Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto ON Canada, April 2024.
Observations by painter,
Anne Griffiths:
“Kyle Scheurmann is a true adventurer; an artist with a huge heart and an even larger commitment to his observations of nature. He has found a way to paint subjects that matter most to him – the rugged, yet increasingly vulnerable landscapes that he immerses himself in with an honest approach and singular style.
I imagine Kyle like Tom Thomson, hiking and canoeing through the Canadian wilderness, happening upon a world so magical and beyond our urban imaginations, that he feels immediately compelled to rush back to his studio and generously transcribe it for the rest of us.
This new body of work is a seamless evolution from his previous paintings in both subject and style. His practice has also taken on a new level of sophistication; the intricate patterns of light, line and hue writing stories of places too far for us to reach ourselves. There is a sense of love and acceptance emanating from his joy-filled palette, which at times seems a contradiction to his conservationist intentions. Where many react with despair and anger to the ecological catastrophe we are witnessing, he still manages to send a message inspiring peaceful and thoughtful action.
Maybe it is because of his pure kaleidoscopic-colour-events that we are drawn into, and then mesmerised by the unfolding stories within each painting. Whatever the reason, it is hard not to be captivated by the scenes Kyle has chosen to share with us. Captured moments of an environment on the edge of something too terrible to face; but we cannot look away. Tears flow, hearts skip a beat, curiosity is piqued. We are compelled to look deeper, and we feel like voyeurs watching a trainwreck.
These new paintings are an environmental S.O.S, but they are also a gentle talisman, guiding us by the hand and leading us into a place where we can feel happy and hopeful again.
A generous offering from a kind soul.”
Further reflections by Bau-Xi Co-director, Kyle Matuzewiski:
“Art as activism has a long and well-documented history. Artists have challenged and defied governments, spurred on social and political movements, pushed back against the notions of what art is and challenged our perceptions of the world that surrounds us – often bringing important matters into light.
Through his upcoming exhibition, “Split My Full Moon Heart”, Kyle Scheurmann continues to embody both artist and activist, journalist and advocate, Forest Protector, and fundraiser. In an age of the 24/7 news cycle, we often feel overwhelmed by all of the events, causes, and calls-to-action that bombard us. Kyle looks to grab our attention, slow us down and ask us to take in the wonder he has created, in an aim to work towards meaningful change. His symbolism isn’t overt or jarring – nor have the best purveyors of activist art had to be. It is intricately worked into the composition, developing a narrative that the viewer can submerse themselves in, all the while creating something beautiful.
The word ‘split’ – to the artist – carries a sense of duality; being ‘full of rage’, yet ‘focused and calm’, seeing himself as an ‘activist, thinking about driving straight to the last active blockades’, and a ‘conservationist, measuring stumps and taking careful documentation’. He is both ‘worried about (himself), thinking about (his) own comfort and future’, and ‘worried about humanity, terrified for us as a whole’. Most poignantly, he feels that ‘we are living through a unique time where the government’s actions and the people’s demands are split on the environment’.
That last sentiment sits heavily with me.
As we go about our lives, trying to make ends meet, supporting those that depend on us, or struggling with our own unique set of challenges, there is a living, breathing world that operates independently, yet very much influenced by the choices we all make on a daily basis. Our cognitive dissonance as a society allows the injustices that we see going on around us to continue to happen again and again.
When I reflect on my conversations with Kyle, I become emotional – full of deep sadness at what we have lost and what we continue to destroy. But after that initial wave of despair has passed, I feel resolute, believing again that my decisions will have an impact, and to remind myself that there are many others out there making the same resolutions. Thus, I too, find myself ‘split’.
Yet, we must push forward. We must find hope. We must continue to look, think, feel, and share with others. We must challenge both ourselves and others. I see Kyle’s paintings as all of these sentiments, simultaneously.
Within that created beauty, there is so much to unpack and take in, to take with us, asking us to do more, say more, feel more.
And in that moment, we may find ourselves whole again.
Art can create change.”