The inspiration for the latest piece of fine art donated to our hospital came during a windswept walk on a winter day.
“As I was trudging along Bloor Street in Toronto to the studio I was working at, it occurred to me that the scene would make a great action sculpture',” says artist Susan Paloschi. “But instead of doing adults, I decided to make it about children.”
The eventual piece was called Snow Kids and it's now on permanent display in the middle of our new Burr Wing lobby.
“I was a cancer patient here and I saw that people going through chemotherapy could really use something to cheer them up,” she says. “This piece sprang to mind as a natural choice.”
Paloschi graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and then continued her studies in Florence, Italy and in Paris. When she returned to Canada, she settled in Kingston where she's been a force in the city's art scene – teaching at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, local high schools and design at the School of Occupational Therapy at Queen's University. She's exhibited her work across the country and her paintings hang in private and corporate collections in Canada, Europe, South America and the USA.
Paloschi's main interest in much of her painting and sculpture is the human body in motion, something you can see in Snow Kids.
“There is a lot of emotion in the piece,” says Jill Holland-Reilly, Director of Volunteer Services and chair of the KGH Art Committee. “People on the art committee who've been through the cancer journey said it reminded them of their journey. There is a lot of trudging forward but you aren't doing it alone. There are people there to help you along.”
After inspecting her sculpture's new home, Paloschi says she's impressed with the space and the way Snow Kids is presented.
“I really couldn't think of a better place for it,” she says.
Gallery
