Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery

A gold panner in moonlight, a lone boy at a scenic outlook and a camper van headed into the mountains were some of the evocative but lonely subjects of Canadian artist Tim Gardner’s last solo show at 303 Gallery, created during the days of pandemic isolation.  His new watercolor and ink paintings at 303 have subtracted humans from the picture entirely, instead featuring horses, police bikes (minus riders) and flowers.  While the bikes beg the question of where the humans are, Gardner’s horses and flowers have a powerful and lively presence of their own. Here, a cluster of tulips sways in unison, a welcome pronouncement of the arrival of spring and nature’s beauty.  (On view in Chelsea through May 25th).

Tim Gardner, Untitled (garden), watercolor and ink on paper, 11 x 13 ½ inches, 2023.

Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery

‘Great Divide,’ the title of this watercolor by Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery, could refer to U.S. politics or the Rockies; chiefly, it taps into mythologies of the lone wanderer.  German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich’s iconic solitary figure on a cliff’s edge comes to mind, now behind the wheel of a gas guzzler and protected by guardrails.  The restorative qualities of nature, experienced particularly during the pandemic, no doubt inspired Gardner.  At the same time, the complexities of contemporary relationships to nature make the image enticing and uncomfortable.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 13th).

Tim Gardner, Great Divide, watercolor on paper, 15 x 19 7/8 inches, 2021.

Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery

British Columbia based artist Tim Gardner revisits his college-day haunts in vibrant, precise watercolors of a surprisingly tranquil New York, now on view at 303 Gallery.  A Statue of Liberty with stars brightly shining above (light pollution magically banished), a quiet (!) High Line park and a subway station with a train arriving are magical moments.  This bike messenger (actually waiting at a light?) helps interpret the scale of the pleasingly symmetrical terracotta-colored building framing the scene.  (On view in Chelsea through July 13th).

Tim Gardner, Bike Messenger, watercolor on paper, 16 x 12 inches, 2018.