Solstice (detail), Peter Deacon, 37 15” X 15” mixed media panels, 2007.

The Solstice arrived early at Calgary’s Virginia Christopher Fine Art. The exhibition by Calgary-based painter Peter Deacon covered more than seven metres of the gallery’s wall space, a multi-media piece comprised of 37 panels.

Using the Continental Divide near Banff as a meeting point between east and west, Solstice is a clever visual metaphor that explores western and eastern values. Subtle shifts in colour on each of the panels create a luminous and expansive work that underscores the unrelenting forward march of time. Postage stamps, fragments of topographical maps and a manipulated photo of one of the peaks in the Rockies (that appears on each of the panels) are set into its constituent parts to form a multi-faceted puzzle that asks viewers to try and unlock its artful mysteries.

Solstice (detail), Peter Deacon, 37 15” X 15” mixed media panels, 2007.

Solstice — the twice a year phenomena that’s celebrated across the world to mark the location of the sun’s movement — has in this case been given a captivating interpretation by an artist who has also explored similar themes in a series titled Facing West – Looking East.

The other works that complete this exhibition include five mixed media pieces from the Facing West – Looking East series, which conceptually began life in 1988 when Deacon was an artist in residence at The Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Studios. Unlike Solstice, which uses board as its foundation, in this series copper plates form the base of each piece. Again taking a collage-like approach, the artist embeds within the context of the five works fragments of maps, correspondence and photographs. The seductive patina of the copper is what makes each of the five pieces stand out, with Deacon taking full advantage of the metal.

Solstice (detail), Peter Deacon, 37 15” X 15” mixed media panels, 2007.

Deacon has planted the sheets of copper in the rocky soil of the Rocky Mountains (near the Continental Divide). He leaves the plates underground for months at a time, until they’re retrieved with the help of a handheld GPS navigation system. The technique marks the copper with unique characteristics that could never be recreated in the studio, and the result is a collaboration between the artist and the Earth.

This unusual creative approach has been a continuing presence during much of Deacon’s career as a visual artist and educator. A long-time fine art instructor at the University of Calgary, Deacon was recognized in 2004 (along with fellow instructor and artist Marjan Eggermont) with the Alan Blizzard Award for his contribution to first year engineering courses. Art and engineering might seem an unusual combination, but Deacon’s innovative approach brings together the disparate worlds to surprising effect.

—BY Wes Lafortune