A Review by Lorne McConachie

Engaging, intimage, like some childhood memory - familiar, yet not exact. We know these places whether we've been there or not. Kent Lovelace is exploring the vernacular. Not places as objects to marvel, but landscapes that emerge in layers to reveal the rich story of human settlement within the natural topology. He helps us understand the inherent reciprocity and collaboration between man and earth. His paintings engage the epic poem that values continuity more than change. Luminous oil on copper recounts a tale of cultural congruity linking the patterns of rural France with the far-reaching colonization of the modern Pacific Northwest.

Earthy color, saturated atmosphere, subtle hue draws us into these communal places. Undulating landforms relentlessly carved by glacier and stream are softly etched by human activity. Compositional elements - tree, sky, shadow, shelters - move tack and forth between positive and negative space pulling us into specific time, season or mood. Human stewardship is seamless, felt but never seen. These paintings challenge us far from romantic idealism. They are profoundly political in ways exploitive consumer societies struggle to grasp. Lovelace is gently guiding us into deep and lasting understanding of place, toward a substainable interdependence that truly values this sacred planet.

Lorne McConachie
July 2003