A man of many colours

St. Boniface

Transcona

St. Norbert

James Culleton has more than one string to his bow.

The St. Boniface resident’s resumé includes furniture designer, muralist, and he’s the chair of the board of directors of Forum Art Centre.

The Transcona Collegiate alumnus is also a well-known visual artist and singer-songwriter, whose work bridges image and song, story and sound, characterized by his colourful artistic creations and engaging stage presence. Visitors to Festival du Voyageur may have recently seen him perform.

Culleton will be showcasing his skills in both music and visual art next month.

The Art of James Culleton, an exhibition featuring music drawings, paintings and sculptures, will be open April 1 and run through April 29 at St. Norbert Arts Centre. On April 8, also at the St. Norbert Arts Centre, the southeast Winnipegger will officially launch his new contemporary folk/roots album, Love Lasts Forever — his first adult folk release following five children’s records. He’ll be releasing his new album on vinyl that night.

Described as a deeply personal collection of songs exploring love, loss, memory, and resilience, many of the 11 songs on the album were inspired by Culleton’s travels through the province as he toured with the Home Routes concert series.

The album’s title track is a tribute to Culleton’s late mother, Jacqueline, and is a deeply personal nod to “memories, people and places.”

“My mom passed away last May, and the song is about her,” he said. “It’s about selling her house and then drawing her house from memory, using a ruler. It’s a new drawing technique I’m using.”

In homage to Jacqueline, Culleton said the release party will feature crème brûlée and pete de soeur (a.k.a. nun’s farts) — a French-Canadian dessert made from tourtiere dough layered with butter and brown sugar, rolled, sliced and baked.

Another song, Driving to Las Vegas, was inspired by a road trip he took with his friend Leif Norman, while A Murder in Cartwright a slice of “prairie noir storytelling,” Culleton said.

Other songs include Plastic and Bigger Than Me, which are underpinned by environmental themes and showcase individual responsibility and hope.

“The songs themselves are kind of a spin on different genres, and the album is actively a folk one, but there’s a bit of rock and pop in there, too.”

Bill Younger is chair of SNAC’s program committee. He said he was impressed with Culleton’s artwork when the artist submitted samples of his work when applying for the show.

“There are a lot of loose drawings, which look like pen and ink — I think he’d been to Folk Fest and a couple of other music events. The looseness adds energy to the picture, and you’re sort of beginning to feel the electricity at the time of the concert, which is refreshing to see,” Younger said. “I was also most excited to see James included a picture of a sculpture he’d made out of metal. I like 3-D sculptures, and I think such a mixture of work encapsulates his diversity.”

Recorded in Moncton, N.B., at the studio of Juno Award-winning musician, producer and Winnipegger Benoit Morier, Love Lasts Forever also features performances by Morier and Grant Siemens, with Culleton on lead vocals and backing vocals by Andrina Turenne.

Culleton’s kids folk rock band, Superfun, is slated to play the Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 9 to 12, in Birds Hill Park.

The St. Norbert Arts Centre (100 Rue des Ruines du Monastère) is open Wednesday to Saturday between noon and 4 p.m. A closing celebration for The Art of James Culleton will be held April 29. Visit jamesculleton.com for more information.