Contrast and complement: ‘Changing Perspectives’ at Unsettled Gallery

Unsettled Gallery, 905 N. Mesquite St., will host an exhibition entitled “Changing Perspectives,” featuring the works of local artists Roy van der Aa and Gregory Montreuil.

The show opens a reception 4:30-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, and continues through Jan. 6, 2024. The gallery will be closed Dec. 24-26.

The show’s painted collages by van der Aa “are a way of re-imagining landscape painting,” the artist said. “Traditional landscape is a static snapshot which freezes a scene. These collages, like plein air painting, combine angles and changing light. I place fragments on their edge and upside down to create an uncomfortable space. Images flow into each other and I wanted to find a way to express that. The variations are almost musical in nature,” van der Aa said. “I state a theme and then expand on it thoughtfully and immediately. These works are quirky, moody and self-contradictory. In 2023 I began to take my own photographs rather than using magazines as a source. This created a more unified palette reflective of a region or a neighborhood.”

“Both life and art are a question of balance,” said Montreuil, who will exhibit oil on canvas paintings and oil and gessoed paper. “In a constant state of flux, adjustments and decisions are required. A deep belief in intuition is what I strive to cultivate in both my art and my life. So rather than imposing my will, I prefer to make calculated micro-decisions, which fit my experimentalist nature. With decisions in place, I try to allow chance and indeterminate actions to function through the work. To paraphrase Willem DeKooning; ‘One has to start somewhere.’ Once the action is activated rigorous analysis and decisions begin anew. Does it work? Can it be improved? Which direction is up? What might reinforce what has been made visible?

“In the shared exhibition with Roy Van de Aa I feel our work will both contrast and compliment,” Montreuil said. “As artists we both use color but in different ways. Roy and I are both committed to abstraction as an important form of visual communication. Layered color serves to create structure in Roy's work. I use color more minimally, to create contrast and energy.”

Born in Amsterdam, Holland in 1956, der Aa grew up in Montreal. His formal education includes two years of fine art specialty at John Abbott College in Quebec and three years at Concordia University in Montreal studying printmaking and archaeology. He moved to the United States in 1989 and lives in Las Cruces.   

With more than 125 solo, two-person and group shows, van der Aa has exhibited throughout the Southwest U.S. and Quebec in Canada. His work can be seen at RioBravoFineArt in Truth or Consequences. He has also shown at Gallery 408 in Carrizozo, Dancing Dog Gallery in Tularosa, Cutter Gallery and Art Obscura in Las Cruces; Iris and Schriek Gallery in Amsterdam, where his art was shown alongside works by Spanish artist Joan Miró, Belarusian and French artist Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso; and Hiatus Collective in London.

Montreuil lives and works in Arrey, New Mexico and Marseille, France. He has exhibited in New Mexico, California, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina and Maine, and in France and Germany. He was an art instructor and guest lecturer in New York City.

His works are in the collections of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., Yale University, Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut and other institutions and in private collections. Montreuil has written about art for Flash Art International, The New Art Examiner, Contemporary Magazine, Art Papers and other publications.

Contact unsettled gallery at 575-635-2285 and u@unsettledgallery.com.