Floyd Elzinga will be exhibiting works in “The Broken Landscape” at Jordan Art Gallery from Aug. 3 to 30. The launch opening, with everyone welcome, will be on Sat. Aug. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. Here’s a bit about the artist.
Floyd Elzinga grew up actively involved in the landscape on a dairy farm outside Jarvis, Ont. He could draw the best elephant in grade one and everyone knew he was predestined to be an artist.
Floyd Elzinga’s work is fundamentally inspired by the natural world. Elzinga’s recent work explores the traditional landscape through non-traditional techniques and this show focuses on the idea of a broken landscape.
The landscapes are broken in several possible ways. In some the subject matter breaks the frame of the landscape. In others the landscape is cobbled together of different panels and there are visual breaks in the picture or story. And finally through the features of the landscape, some trees show the telltale signs of history of brokenness through the deadwood still clinging to the living structure. In the title piece for the show all three types of brokenness are present.
As a sculptor, Elzinga’s work has been predominately three dimensional, but after a bout of “painter envy” he was inspired to create a series of flat wall hangings of traditional landscapes. The process became an integral part of the content, with the welder as his pencil and the grinder as his paintbrush.
He was initially drawn to create these paintings in steel because the material (steel) is forgiving. It is a common, fast-working material that is very malleable, allowing him to sketch his thoughts in quick line-drawing style panels but also spend great time and skill on creating persuasively formed objects.
Elzinga currently lives and works in the landscape surrounding his studio in Beamsville.
If you enjoy art and artists’ homes and gardens, check out a couple of our published feature articles: “The Creative Hands of Benitta Wilcox” and “Brigitte Schreyer: Continuing the artistic tradition.”
