Ed Zelenak: Distant Realms

About

Zelenak has lived and worked in south western Ontario for all of his six-decade long career. His works are included in numerous public and private collections throughout North America and Europe. I first exhibited Zelenak in 1993. This exhibition marks our 25th anniversary.

In both the north and south galleries, we will be showing a selection of new wall dependent works collectively titled “Distant Realms”. This celestial mixed media body of work are composed utilizing materials such as; tin, hand formed copper, gouache on acrylic sheets and wooden panels. They have an otherworldly quality that speaks of an imaginary, heavenly sphere.

Zelenak is a thoughtful artist. He is a seeker and his art practice has illustrated his metaphysical quest. In the accompanying artist statement by C.S. Kovach, she states that:
“One of the most prevalent icons in mythology is the circle – concave, convex and the emerging crescent. The circle – contained yet fluid – has a peripheral border, a container of sorts, yet a centre that defies containment. The presence of this centre, a sense of “completeness”, is a symbol for the soul, and for eternity. Seeking that sense of connection to the collective consciousness is the voyage we all undertake in this life.

Then further articulates that:
“The circle iconography appeared in Zelenak’s imagery as early as 1982. Works such as Noah’s Arc Six-Plane Curve, 1982; Ra’s Voyage with Five-Plane Curve, 1988; Constellation Series, 1989; The Appearance of Wholeness-Seabed, 1992-93; Levitation Series 2012-2016; speak to our quest for direction while acting as symbolic conduits for introspection into one’s own inner void.”