Judith with Dublin Gulch, 2005
Judith Currelly's imagery is inspired by the stark vastness of Northern
British Columbia and the Yukon. Every aspect of her life -- from homesteader
to artist to commercial pilot -- is influenced by the land. It forms
the basis for simplified, stylized landscapes and wildlife forms painted
in a beautifully restrained palette.
In her paintings, Currelly employs various tactile techniques such as
scraping, scoring, bevelling and staining the surface of the wood to
imply geological forms.
In her printmaking, she incorporates woodblock and lino printing techniques
into the paintings. Etching and scraping reflect the permanence of mark
making, as they do with petroglyphs, pictographs or fossils.
Haunting images of man and animals co-exist in Currelly’s work,
evoking feelings of primitive mysticism, ancient rituals and reverence.
In Northern Maps, Legend and Legacies (2000), Currelly drew
on her years as a commercial bush pilot in Northern British Columbia
and the Yukon to depict monumental landscapes from an aerial perspective.
The exhibition focused on looking at ways of interpreting the land through
the use of maps, charts, and storytelling.
Throughout her career and particularly in series of work like Atlin
Mountain (2002), Currelly's spectacular oil paintings have demonstrated
her reverence and passion for the lands and people of the far North.
In Living Systems (2005), she explored the interrelated conditions,
patterns and structures that occur between land, sky, water and lifeforms.
In Journeys (2007), she introduces the human figure and handwritten
script to her landscape paintings, thereby gaining a new sense of narrative.
Judith Currelly was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Ontario
College of Art and Design as well as the University of Victoria, BC.
She has a prestigious exhibition record spanning three decades. Her
work is included in numerous private, corporate and public collections
including the Canada Council Art Bank and the Governor General’s
Heritage Collection.
