Artist has an ‘eye for the unseen’

February 11, 2016

Local artist Joey Bruni on Feb. 5 at the opening of his show entitled Last View, mounted at the Art Gallery of Bancroft until Feb. 27. Story on page 2. JIM EADIE Special to This Week

By Jim Eadie

“Absolutely great show … beautiful … remarkable work.”

These were just some of the comments overheard from the crowd attending the opening of a new exhibition by local artist Joey Bruni at the Art Gallery of Bancroft (AGB) on Feb 5.

His art is inspired by things he has seen from all directions on the North American continent. “I love to travel,” Bruni said. “I see water towers, hydro lines, buildings, alleyways … they are graphic, and I love them.”

“These are a collection of my view of the last views of places I have been,” he said, noting that many of the places no longer exist. “I want to commemorate those spaces that people just walk by … a grain elevator that has since been torn down … old houses that were knocked down to build the 407 … I have documented these places.”

His work is divided between acrylic on canvas paintings, and ink and marker sketches. Either way, his work is filled with detail, contrast, and brings out the incredible beauty not often noticed in such things as back alleys, hydro lines, aging and dilapidation.

Bruni’s show, entitled Last View, will be mounted at the AGB until Feb 27. The exhibit is sponsored by Dr. Melissa Fransky, and by Drs. Jerry Rawal and Jeff Guthrie.

“We are very fortunate to have a public art gallery in Bancroft,” said AGB president Barbara Allport. “We rely solely on donations and sponsors to mount our shows. The result is that as a group of artists, we have a place to show and sell our work, and that is a good thing for all of us.”