Hop on the Express Wagon at GNO

La Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario (GNO) is inviting the community to meet artist Ann Beam at the opening reception of her Express Wagon exhibition Jan. 24.

The exhibition will be on display at GNO until March 1.

Beam is a visual artist working out of M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island.

According to the exhibition’s guest curator, Paulette Gagnon, Beam’s work “is strewn with spinning globes, glowing rainbow auras, star-filled skies, horses and caribou standing against backdrops of aurora borealis, contrasting with statement-pieces springing from the artist’s social and environmental preoccupations.”

Beam's formative years as an artist were spent working in tandem with her late husband Carl Beam, a celebrated artist in his own right.

In fact, Carl Beam made Canadian art history as the first artist of Native ancestry (Ojibwe) to have his work purchased by the National Gallery of Canada as contemporary art.

In Sudbury, the Cambrian Foundation recently showcased works from its Carl Beam collection at the inaugural exhibition for its downtown open studio.

Ann Beam’s art is similar to her husband's in that it borrows heavily from design aesthetics, making it of immediate interest to students of graphic design.

The pieces that make up the Express Wagon exhibition are larger works, created with a variety of mixed media and recycled materials such as corrugated cardboard. The image of the Earth as seen from space is a hallmark of Beam's recent work.

When asked if there was anyone special she’d like to invite to the opening reception, she mentioned none other than Chris Hadfield, retired Canadian astronaut and former Commander of the International Space Station.

“Lately, my art is about creating an energetic field and inviting the viewer to experience it,” the artist said.

“It is about the self-empowering nature of carefully chosen images, symbols and archetypes. Everything is energy, vibrating at different levels and frequencies, and images have power. When you bring an image or a thought into your life, you are aligning with its energy.”

The opening reception for Express Wagon starts at 5 p.m. at the GNO (174 Elgin St.).

After an informal conversation with the artist, the reception will move to Fromagerie Elgin, where a portion of the Express Wagon exhibition will be displayed.

Celebrated blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Cécile Doo-Kingué will top off the evening with a special “pay-what-you-can” concert at Fromagerie Elgin, starting around 8:30 p.m.