Laura Heaney & Katrina Atkinson At Broadview Espresso

Striking. Exhilarating. Thoughtful.

These are all words that I could use to describe artist Laura Heaney, but actually I’m talking about her latest works in the Food Show, with fellow artist Katrina Atkinson that is currently showing at Broadview Espresso until the end of August.

Laura’s  work appears to be photos at first glance, but this is just her deft hand with coloured pencils of all things. Her stunning  images of snack food icons such as Lay’s Dill Pickle Chips, Cheetos and Pringles are juxtaposed against fine draperies as in Dutch masters painting, illustrating that any food can be art – it doesn’t have to be foie gras atop a scallop to qualify.

Colleague Katrina showcases her mostly bold black-and-white works – a mix of ink and graphite – of the disconnect between us and our food and have the feel of old illustrations from the 60s and 70s. The mix of harvest and concrete is compelling. The work above is a vignette and one of Katrina’s larger pieces at the cafe. This mixed media drawing was composed with coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, graphite & graphite wash on mylar.

View these vivid images while nibbling on sweet treats and sip on what I consider the best cup of coffee in the city.

Food
Drawings by Katrina Atkinson & Laura Heaney
August 1 – 31 at Broadview Espresso, 817 Broadview Ave.
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri. 7am-7pm, Sat. 8am-6pm, Sun. 9am-5pm

P.s. Another artist that does great food is Shelley Savor. And if you’re food-obsessed like I am, you’ll want to get a whack of these artist-made tees, too.