Earth Day is an appropriate time to honour BCIT alumna, Deanna Fligg.
The series featured is acrylic on canvas. The paintings are focused “around the organisms that surround us on a day to day basis,” she says, “specifically bees. I bring awareness to the fact we are losing our pollinators and trying to showcase how significant and beautiful these creatures are.”
Angela Di Bello, Agora’s Gallery Director, is a fan of Fligg’s: “Through her striking, color saturated pallet, Deanna expresses her passion for nature and the significant role it plays in our daily lives. Her depiction of [bees], these often overlooked little busy workers, reveals the very ideology of her belief system. We can often miss that which is so poignant and relevant to our very existence. We are thrilled to be representing Ms. Fligg and to be the first in New York City to introduce her paintings.”
The exhibit has been an experience of a lifetime for Fligg. Its opening night “will be in my memory bank for the rest of my life,” she says. “Viewing my work for the first time in New York City was a very overwhelming experience. This is my very first gallery exhibition, as well as my first internationally, so the emotions were high.”
Her parents, sister, boyfriend, aunt and family friends were all present to support the young artist. She’s grateful to her family, and also to her alma mater.
“The courses [at BCIT] were demanding and very difficult at times but you grow with making mistakes, which in the end gives you strength. I did not end up continuing my studies after completing my certificate but I took with me the design aspects and knowledge which relates to art on many levels. [But at that time] I never thought I’d end up in New York City with my art.”
Some of her remarkable works are still available for purchase here.