Bronze Leaves with Black and Red

About Bronze Leaves with Black and Red

Expressive layered passages of bronze, periwinkle, red and turquoise with highlights of yellow are framed by dark green foliage in this rich oil on canvas. Poised between abstraction and garden landscape, the bold composition is balanced by a horizon and sky of muted pink.

The vivid colors and flattened picture plane in Hornyak's paintings reveal the influence of the modern French Fauvist masters including Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. Dubbed "fauve" or wild beast by the media, these early 20th century painters were known for their potent colors and energetic brushwork. Equally, Hornyak's work takes inspiration from the German expressionist painters such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Like Kirchner's expressive later work, Hornyak's canvases may remind us of the impermanence of existence.The flowers and foliage while beautiful are also a kind of momento mori, a testament to the human condition. Hornyak was born in England where she studied at the Grimsby School of Art before coming to Canada in 1961. In Canada, she continued her studies at McGill University, the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal and the Centre Saidye Bronfman. Hornyak was invited to participate in the World Exhibition in Paris in 1987 along with Modigliani, Picasso and van Dongen. Her work has been exhibited throughout Europe and North America. Her portrait paintings were recently featured in a public exhibition in Montreal at the McClure Gallery for the Visual Arts. Hornyak's work is represented in many private and corporate collections. "We cannot reproduce nature, nor should we want to. All we can do is see and feel, and aim to transcend ourselves." Jennifer Hornyak