Weaving the St. Lawrence River through time and space
paul parker, photo editor

Marcel Barbeau "Episodes Along The River, from 1953 to 1990,"on display at the SFU Gallery until February, charts a symbolic path of the great Canadian river

The St. Lawrence River brings to mind the grit and grime associated with heavy industry and shipping and is etched into Canadian history as the link between Upper and Lower Canada.

However, it is has not been mythologized into Canadian culture like say, the Mississippi has in the U.S.A., or the Nile has in Egypt. Artist Marcel Barbeau's may not succeed in placing the St. Lawrence upon a pedestal, but he has devoted his career in visual arts to expressing the river.

His exhibition, "Episodes Along The River," currently housed in the SFU gallery, showcases some of his painting and sculptures inspired by the St. Lawrence. The work, certainly not pictorial, could be said to be an expression of Barbeau's imagination.

Barbeau's work is radically abstract, his painting and sculptures are his personal reactions to the river.

Abstract art by its very nature can be difficult to describe and analyse, but Barbeau's work is accessible simply because it is a welcome change from the SFU campus environment.

The SFU gallery is currently displaying pieces which display a movement from works defined by form and shape to those that emphasizes light and repetition. These works are playful to the eye, never allowing it to cease from moving. It has been said about Barbeau that he paints light, and a glimpse at the piece 'Lumiere de Charlevoix' does seem to be luminescent.

The St. Lawrence River may seem like a peculiar site for inspiration, but Barbeau and his contemporaries chose the St. Lawrence area because of its relation to their quests for the supernatural, instead of viewing the St. Lawrence as a symbol of nostalgia for a rural past.

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