[Bcma-l] Toni Onley Exhibition Opening this Sunday, 7pm in Wells, BC

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

Drop into the Island Mountain Arts Public Gallery in Wells, BC from 7 - 
9pm on Sunday, May 20th for the Opening Reception of this 
exciting exhibition and sale of the work of Toni Onley.

Then cruise over to the Wells Community Hall for a Dance being held for 
the Barkerville Rush Relay athletes. 

Guaranteed to be a be a fun night in Wells!

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Julie Fowler
Toll Free: 1-800-442-ARTS (2787)
Tel: 250-994-3466   Fax: 250-994-3433
Email: media@imarts.com <ailto:media@imarts.com%22>

ISLAND MOUNTAIN ARTS PRESENTS A RARE EXHIBITION AND SALE OF ARTWORKS BY 
RENOWNED BC PAINTER, TONI ONLEY (1928 – 2004)

OPENING RECEPTION AND CURATOR TALK 7:00 PM, SUNDAY, MAY 20TH, 2007

WELLS, BC, May 16, 2007…The Island Mountain Arts Public Gallery in 
Wells, BC is pleased to present "In the Studio", a rare exhibition and 
sale of artworks by renowned British Columbian painter, Toni Onley (1928 
– 2004) from May 20 to June 18, with an opening reception and talk with 
guest curator from the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan, Paul Crawford 
at 7pm on Sunday, May 20th.

Joan Richardson, writing for the Winchester Gallery in Victoria says, 
"Toni Onley is one of the most widely known and admired painters of 
British Columbia. He combined a traditional British watercolour 
technique with modernist abstract form and oriental brush painting to 
invent a unique vision of landscape. Onley's theme was solitude in 
nature. He sought remote and desolate locations by plane and boat and 
astonished many with his ability to quickly capture a scene in precise 
and spontaneous strokes of the Chinese goat hair brush he favoured."

Richardson goes on to say that; "Onley's work has been widely 
represented and collected throughout his career, beginning with the 
purchase of Polar I, in 1963 by the Tate Gallery, London. He had his 
first solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1958, followed by 
a second show twenty years later. In 1980 he made headlines with the 
purchase of over 600 of his paintings by a single collector for a 
record-breaking sum.” In recognition of his contributions to Canadian 
art he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Artists and was made 
an officer of the Order of Canada.

Featured in the exhibition are prints that have been generously donated 
to the Island Mountain Arts Society from the Toni Onley Estate in order 
to help raise funds towards a legacy fund in his name. The fund will 
help to provide scholarships to emerging and professional visual artists 
to attend the newly re-named Toni Onley Artists’ Project (formerly the 
Wells Artists’ Project), which is an eight-day artist mentorship 
program. Down the road plans are in place to expand this program into an 
eight-month artist-in-residence program in Wells called the Toni Onley 
School for Professional and Emerging Artists. Also featured in the 
exhibition and sale are a number of Onley’s signature watercolours.

A unique aspect of this exhibition will be the installation of the 7' x 
12' painting wall from Onley's studio. The wall, with its many layers of 
paint, provides a rare insight into the artist’s creative process. Along 
with the wall there is a collection of his brushes, palette and a 
painting board he used for his watercolours. Combined theses items 
provide the name and back drop for this important exhibition - "In the 
Studio". These special pieces appear courtesy of the permanent 
collection of the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan in Penticton.

 Though Toni never made it to Wells, he had discussed with Paul Crawford 
his desire to fly his LA4 Buccaneer amphibious plane up to paint in and 
around Wells, Barkerville and the Bowron Lakes. Sadly his life 
tragically ended on February 29th, 2004 when he had a heart attack while 
flying his plane and crashed into the Fraser River.

 With a great respect for the life and work of this remarkable BC 
painter, Island Mountain Arts is honoured to have the use of his name 
for the legacy fund and school. “Toni Onley very much embodied the 
spirit of this project, as he had a great passion for going into remote 
areas in order to gain inspiration and paint, he also was very savvy in 
the business of being a successful Canadian artist. With the Toni Onley 
School in Wells we hope to honour and celebrate these aspects of Toni 
and create a program that will help artists to develop their studio 
practice, as well as their knowledge of the business side of art,” 
explains Island Mountain Arts’ president, Dennis Bogle.

 It is with great pleasure and excitement that we welcome you to view 
the work of this celebrated Canadian artist in one of the only 
exhibitions and sales of his work to take place in Northern BC. A 
limited number of historic Toni Onley exhibition posters will also be 
for sale. For more information about the exhibition or about this 
summer’s Toni Onley Artists’ Project please call 1-800-442-2787, email 
info@imarts.com <ailto:info@imarts.com%22> or visit www.imarts.com 
<ttp://www.imarts.com%22>. The IMA Gallery is at 2323 Pooley Street in 
Wells, BC and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 12 - 6pm.

– 30 –


Photograph by Paul Orenstein [L - R] Toni Onley with fellow artist and 
good friend Robert Murray in the Georgian Bay.

Julie Fowler
media@imarts.com <ailto:media@imarts.com%22>
Artistic Director, Island Mountain Arts & the ArtsWells Festival of All 
Things Art, Aug 3 - 6, 2007
www.imarts.com
www.myspace.com/artswells
Box 65, Wells, BC, V0K 2R0
Toll Free: 1-800-442-2787
Locally: 250-994-3466
Fax: 250-994-3433