GETTING NAKED.
Mathieu Laca, a Montreal painter, will have his art featured in the upcoming Naked Naked Naked exhibit at the Patrick John Mills Fine Art Gallery in Hintonburg March 3.
Photo submitted
Patrick John Mills’ inspiration for his latest exhibit Naked Naked Naked came to him when he
was in line at the grocery store buying a turkey last year.
“I picked up an issue of Cosmo.
If you look at the front page, it always has words like ‘sex,’ ‘naked’ and ‘orgasm,’”
Mills said. “And people like those words. Those are words people are just
enticed with.”
Mills took some advice from the popular women’s magazine and
decided Naked Naked Naked would be
the perfect name for his upcoming exhibit, which is opening March 3 at the Patrick John Mills Fine Art Gallery in Hintonburg.
The exhibit will feature paintings, sculptures and drawings
that include – but are not limited to – nakedness.
“It will also feature thoughts and ideas of naked truth, the
soul, the mind and pure expression,” said Mills. “It has such a large
encompassing nature to it. It’s a sense of vulnerability of exposing yourself.”
The feedback has been encouraging, he said, with 300 people
who have confirmed their invitation on the event via Facebook.
Mills said his last exhibit, focusing on love, had 118
confirmed guests and more than 500 people showed up.
“It’s going to be absolutely insane,” he said.
He said the exhibit adds to the unique nature of his gallery
where a visitor is not likely to see painted landscapes or family-friendly
works.
While people are more likely to purchase less risqué art, he
said there’s also a following of people who want to see art that’s more
provocative.
Mathieu Laca, a Montreal
artist, will be featuring two of his paintings at the exhibit.
“One features more various fantasies and the other one is
more brutal,” Laca said. “One is more innocent and the other is more guilty,
and shows the two sides of desire.”
John Marok is another artist who will feature his work at
the event, but hasn’t decided which works specifically he’ll be exhibiting yet.
However he knows he wants his work to reflect landfill
images.
He chose to feature landfill paintings in Naked Naked Naked because of their revealing
nature and they illustrate vulnerability to the earth.
“I’m showing something that isn’t normally seen of what
‘naked’ refers to,” he said. “They’re vulnerable and revealing – a kind of
parallel to being naked.”
Zaneta Pernicova will be placing her paintings of nude girls
and the human brain on display.
When her husband had to get a brain scan done last year, she
saw how beautiful and symmetrical the organ is.
Mills said Pernicova is different from other female artists,
many of whom he says tend to hold back and are more reserved.
She said she held back for six years, but the gallery helped
her to become more honest with her work.
“Women are supposed to be in this box,” she said. “It’s not
proper to paint big penises or women masturbating. But I want to be a leader.”
She hopes viewers of her work will walk away with the sense
that nudity is nothing to be ashamed of.
Mills hopes to get the word out about the exhibit with
posters around the city – complete with donated bras and underwear attached
with a staple gun.
“Everyone has a sock drawer and underwear drawer filled with
things they hardly ever wear,” he said. “It adds humour. People will notice it
and laugh.”
The exhibit will open with burlesque dancers and Mills hopes
that in June 2012 he can even have live nude models featured at the exhibit.
He hopes overall the event brings together people in the
community to have a good time in a relaxed atmosphere.
“The idea really is to build a sense of community,” Mills
said. “I think we live in too much isolation, and it’s wrong. We should be getting
to know people and enjoying each others’ company. I don’t think there’s enough
of that.”