Collective Members

Bruce Ray was born in 1963 in Williams Lake, and grew up in Fraser Lake, British Columbia. He is inspired by nature and believes in the concept of craft.

Ray works with pastels, linocuts as well as Photo-shop. In addition, he is a trained storyteller. He has written over 20 short stories and three books. Ray was diagnosed as having Schizophrenia and this has greatly impacted the work he creates. He states: “my art work comes out of the experience of being an Outsider.” These ideas and influences inform his artistic practice; his mental illness feeds and keeps his imagination broad.

Being an artist is Robert Gardiner’s way of life – it is the means through which he connects and contributes to his community. Gardiner has been an artist for more than thirty-five years, exhibiting his art both in Canada and internationally. His cultural practice includes a multitude of mediums including photography, film, video, animation, drawing, assemblage, and sculpture. Gardiner feels strongly about social issues and is involved in supporting cultural facilities, artist-run collectives, and housing advocacy groups. He calls himself homeless. Since March 2008, the DTES has become his permanent neighborhood. Gallery Gachet helps him to fulfill his need for community at large; and, specifically, to work collectively with other like-minded and like-hearted artists.

W.N. (Bill) Pope was born in Belleville, Ontario, in 1952 where he started art training at Quinte Secondary School (Belleville) and later O.C.A.(D.) in Toronto. He studied drawing and painting with Gordon Raynor, Graham Coughtrey, and multi-media with Denis Pike. In the 1970’s he was mentored in photography by Murray Mosher, Justin Wonnacott and Bob Anderson. Pope sold slide show “Dupes” to the NFB still photo division and was a founding member of the Gallery 101 collective in Ottawa. In 1991 Pope entered into treatment for depression, hypertension, and alcoholism. Since then he has worked in support of disabilities in the arts through at both Gallery Gachet and the Kettle Friendship Society.

Pierre Leichner has been transitioning from a thirty-year career as an academic psychiatrist to be an artist. He obtained his BA from Emily Carr University, Vancouver and MFA from Concordia University, Montreal. Most of his works address biological, psychological, social/cultural, political, and spiritual issues simultaneously. These disparate themes influence his use of multi-sensoriality in many of his projects. His projects Pommier Renversé, The Root Laboratory Project and Jardin Biologique # 8, Potager de Résistance interpellate him in a collaborative dependency with living matter. Since 2005, he has had 8 solo shows, participated in 25 group shows and presented in 3 art conferences.

Murray Huehn is a self-taught, experimental artist who uses nature as his inspirational springboard. The colors, shadows, and textures of nature enrich and enliven his work. He often takes the physical viewpoint in his pieces of looking down from a place above the subject, therefore creating a sense of ‘the other’, an alternative perspective and vantage point. There is usually a pentimento layer underneath the painting that is sometimes obvious, and at other times almost invisible. He has been a Gallery Gachet Collective member for 6 months, having recently had his work featured in a group show, Dissolve/Thrive.

For June Conley making art is in her blood. When she is working on a piece it becomes her life. She recycles everything she possibly can; going to scrap yards and taking long walks, always searching for new materials. She believes that each piece has its own history and story to tell. She makes sculptures out of found, recycled and salvaged objects. In her work the piece has to have purpose, then becoming “functional art”. In 1988, she attended Emily Carr University of Art and Design where she received her Diploma in Fine Arts with 3D (Sculpture). Her repertoire is a mix of mediums and materials: painting, drawing, carving wood, metalwork, repurposing, sculpture.

Chunn’s creative practice explores the process of transformation from the intangible to the material. Her commitment to understanding the interconnected nature of all relationships has led her to absorb inspiration from disparate influences, such as philosophy, metaphysics, sociology, and the natural environment. Currently Chunn’s preferred mediums include sculpture, installation, performance and ecological art. Her immediate investigation into the Sublime/Ephemeral, explores both tension and harmony, inviting audience engagement beyond a spectator role. She is committed to making art that is accessible, educational and encourages collaborative involvement. Art beyond form and politics that is architecturally sound – held together by a sense of social responsibility and conscious connection to community and global welfare.

Ayaz Kamani has been an art practitioner for many years. Becoming an artist was a gradual process for Ayaz that took shape during his formal training at university where he completed a BFA. Schooling primarily taught him a more cognitive approach to art creation, which he liked because it broadened its social application. His art often encapsulates his wry, straight up, quirky humour. He states in true Ayaz fashion: “Creating art has become a habit, somewhere in between masturbating and eating”. He was born in Winnipeg, however he grew up and became an artist in Vancouver, where he now devotes his time to Gallery Gachet and VIVO Media Arts Centre.

Kara Lee grew up in a British Columbia family who were very connected to the land. This instigated her tendency towards landscape art. Lee was first taught classical landscape painting techniques by an art restoration specialist, and then developed her skills into contemporary study through attending Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Her conception of landscape art has vastly shifted, from an initial identification with Canadian artists like The Group of Seven, to a more contemporary understanding that the social environment and technological conditions of our current lives inform how our images are produced and perceived. The intent of Lee’s art practice is for the work to speak to her experiences of her surroundings, reflect on the history of landscape art, and acknowledge its modern context.

Shelagh entered the BFA program at UBC after high school but failed to continue her practice at this time. In recent years, she has completed a certificate in continuing studies at Emily Car University and has taken several courses for credit at the university. She has exhibited at Gallery Gachet several times, as well as the Eastside Culture Crawl and the Northeast Mental Health Team. She’s a new member to Gallery Gachet and is excited to be part of the Collective. She works in water colour, pencil and drawing primarily, with much of her work exploring colour and landscapes.