The Drawers - Headbones Gallery 

Contemporary Drawing, Painting, Sculpture and Works on Paper

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PROVENANCE
Featuring
JULIAN DIX
Headbones Gallery
&
CADILLAC BOB
  The Drawers Gallery

with works by Otto, Ursus and Jan Dix

Jan 18 - Mar 9, 20
24
    Headbones Gallery
 
 
 
Up Next
Monsters, Fantasy and the Female to the Power of Seven
FeaturingLynden Beesley
&
Wendy Anderson
 
Mar 30 - April 27 , 2024
    Headbones Gallery
 
    The Drawers Gallery
 
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Julian Dix

Julian Dix

Julian Dix

Cadillac Bob

Cadillac Bob

Cadillac Bob

Julian Dix

Julian Dix

Julian Dix
Provenance DIX: Julian Dix, Ursus Dix, Jan Dix, Otto Dix
with Cadillac Bob as Hessiah Nettles

 January 18 - March 9, 2024  

‘Provenance’ is a word often used in relation to fine arts, referring to the labels often found on the back of a painting that serve to document where and when the work has been shown. The dictionary definition of provenance is “place of origin”.

The exhibitions opening on January 18 at Headbones Gallery with a public reception from 4 -7 PM are actually two solo exhibitions - different styles, different mediums - that meet over the concept of provenance.

The exhibition titled DIX: Julian Dix, Ursus Dix, Jan Dix and Otto Dix places the origin of the current and very contemporary work by Julian Dix against the backdrop of two generations who were also involved in painting. Provenance becomes the back story to Julian Dix’s paintings through examples of his father’s, uncle’s and grandfather’s work. Ranging from still life paintings where the sensitivity to composition and tone brings the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi to mind, to the super realistic elements of more surreal imagery, to an abstract-pop styling that leaves the interpretation of what we are seeing open for discussion - Julian Dix upends the apple cart. Even as his still life paintings begin to wobble and dissolve and his surreal works link into universal dreams that seem hauntingly familiar, Julian Dix doesn’t let his masterful hand relax. As a result, the paintings are impressive and engender respect at both the flawless handling of his medium and the psychological implications of the subject matter.

And as to the generational provenance? Julian Dix’s father, Ursus Dix, was with the National Gallery of Canada as their principal art restorer and an artist in his own right. His uncle Jan Dix was a a goldsmith, silversmith and sculptor. Julian Dix’s grandfather was Otto Dix, the German painter whose paintings reflected his shock and disgust at the brutality of both world wars. Headbones Gallery will be including works by Ursus, Jan and Otto Dix as provenance that ekes through the generations to the current paintings fresh from the palette of Julian Dix.

At closer range, the provenance of the works by Cadillac Bob, who for this exhibition is returning to his art name, Hessiah Nettles, is routed right here in the Okanagan performer’s visual saga of a life immersed in music. With his focus on rockabilly (derived from country music and rhythm and blues), Cadillac Bob is an adept guitar player who has brushed shoulders and played riffs with many of the great names of our time. He has stories of Mississippi Fred Mc Dowell, Johnny Shines, BB King, John Lee Hooker and Howling Wolf that give glimpses into the energy that was present in such clubs of the seventies as the Vancouver Cellar Club. What may come as a surprise to many who have heard Cadillac Bob on stage is that he went from two years at The Kootenay School of Art studying commercial art, 1966-68, to the Vancouver School of Art in 1969 where he became a competent printmaker producing a series of lithographs. Headbones Gallery is also bringing to light his photographs, chosen from an extensive archive, that capture inside and privileged glimpses of the charismatic lives of musicians behind the scenes as well as in the limelight. Add to this provenance a spell of working as an animator with Gary Larsen (Far Side) and a diverse collection of his commercial art output. Cadillac Bob AKA Hessiah Nettles may even augment the visuals with a musical interlude.