Exhibition: Aspects of Karma

Aspects of Karma
Kay Bonathan

March 6 – April 1, 2012
Opening reception: Tuesday March 6, 7-9pm

The lotus flower grows out of the mud in shallow, stagnant water and rises pristine and lovely containing both fruit and flower within its bud. Thus, throughout the ages and in many different cultures, the lotus flower has been used to symbolize rebirth, purification, and karma.

In ‘Aspects of Karma’, artist Kay Bonathan explores the lotus flower through the lens of Buddhism, with an exhibition of mixed media paintings and ceramic sculptures. Her collage-paintings represent lotuses composed with torn fragments of printed media depicting some of our society’s ills (including consumerism, pollution, poverty, sickness, and greed). The flower images suggest a beauty and vitality that overcomes negative karma, while an interesting tension occurs between the whole image and the remnants of still-visible text and commercial photographs which make up the composition.

Kay Bonathan was born in Montreal and studied art history and visual art at McGill and Concordia Universities. In the early 1970’s, she taught art for two years in Haiti and did research for a thesis on Haitian art. She has taught at several post-secondary institutions including the Academie des Beaux Arts in Haiti, Concordia University in Montreal, and Surrey’s Kwantlen University. In 2006, she was invited to attend the Terracotta Symposium in Santiago de Cuba and in 2010 she took an artist’s residency in Jingdezhen, China focusing on pottery. Her work continues to show the influence of her extensive travels.

4360 Gallant Ave
North Vancouver BC
(in the heart of Deep Cove)
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