SASKATOON — Local artist Gaile Wotherspoon is looking to further introduce Saskatchewan to the world by promoting the province through her artwork, after recently signing with Swiss-based art platform Artboxy and Plogix, an online modern and contemporary art platform.
Wotherspoon told SaskToday that she is sharing her vision of the prairies through continuous displays at the Nicoleta Gallery in Berlin, Germany, Casa del Arte in Palma, Spain, Thomson Gallery in Zug, Switzerland, and Le Chein d’Or in Quebec City.
She has also participated in exhibitions in Strasbourg in France's Alsace region and Milan, Italy. She is preparing for art expos in Zurich, Switzerland, and Paris, France, this autumn, with possible future shows in London and Hong Kong.
Wotherspoon said her goal extends beyond showcasing her own paintings, but also wanting to challenge misconceptions about Saskatchewan and encourage international audiences to discover a province she believes is too often overlooked.
"I always say that Saskatchewan is a fly-over province. Everybody flies over it, not many people stop. And that's a shame because there are so many things you would see here. There are so many incredible artists in this province, and nobody really knows we're here,” said Wotherspoon.
Her international opportunities began after joining Artboxy, a Switzerland-based art placement company that opened her doors to galleries and exhibitions she had never imagined reaching, and part of being in Europe is to expand their minds about Canada.
Since signing with the organization, her work has appeared in galleries throughout Europe, leading to invitations to exhibit in Berlin, Spain, Switzerland, Milan and Strasbourg, with additional opportunities continuing to emerge.
Having worked with the European organization for only six months, she expects it will take time before she begins receiving direct feedback from galleries and collectors, and opportunities will also continue to open up for her through Plogix.
Despite still being in the early stages of building her exposure to an international audience, she expects her exhibitions to lead to other markets beyond Europe, and she’s been encouraged by the response she has received through social media.
Wotherspoon said each new venue provides another opportunity to introduce audiences to Saskatchewan's landscapes and artistic community, and she hopes her paintings encourage viewers to see Saskatchewan differently.
"None of my scenes are flat, really. If you really look at the province, the landscape is actually a lot of waves, almost like water. It's rolling with hills and valleys. Bringing those things into art shows Saskatchewan is not just flat nothingness. There's much more to it," she added.
It wasn’t until she moved to Mexico that she was introduced to the beauty of creating pieces in mosaic beyond Greco-Roman forms.
The inspiration for Wotherspoon's distinctive mosaic-style landscapes dates back to her years teaching at international schools in Mexico. Over more than 20 years, she has refined the technique into a signature style that reflects the landscapes that shaped her throughout her life.
Saskatchewan’s landscapes have always been an important part of Wotherspoon’s life on the prairies. She challenged herself to capture and depict them in her artwork; she learned and used the mosaic technique rather than using standard techniques.
Surrounded by the country's colourful mosaic artwork, she began experimenting with incorporating that visual style into oil paintings of the Prairies. It is important to her to be able to share her work and her philosophy around what she does and the intention behind all of her art.
As such, she has been working in this form, creating oil paintings of the vastness of the prairies for over twenty years, refining and redefining her technique. All of her work reflects the landscapes that shaped her as a child, young adult and adult, and so the paintings are a result of incorporating those images.
