A picture’s worth a thousand words

Soliloquy.

According to its dictionary definition, it’s “a dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections.”

For Kelowna artist, essayist, poet, performer and teacher Gary Pearson, the work he produces depicts exactly this.

Until May 25, Pearson’s work will be on display at the Kamloops Art Gallery in an exhibit called The End is My Beginning.

His oil paintings focus on depicting individuals and groups in urban and transient locations such as bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

“The storyline that runs through this displays a sense of solitude and association with place and people,” said Pearson.

“It’s about putting them together in ambiguous and non-specific places.”

The collection of works featured in The End is My Beginning ranges from 1999 to the most recent in 2008.

Pearson has been painting since 1976.

In the past, his work has been exhibited across Canada, the U.S., Germany, Australia, the U.K. and Poland.

Pearson’s love of oil painting lies within its uniqueness.

“It’s very distinct and very different from photography and print making, “ he said.

According to Pearson, removing specific locations from his paintings has allowed him to remove the viewer’s associations with a real place or time.

“They’re much more open-ended,” he said. “In a metaphorical way, I’m actually abstracting.”

This allows the viewer the opportunity to truly understand the meanings behind his works.

Upon looking at his work, Pearson would like people to take something away when they walk outside the art gallery doors.

“I would like them to enjoy and appreciate the paintings as a distinct art form,” he said.

“I also want them to study the subject matter in order to ascertain the meaning of the painting.”

Accompanying the oil paintings are two of Pearson’s videos — Soliloquy and Soliloquy Two, the first made in 2006 and the second in 2008.

“The first features a woman smoking a cigar and drinking a glass of wine,” said Pearson.

“The second features a man smoking a cigar and drinking a glass of tequila.”

Both videos were filmed and shot with a stationary camera.

Their titles, referring back to the dictionary definition of the word, provokes exactly those unspoken reflections.

Currently, the KAG is hosting a story-writing contest to coincide with the Pearson exhibition.

Members of the public are encouraged to write a story about what they think is happening in Pearson’s painting, Under the Blue Palms, which depicts two people sitting down in a tropical setting.

Entries can be submitted via e-mail to the Kamloops Art Gallery by 5 p.m. today.

Also, in celebration of Pearson’s exhibit, the Commodore Cafe and Lounge is hosting on May 13 a special evening of jazz and poetry.

Featured will be jazz musician Dale Rasmussen and celebrated poets from around the Kamloops region.

Pearson will also be on hand to read some of his own poetry.

The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

Admission is free.