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Adèle Duck

Adèle Duck

Jan. 30 - May 9, 2010

For years the prints and paintings of Windsor artist Adèle Duck have been eagerly collected by individuals and groups across Canada and beyond. This eponymous exhibition marks over twenty years since her works were featured in a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

Adèle Duck's practice is informed by her mastery of diverse media and processes including printmaking, drawing and painting, as well as the conventions of both abstract and figurative art. Each work is a fascinating combination: of marks both painterly and direct; flowing washes and glazes layered over defined shapes; and deep fields of saturated colour shot through by sharp, kinetic black and white stripes. Translucent "skins" of pigment recede, offering indefinite glimpses of the body. All these elements converge to create a sensual effect that is magnified in Duck's recent large-scale canvases. Neither predetermined nor wholly intuitive, her works play out a wanderlust that is hard to categorize and best to just experience.

Duck's compositions are pure, unfiltered communications, inviting a sort of play between the work and viewer. The evident effort and sheer amount of visual information in her works provoke appreciation of her ability, and invites individual interpretation of symbolic elements. The complexity of Duck's imagery never offers final or obvious readings.

This exhibition was made possible through the support of the Ontario Arts Council. The artist and AGW staff acknowledge the generous work and assistance of Bill Chapman, Carl Lavoy, the University of Windsor, Nancy Johns (framing), and Gerry LePage (framing).

For further information about Adèle Duck's work email: adeled@uwindsor.ca