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West Brooklyn Road, 1996

Painting by Alex Colville of a waving man standing on a highway overpass with a sign reading "West Brooklyn Rd" on the side. Below him is a blue semi-truck driving on a perpendicular road, towards the viewer. The ocean and hills are visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.

Alex Colville, West Brooklyn Road, 1996, acrylic polymer emulsion on hardboard, 40 x 56.5 cm, private collection.

Colville’s image of Nova Scotia Highway 101, on what was then the first overpass between Hantsport and Wolfville, freezes a moment, one of comprehension and recognition. Each component—the overpass, the figure, the truck, the bay and horizon, the road snaking before our eyes—coalesces in a point outside of normal time, the instant when our brain catches up with our eyes.


The person waving in the painting is Colville, a simple outsider watching the passing pageant of life, aware of his personal ephemerality and refusing to take himself too seriously.

Gallery

Painting by Alex Colville depicting a line of Canadian soldiers in WWII uniforms and helmets. They are walking towards the viewer on a thin strip of land surrounded by water, stretching into the horizon and getting smaller, under a low-hanging sun in a hazy sky.

Infantry, Near Nijmegen, Holland, 1946

Painting by Alex Colville of a nude woman standing by a window in an empty room with blue walls. She is looking back at the torso of a tailor's dummy, also nude, which is large in the frame.

Nude and Dummy, 1950

Painting by Alex Colville of three women undressing on a wharf near blue water, their clothes at their feet.

Three Girls on a Wharf, 1953

Painting by Alex Colville of a black horse, seen from behind, galloping down a train track towards an approaching train.

Horse and Train, 1954

Painting by Alex Colville of a women with shoulder-length grey hair looking straight at the viewer through a pair of binoculars, the opaque lenses blocking her eyes. She is on a boat surrounded by blue water with a man sitting behind her, arms stretched across the bench seat. A lifeboat looms large in the background.

To Prince Edward Island, 1965

Painting by Alex Colville of a nude woman with shoulder-length grey hair sitting in a partially filled bathtub in a stark room with white tiles. Another figure in a navy robe stands behind her, the top half of their body out of frame.

Woman in Bathtub, 1973

Print by Alex Colville of a black cat, seen from behind, standing on a table and batting a triangular ruler hanging off the edge. Before him is a seated dark-skinned man with short hair wearing wire-rimmed glasses. In the background is a wall of windows with wooden frames.

Black Cat, 1996

Painting by Alex Colville of a waving man standing on a highway overpass with a sign reading "West Brooklyn Rd" on the side. Below him is a blue semi-truck driving on a perpendicular road, towards the viewer. The ocean and hills are visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.

West Brooklyn Road, 1996

Painting by Alex Colville of an elderly nude man, wearing only glasses and a watch, holding his hands in front of his private parts and facing the viewer. He is in front of a blank wall with windows visible overhead.

Studio, 2000

Painting by Alex Colville depicting a line of Canadian soldiers in WWII uniforms and helmets. They are walking towards the viewer on a thin strip of land surrounded by water, stretching into the horizon and getting smaller, under a low-hanging sun in a hazy sky.

Infantry, Near Nijmegen, Holland, 1946

Painting by Alex Colville of a nude woman standing by a window in an empty room with blue walls. She is looking back at the torso of a tailor's dummy, also nude, which is large in the frame.

Nude and Dummy, 1950

Painting by Alex Colville of three women undressing on a wharf near blue water, their clothes at their feet.

Three Girls on a Wharf, 1953

Painting by Alex Colville of a black horse, seen from behind, galloping down a train track towards an approaching train.

Horse and Train, 1954

Painting by Alex Colville of a women with shoulder-length grey hair looking straight at the viewer through a pair of binoculars, the opaque lenses blocking her eyes. She is on a boat surrounded by blue water with a man sitting behind her, arms stretched across the bench seat. A lifeboat looms large in the background.

To Prince Edward Island, 1965

Painting by Alex Colville of a nude woman with shoulder-length grey hair sitting in a partially filled bathtub in a stark room with white tiles. Another figure in a navy robe stands behind her, the top half of their body out of frame.

Woman in Bathtub, 1973

Print by Alex Colville of a black cat, seen from behind, standing on a table and batting a triangular ruler hanging off the edge. Before him is a seated dark-skinned man with short hair wearing wire-rimmed glasses. In the background is a wall of windows with wooden frames.

Black Cat, 1996

Painting by Alex Colville of a waving man standing on a highway overpass with a sign reading "West Brooklyn Rd" on the side. Below him is a blue semi-truck driving on a perpendicular road, towards the viewer. The ocean and hills are visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.

West Brooklyn Road, 1996

Painting by Alex Colville of an elderly nude man, wearing only glasses and a watch, holding his hands in front of his private parts and facing the viewer. He is in front of a blank wall with windows visible overhead.

Studio, 2000

West Brooklyn Road - Art Canada