Deirdre Hanna
NOW - June 11 1992

Lorne Wagman's intoxicating weed paintings capture the essence of the Canadian landscape through larger-then-life vignettes of the underclass of the plant world.

Mullen Plants, 1992 60x48 in, Oil on canvas $8,500

While Wagman has been obsessed with the expressive potential of humble plantains and dandelions ever since he was a teenager, this Flesherton and Toronto based artist's latest series is his strongest ever.

"I've always tried to catch weeds in the act of growing," Wagman says from the Christopher Cutts Gallery, where he's making his debut after a year's hiatus in the wake of the Isaac's Gallery closure. "I'm no realistic nature painter making a snapshot on canvas. These move."

Indeed they do - in more than one way. Wagman's characteristically colourful, undulating organic forms have never before been so firmly rooted in a light-filled space, and never before packed so much emotion. In terms of visual impact, it doesn't hurt that popular taste - think Deee-lite - has caught up with Wagman's trippy penchant for blending Van Gogh with Disney.

But what really comes through is old-fashioned passion.