DAVID DREHER, "Nostra Aetate (Our Times)," May 17-June 24, 2006, Art Gallery of Regina, Regina

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"Baby Jesus and the Pot of Gold Chocolates"

David Dreher, "Baby Jesus and the Pot of Gold Chocolates," 2006, oil on canvas, 36" x 36".

DAVID DREHER, Nostra Aetate (Our Times)

Art Gallery of Regina, Regina

May 17-June 24, 2006

By Kristin Linklater

Regina artist David Dreher confronts the contradictions that lie between human faith and human actions within the context of religion in this show of his recent work. Dreher makes the point that, in our contemporary reality, issues of faith increasingly take centre stage and are too often tied to hostility, hatred and aggression. Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity are each addressed in diptychs, where beliefs are represented by a statue of a saint, a bodhisattva, a god or God. Mounds of colourful candy surround and overwhelm each statue, giving the viewer a picture of human greed, appetite and lust. Not simply a study on the widening gap between religious theory and practice, Dreher is also attempting to portray the importance of theistic and cultural tolerance in a tumultuous age. “I want to impart the importance of religious and spiritual beliefs while acknowledging religion’s failings due to human egotism and ignorance,” he explains. An Artist Talk will be held Monday, May 15, at 7:30 pm.