Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery — Attraction in Sarnia

Visited the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery in Sarnia yesterday. Saw the exhibit, " A Family Palette: Frances-Anne Johnston, Franz Johnston, and Franklin Arbuckle" Franz Johnston was a member of the Group of Seven. His daughter, Frances, married Franklin Arbuckle; both extremely talented artists. Franklin supplied numerous paintings to McLeans magazine for their covers. These exquisitely captured Canada in the mid 20thy Century. Frances created still life paintings reminiscent of the French Post Impressionists. Great exhibit. The building was converted only a few years ago from a department store to wonderful small city gallery. The conversion was a success. The display spaces are ideal: good lighting, high ceilings, easy access. Little known outside of western Ontario, the gallery has over 40 Group of Seven works. Many of these will soon be displayed in a new show. Strongly...

I enjoyed my visit today. Admission is free and you are welcome to give a donation. There were two staff at the front desk who told us which artists were on display and on which floor the exhibits were. I recommend taking the elevator up to the third floor instead of the stairs. I took the time to read about the art pieces of both artists and thus appreciated their work more. The large portraits of Canadian writers against a background of their personal places of inspiration by artist John Hartman was very interesting. I liked the frank portraits and his style though some may not. Nico Williams is the other artist whose work involves glass beads. The intricate beadwork and precise designs really call one to appreciate the time involved in the creation of his pieces. I think if one takes the time to study the pieces, one would enjoy them. There's also a video on John Hartman...

Very nice local art gallery. The quality of art here is of course subjective to the viewer but in my experience it is beautiful art. I feel like they could have a bit more with all the wall space on the top level, but that is just my opinion.

With entry free, this is a place worth visiting every time they switch up the artwork. Grab some local lunch and head to the gallery for a nice afternoon out of the house.

The building that this is in is also very nice, used to be an old TD bank at one point. Gorgeous staircase.

4/5. Will definitely be back in the future.

Follow me for more reviews,...