Mike Gough: Changing Distance
Christina Parker Gallery is pleased to announce Changing Distance, an exhibition of new paintings by Mike Gough. The exhibition will open with an artist reception on Friday, June 21 from 6–8pm, and will continue until July 13. Music at the opening reception will be provided by Boyd Chubbs.
Changing Distance examines the dynamics between memories and the spaces they inhabit — spaces that shift and evolve as we do. This series presents an eclectic mix of images that capture pivotal moments from the past year, each painting chronicling a distinct episode of stillness, reflection, joy, or sorrow with the understanding that distance can both obscure and clarify what we hold dear.
In an era where the ubiquitous presence of digital devices enables the constant recording of personal moments, there is a propensity to become preoccupied with social media, detracting from genuine engagement. Our smartphones are repositories for countless images and videos, many of which remain unexamined, captured in an impulsive effort to seize fleeting moments. However, when an image is isolated, reflected upon, and transformed through artistic practice, it is imbued with significance and agency. These presentations and translations of experiences through any art medium become something precious and act as an artist’s legacy.
Each painting is an intimate engagement with the memories that shaped my personal narratives. They act as a time capsule, forever holding the emotional and visceral echoes of a year fully lived — its celebrations, its loves, and its quiet day-to-day revelations. By immortalizing these experiences in paint, I invite these memories to persist, allowing them to maintain their relevance and impact.
The act of painting transcends mere representation — it becomes a medium through which memories are both preserved and retold. There is something eternal about a work of art, a life it leads long after the artist has moved on. By cementing these moments from the past year in paint, I hope to keep them close, to carry them forward.
Mike Gough was born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. He attended Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 2009/2010 he attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, England where he received a Masters of Fine Arts. His work has appeared in exhibitions in Canada, the UK and France and is part of both private and public collections in England and Canada.