Renee Forrestall

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Biography

Born in Fredericton, N.B., Renee's first art instructor was her father, Tom Forrestall. Since then, Renee received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1987, with a major in painting. In 1995, she received a Bachelor of Art in Art Education degree from NSCAD as well.

Presently, Renee lives in Halifax with her family, studied at the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Dalhousie University, is a full time painter, and also teaches at NSCAD - "Art for Special Populations" & "Anatomy for Artists". As of September 2000, Renee will be Artist-in-Residence at the Camp Hill Center for Health Care for the Elderly until September 2001.

Renee Forrestall mostly paints, but is presently experimenting with Monotype prints. As a painter, she has explored traditional techniques extensively - from egg tempera to a range of glazing techniques in oil painting, and a variety of methods used in medieval icon painting. This exploratory work is important for Forrestall, since she is concerned with preserving the historical lineage of the painter's craft. The loss of an apprenticeship ethic and the context for fluid exchange of technical information may disqualify us from genuine participation in the evolution of an ethics of crafting.

Her imagery also draws on tradition, but within contemporary contexts. Forrestall is intrigued by the non-intellectual aspects of art that she feels have, to some extent, been overshadowed by either conceptual or political interests. As myth and religion have been stifled by our sense of progress, the rise of self-help psychology and "milleniaism" attest to high levels of social and psychological anxiety. For Forrestall, the challenge is to deal in her art with the dark side of psychological states without the melodrama of neurosis and despair.

Both medieval icon painting and early American symbolist portrait painting reflected a belief in the storytelling tradition. Forrestall is concerned that meta-historical and critical stances may efface lived experience. For her, narratives, whether literal of figurative as in allegory, are the only useful paintings.

Awards and Accomplishments

1998 - Nova Scotia Arts Council, Creation Giant
1997 - Nova Scotia Arts Council, Professional Development Grant
1997 - Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship
1983 - Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Film-makers award scholarship

Commissions and Collections:
2000 June - Millenium Banner Commission, Archdiocese of Nova Scotia
1999 May - St. Catherines Parish, Halifax N.S, Commission for Icon: St. Catherine of Sienna
1993 July - St. Peter's Church, Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia, completed commissions for a large tapestry and altar design
1985 July - James Palmer - Portrait Commission
2000 May - Posterior Skeleton Board, Dalhousie Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
2000 May - Night Vigil, Collection of Frank McKenna
2000 April - The Gathering, Collection of Keith Neilson

Recent Exhibitions and Shows

Solo exhibitions:
2000 Sept - Argyle Fine Arts, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
2000 (TBA)- Trinity Art Gallery, St. John, New Brunswick.
2000 Sept - Dalhousie Medical School, Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Medical Paintings"
2000 March - St. Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Medial/Lateral" (paintings on copper and drawings)
2000 Jan-Feb - Neptune Theater, Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Private Collection"
1998 June - Pilar Shephard Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. "Anatomy"
1997 July - Pilar Shephard Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. "Relations"
1995 Oct - Studio 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Grand Narratives"

Selected Group Exhibitions:
2000 July - Argyle Fine Arts, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gallery Artist
2000 June - Sunburyshores, St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Three Artists
2000 March - Trinity Art Gallery, St. John, New Brunswick. Two Artists
1998 Dec. - Neptune Theater, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Three Artists
1997 March - Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Group Exhibit
1997 Jan. - Studio 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Extremes". Gallery Artists
1996 Dec. - Pilar Shephard Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Two Artists
1996 Sept - Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, V.A.N.S. 20th Anniversary Exhibit.(Toured to University College of Cape Breton, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Jan. 1997)
1996 April - Canadian Artist's Exhibit, Taipei, Taiwan. Group Exhibit
1996 March - Nancy Poole Studio, Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Symbolists
1993 July - Studio 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gallery Artists
1990 March - Ring Gallery, Saint John, New Brunswick.
1989 Summer - Galleries in Dartmouth, Bridgetown, Truro, and Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Forrestall Exhibit, Three Artists


Other Information

Category: Paintings

Media:Oil and Gold Leaf