Art Review by Ms. Cindy Hops, B.Sc., B.S.W., M.Ed., Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, (June 20, 2023).
"Kathleen Katon Tonnesen has spent her life savouring the warmth of the light and attempting to capture its beauty through her paintings. Despite the fact that Kathleen was born without sight in her left eye, or perhaps because of it, she became enchanted with the dance by which light ignites matter.
In an unfortunate twist of fate, the sight in Kathleen's right eye began to dim due to a genetic condition. Determined not to forfeit her relationship with light and form, Kathleen embarked upon a journey to find creative ways to overcome life's obstacles and to capture the world through the unseen energy that vibrates between souls.
This exhibit marks Kathleen's triumphant return to the world of art. After years of emotionally adjusting to vision loss, Kathleen succeeded in rehabilitating herself through her commitment to the intensely focused martial art discipline of Yoshinkan Aikido. This discipline has empowered her to better understand her body, its relationship to space and the abstract understanding of how her mind and spirit move through it. The year of 2023 marks a triumphant one in which her decade-long journey back to empowerment was commemorated with the completion of her Bachelor of Arts, Psychology degree from Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia, Canada, and the receipt of her black belt (Shodan) in Yoshinkan Aikido, and the opening of this exhibit that celebrates the unseen energy that unites us all."
You are invited to attend the Opening Night July 07, 2023, from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
July 07 - July 28, 2023 Seeing Beyond the Light - The Soul Family Collection at the Mole Gallery, located at the rear of 1157 Pendrell Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Access from Jepson-Young Lane.
Mole Gallery (Pop-Up) Times: Open every Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Image and photo credit: Soul Treats by Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, 2023