antiques on display
Acrylic on canvas, 30 1/4 x 20 1/4in. (2003)

Lombardy Showroom is a portrait of washing machines, tubs and all manner of handles, implements and tools that populate the grounds of an antiquities store just north of Lombardy, Ontario.

Lombardy Showroom is similar in intention to a number of other works, finding a hidden beauty among the rust, rot and deterioration that spending a lifetime outdours can bring.

These things were actually brand spanking new at one time, and they were used to do things. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what they were used for. For others, their use has been long replaced by modern machinery and gadgetry.

Now in retirement, these mechanical contraptions hang around the yard outside, slowly turning to dust. Perhaps there is a human allegory at work here, about being bright and shiny once, and not so much as time goes by.