THE LONG VIEW

Questions and Observations in the Arts.

Publisher’s note:  

Centred has engaged Deborah Worsfold to write a regular reflective article in which she will discuss local art, art from farther afield, and her thoughts on contemporary issues related to the visual art world. This is her first submission to The Long View.

Deborah Worsfold’s response to Colleen Heslin’s “Stories of Belonging” at the Forest City Gallery

Initially, the lighting caught me off guard. It is not orderly and in fact appears skewed with hot spots and the complete lack of light at all. After confirming that it is an intended affect, I settled in. Its variance affects the compositions and this is more important than usual, as the work makes the use of values, important to what is being said. Also as compared to the online images it is much more declarative in person. Sitting here now and moving past this, the choice of same size canvasses and a linear installation stands out. No one sits and sews for hours without expecting some control of the end result. Or perhaps better said, not usually and maybe that could be a new approach to textile, and textile it is. Regardless the compositions move past the medium well enough that one can understand that this artist is not only clearly minimalist with regard to medium and technique but also dexterous with this simple language. While there is not necessarily a palette the presence of chroma both deep and vibrant composed with lesser values, shows consistent restraint and finesse but also statement. It does not say hey, I am fabric. It does not say, look at my detail as there is none. You are flung whole onto a value oriented playing field.

How does it feel?

Simply said and replying in kind, it doesn’t much. It exists but does not impose. It stands but does not lean. It repeats enough to say it has sense behind it. What else can be squeezed out? After all it causes one to want to see into it through its use of space. It lets one breathe. There are edges but no lines. There are only shapes. There is dimension only through use of value and the amount of space it is given. And so a slight beat may be felt where a stripe contrasts a small circle and a broken one. Had it not appeared to be obviously, purposefully and beautifully made, it may not have won so much of my attention. However the work in its open and welcoming colours and soft surface asks you to linger and look longer.

This writing is recorded before reading statements or reviews. A longstanding test for art is, can it hold your attention, cause pause and does it speak. There is no question when a toddler garbles longingly with sparkly eyes that they are saying something. They are not just making noise. Just as minimalist music says so with less, it may also, not be understood, however it is still clear that something is being said. It may be comical but it is not at the expense of the work, as, even if this work intends to say something we cannot understand, like the toddler, still it declares itself.

The artist’s enjoyment of colour use is felt in view and also the time it takes to dye the fabrics specific values. The clever lack of representation can be challenging and therefore purposeful. The big deal for me is the pleasant pause, the slight beauty glowing, if only because there is absolutely no ugliness. It is without ick. For that alone it is cause for pause.

Later, after leaving the installation more thoughts of the work came. Upon entering the room it was obvious the work was installed in certain order. It is first suggested by the equal numbers of work and size on either side of the entry into the room. The lighting falls for the greater part straight ahead, and is lesser also on either side reinforcing this symmetry. Both sides also begin with works comprised of organized linear shapes. Organized because in each an order is set up in the shapes. Stripes sit opposite triangles. This linear reference shows repeated shapes and therefore signals an intellectual presence in the work. Does nature show us patterns? Yes of course. In flowers and trees, the leaves and petals repeat shapes, while snowflakes and crystals offer some linear order. Shells offer asymmetrical spirals. What it is to think this out at 3 in the morning, side steps feeling and instead, signals the presence of organized thought. Still the lack of sameness from canvas to canvas with exception of outside shape does remove any overall feeling of repetition. Where nature lends itself so beautifully to repeated shapes, still it is called organic. As compared to here where order enters into two compositions it resists the organic. Some thought rather than chance is present.

Are squares or triangles found in nature? What is a pile of falling sand or a plane of falling water? Even asking the self this, puts one in a state of open and freeing observation. At the very least, to look and to see, whether thinking or feeling, this work lets one into that potential.

Deborah Worsfold – The Long View
Deborah, a full time painter and sculptor, resides in London, Ontario. Her history includes owning an art gallery in Vancouver from 1995 to 2000, creating the new shop at Museum London in 2013 and 25 years of representation and exhibitions across Canada. View her work at www.deborahworsfold.com or email at deborahworsfoldstudio@gmail.com

Patrick Thibert also wrote a reflective analysis of Colleen Heslin’s installation at the Forest City Forest for Centred. Read Patrick’s review here.

Colleen Heslin Stories of Belonging
Forest City Gallery
May 29-July 24, 2025