Stan Denniston
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Artist and art restorer, Stan Denniston, lives and works in Toronto and constantly struggles to find creative time outside the pressures of his art restoration business. Early in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was graced with the time and calm to initiate, and finish, the shooting of his first photographic project in 15 years. His work revolves around the themes of travel, memory and representation.
Denniston is represented by Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto. He has exhibited extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe and his works are included in many collections private and public including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada. In 1986, he participated in the group show YYZ "World Tour at the Embassy Cultural House and will be exhibiting work at the Hiding in Plain Sight virtual exhibit launching October 30th, 2020. Just Until..., at Olga Korper Gallery, 2007 The saguaro cactus has long been synonymous with the deserts of the American west and a symbol of rugged endurance in a harsh environment. But I chose these cacti, their trunks and limbs cradled and braced, in contrast to that legendary toughness, to add poignancy to their potential as icons of degradation in this case the degradation of two centuries of political and social achievement in the United States by the actions of the Bush administration. Provoked by my simmering anger, I sought affirmative moments in American history that were obviously, the antithesis of the policies of this disreputable bunch. Subtly embedded in the skies of these barely coloured photographs are historical texts of social and political aspiration and idealism such as 1863”s Emancipation Proclamation, 1872’s Yellowstone Act (creating the world’s first national park), or Lynden Johnson’s The Great Society speech, 1964, or even The New Colossus, an 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus that graces the base of the Statue of Liberty (“give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses”). |
