Worked in a highly detailed hyper-realist style, Andrew Valko's Night Paintings capture fleeting moments in time at cheap motels and drive-in movie theatres. Called the "laureate of the disconnected encounter, the master of the incomplete ceremony" by art critic Robert Enright, Valko obliges his audience "to fill in the details of a story he only hints at." In encouraging observers to become involved in his figurative narratives, the artist also plays upon the age-old tradition of viewer as voyeur. Valko's characters look at themselves, at one another, and at television and movie screens.
Night Paintings is being exhibited in concert with the launch of Postcard Fictions, a short story authored by Toronto writer Michelle Berry in response to Valko's art.
For further information, please contact Curatorial Assistant Jennifer Gibson at 204-786-9253.