a Canadian artist who lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta. She has been a print artist for twenty years, making monotypes, photopolymer etchings, woodcuts, linocuts and copper etchings. She also makes artists books, fibre works, and commissioned illustrations. Her work has been shown locally, nationally and internationally and resides in private and public collections. Sara has been a member of the Society of Northern-Alberta Print Artists since 2008.
Find Sara’s website here.
Sara Norquay artist statement
The ideas for my work come out of my ongoing observations about various intellectual or philosophic collisions in our society. The paradoxes and disconnects between the individual and the collective, the relationships between individuals, between me and the natural world, between me and the man-made world, how the ironies and power struggles can be understood and dealt with through art. My work seems diverse but it is unified by my signature perceptions. I am seduced by colour, text, and materials that influence what I decide to make.
Naess Gallery
10032 81 Avenue | Phone: 780 432 0240 | Email: accounts (at) paintspot.ca
Named for Sidsel Naess Bradley, The Paint Spot’s founder. who recognized the need for spaces that promote the exploration of artistic ideas and innovative processes. We are extremely proud of this heritage and its contribution to the development of many artists. Naess Gallery continues to be inclusive, encouraging dialogue among artists and visitors. We welcome proposals for exhibitions that push materials, techniques, subject matter, and conceptions.
In planning the Exhibition Year, we will be inviting artists whose practices we admire to exhibit their new works. It will be a year to revisit artists who have shown in the Naess Gallery in the past and to reveal new artists as well. We are going to see an exciting and enriching program of shows! If you have questions about the Naess Gallery or its exhibition program, please ask Kim Fjordbotten phone 780 432 0240.
See what’s new at the Naess Gallery. Find inspiration in the many artist talks.