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The comments of John Berger on the work of Henry Moore are an excellent point of departure. He said, “We are talking about obsessions which determine the gestures and perceptions of artists throughout a life's work, even when their conscious attention is elsewhere. A kind of bias of the imagination. The way a life's work slips towards a theme which is home for the artist.”

In this show, the 20th of Robert Lemay's career, and also the 10th solo show with Douglas Udell, the viewer begins to get a sense of the artist's “home,” his obsessions, and also a sense of the conversation he is having with the quotidian. The Greek poet, Odysseus Elytis wrote that, “We don't eavesdrop enough on the secret conversation among things.” The same is not true for Robert Lemay.

Looking at the paintings that encompass this show, the viewer will note the gravitation of the artist toward flowers and drapery, with a sparser accompaniment of fruit than in previous work. There is a silence in the paintings that perhaps comes from the juxtaposition of the delicate, cut flowers, with the dramatic, secretive drapery. The mood created is one of serenity, which lends itself to meditation.

After flesh, drapery is the most depicted subject in the Western tradition. As Anne Hollander has noted in her monograph accompanying the show Fabric of Vision at the National Gallery in London, drapery can itself “infuse an image with holiness.” Lemay has left the human form behind in his depiction of drapery, and instead combined it with what he calls, the “residual altar” of still life. He considers the objects on the tabletop, particularly the flowers, to hold a trace of their meaning as offerings. The effect of the paintings is to create a condition of sacredness.

Formally, the paintings in this show reveal a pared-down sensibility. There is a calm and yet delicate balance struck between the colours and shapes of the flowers, the translucency of the glass vessels, and the sculptural quality of the drapery. One feels that were a plum or nectarine to be moved even an inch in any direction, or if a flower were to be slightly rotated, the composition would be disturbed, disrupted, imbalanced.
Lemay has said that while he works in the tradition of the still life floral painters, and that while his work is inspired by the old masters, he insists “on a contemporary sense of space and colour.” The contemporary flavor of his canvases is indisputable. It is also possible to hear the whispers from the paintings of history. The conversations flow from these pieces. They speak to each other, drapery whispering to drapery, painted lily to painted rose. They speak to the “great tradition of painting” that Lemay says, resolutely, “he loves.” As well, the painted objects, fruit, and flowers, speak to their real counterparts.

The obsessions of the artist begin to steadfastly reveal themselves in this exhibition. Lemay continues to surprise the viewer with his mastery of the varying effects of natural light. His interest in creating the illusion of space persists, as does his interest in capturing the illusion of glass—its translucency and solidity—never an easy task. His obsessions may be said to be most consistently discerned in the close observation of an object—its surfaces, textures and depths.
The poet and critic, Guy Davenport, has said that “still life persists for four thousand years, and deserves study for that alone.” Robert Lemay's work is further confirmation that still life continues to be a fresh and relevant genre.

Collections
Public Collections
Alberta Art Foundation
Alberta Energy
Alberta Treasury Branch
Bennet, Jones, Verchere
Canada Council Art Bank
Canadian Embassy: Beijing, China; Canberra, Australia
Chevron Oil
Edmonton City Hall
Foreign Affairs
Interprovincial Pipeline
Lethbridge Regional Hospital
Norcen Resources
Ocelot Energy
Shaw Communications
Suncor Energy
Westin Hotels