When Victoria Page talks about this last exhibition for long-time friend and late artist Gerald Ferguson, her excitement, while laced with sadness, is easily contagious over the phone line. "It's unique because of the fact that he used a brush, which is very unusual," she says. The retired NSCAD prof and internationally influential conceptual artist used a roller to create his art for decades. "He began a technique that he called frottage, which can mean a grave rubbing, but also a naughty word that means rubbing against people in an erotic sort of way," says Page with a quick laugh. But when Ferguson painted landscapes on location from the warmth of his car last year, he began using brushes for the first time since his work began in the '60s (a technique he called plein air en voiture). Ferguson had finished and crated all the works for this exhibition before his death last October, giving each piece a name such as "Rocks & Bushes," or "Large Bush." "They all have the same title. He did that---I think it was his final vengeance," says Page with another laugh. Don't miss this chance to see Ferguson's last exhibition.
To April 2, Gallery Page & Strange, Granville Square, 1869 Granville St
