'Christmas tree is already up and the nutcracker is here': Gallery 78 opens newest winter exhibitions

The opening night and reception of Gallery 78’s newest exhibition with a full crowd of supporters (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ).

With Christmas just around the corner and the holiday spirit defrosting, Fredericton locals are looking to start the season with a warm cup of apple cider and a glimpse into Gallery 78. 

On Nov. 21, Gallery 78’s newest exhibit showcased two artists with a Christmas surprise from several Atlantic artists.  

The first floor was dedicated to the new exhibition, hosting Paul Healey and Herzel Kashetsky with brown cinnamon cake and warm cider to set the atmosphere, allowing the art to encapsulate the night away.  

Paul Healey’s exhibition A Quiet Echo brought the wonders of still life by using acrylic on canvas and a defying gravity vase, which invited the interaction of attendees with marbles.

A Quiet Echo explores the feelings and moments shared in the winter season.

As we cross the line from fall to winter, Healey’s art showcases the highlights of winter that people celebrate, such as  deer wandering through  the forest, sledding on the snow, or the cat spending hours at the window, watching snowflakes fall one by one.

Floyd Jackson, a classic art admirer and a small collector of Healey’s work said that Healey “was always a Renaissance type of guy” and that his work with acrylics is “interesting.”  

Kashetsky’s exhibit, Molecular to Cosmic, explored the curiosity of reality and celestial bodies.  

By using ink and watercolour, Kashetsky bends mind and matter together, creating something outer-worldly in abstract forms’.

He said that this newest exhibition took him four years to curate. 

"I’ve always been interested in astronomy and science,” he said. 

Kashetsky graduated from Concordia University, where he obtained his fine arts degree.  

Out of his whole exhibition, Kashetsky couldn’t choose a favourite. 

“That's like asking which one of my daughters is my favourite,” he said.   

His hope for Molecular to Cosmic is to allow him to be able to keep creating art until his next show.  

No plans have circled Kashetsky’s mind for a new collection just yet.  

Gallery 78’s Christmas choice exhibition has been an annual event every year. From the big Christmas trees, porcelain leopards, handknit scarves and horses to the traditional clay bowls.  

“[Gallery 78] always has such good exhibits; you can dream and put them in your room,” said Ginny MacDonald, a frequent Gallery 78 visitor. “It's sweet that the Christmas tree is already up and the nutcracker is here.”

The three exhibits will be up and running from Nov. 21 till the end of December.