Exhibition background

This exhibition celebrates the work of sculptors, Alistair Green, Garry Curry and their student, Philip Davis. Davis is an artist with a developmental disability who participates in the ArtWorks program at the Garth Homer Society. Green and Curry have mentored Davis for the last 5 years at their Shelbourne Street studio, where they provide guidance and support in the medium of stone carving. Green and Curry are the founders of the Vancouver Island Society of Disabled Artists and are both quadriplegic stone sculptors.

Featured in this exhibition will be sculpture that Green and Curry recently exhibited at the Cultural Olympiad in Whistler BC. Davis will be showing a collection of sculptures that reflect his interest in Mexican culture and that take inspiration from the work of his mentors, Green and Curry. Also on exhibit will be paintings and drawings by Davis.

ARTIST BIOS

Philip Davis was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1966. When Philip joined the Garth Homer Society ArtWorks program in January 2000 he arrived with a well established personal style of art making. Today his detailed, whimsical and sometimes exotic drawings showcase his many interests and his drafting skills. Philip’s attention to detail is evident in the fine cross hatching and sensitive shading he applies to his work. He takes inspiration from a wide variety of subjects and from his travels to Mexico, Guatemala, Hawaii and Cuba as well as imagery from Egypt and Japan. Philip has studied the work of many modern masters, his favourites being, Monet, Cezanne, Freda Kahlo and Emily Carr. Philip uses a variety of media including permanent markers, pencil crayons, watercolour, graphite and acrylics. In addition to his drawing and painting abilities Philip is also a fine stone carver. He has apprenticed with well known Victoria sculptors, Alistair Green and Gary Curry since 2005. Philip exhibits his work in Victoria and Vancouver, BC, as well as international galleries in Scotland, Japan and the United States. Philip’s work is in private and public collections in Canada, the USA and Mexico.

Alistair Green was born in Manchester England in 1971, then raised in Scotland before moving to Canada in 1980. Resettling in the Comox Valley it didn’t take long for Alistair to discover the majestic beauty that Vancouver Island had to offer, spending his time skiing, swimming, mountain-biking, and occasionally tending to schoolwork. After completing high school he continued his active lifestyle until he was involved in a near fatal car accident that left him an incomplete quadriplegic at the age of 20. The next five years of his life were spent trying to re-discover his place in the world, and what he had to offer it, before finding stone sculpting as a way to regain full control of his life and future. Now residing in Victoria, Alistair enjoys being involved in the arts and exploring the many different avenues that sculpture offers him.

Garry Curry was born in Victoria in the spring of 1969. He spent his childhood in Sooke with his brother and two sisters until 1975, and then moved to Telegraph Cove, where his father ran a saw mill. He was first introduced to carving by his father when he was ten years old. During the long winter nights the family would spend their time exploring art by the warmth of the fire place. The summer of 1986 Garry and his family moved to Ladysmith. He worked in the lumber industry and experimented with chainsaw carving. In the summer of 1991 he suffered a spinal cord injury, then spent a year in rehab to learn to cope with an 87% paralyses. Being separated from an active lifestyle and a feeling of distance from the world, stone sculpture has given Garry a new beginning, and a feeling of being a part of history.