Montreal’s Galerie YOUN is presenting “Now Entering Beyawnder”, a new exhibit by drawist Jay Dart, he of the bearded lumberjack imagery. The exhibit opens Sept 10 and the opening is a launch party for his “Images of Yawnder” catalogue featuring an essay by Toronto Star critic, Murray Whyte. Dart’s watercolour and coloured pencil drawings portray a curious mix of bearded gentlemen in even curiouser circumstances. They speak to a past that didn’t exist and a future that doesn’t yet. Dart’s lumberjack-like jacks are friendly, attractive icons. There is presently a popular affection for this idealized Canadian heritage and the “man’s man” look is trending, a kick back perhaps at the rise of the “nerd” as business tycoon and their role as bacon-bringer-homer-er. Dart’s dudes could retort, sure you can code but can you cut down this Sequoia? But its Dart’s “Beyawnder” title that speaks to his present and thus to our future. The brightly coloured bearded ones once inhabited the Yawnder but now have moved further out, into the greater Beyawnder area. What Dart is saying is that there is a place for these dudes, and in particular the back to basics creativity, sustainability and D.I.Y. they represent, in the future.