Chris Shepherd | After Poetry

Chris Shepherd | After Poetry
March 2-23, 2024
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2, 1-3 pm | Artist in Attendance

This March Bau-Xi Toronto is thrilled to present After Poetry, an all-new exhibition by accomplished Toronto-based artist Chris Shepherd. 

ARTIST STATEMENT:

In an After Poem, the author declares a relationship between their writing and another artist’s work.

After Poetry acknowledges that reading poetry influences how I make things. It’s not a direct relationship. I don’t read a poem, get a vision, then make photographs. It’s more like the spirit or ethos of poetry has pervaded my way of thinking and seeing.

A poem, its subject, or the lines, are not directly tied to a specific image. They were decided after the photographs were selected for the exhibition. I selected passages that felt engaging and worked well to enhance the opaque nature of the photographs themselves.

I hope to have created a curiosity in the viewer - that the new relationships between poetic line and photograph might help viewers find a personal relationship with the word and image. Ideally these pairings serve as springboards for the viewer to create new personal narratives or meaning.

The unpredictable possibility in this process fascinates me. I’ve spent my life reading, watching, listening, viewing, and engaging with art. Through this, I’ve discovered the most relatable and engaging works for me are always those that remain a bit impenetrable. I’m happiest when never fully grasping something in its entirety. I like the unexplained and mysterious questions of life.

Hopefully this love of the opaque and imagination is echoed in After Poetry.

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Sheila Kernan | The Quiet Joy

Shelia Kernan | The Quiet Joy 
March 2-23, 2024
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2, 1-3 pm | Artist in Attendance

Bau-Xi Gallery is proud to present The Quiet Joythe anticipated solo exhibition by Calgary-based artist, Sheila Kernan. 

ARTIST STATEMENT: 

My series of paintings, The Quiet Joy, are love letters to the landscapes of Eastern Canada that hold deep personal significance to me.

My family's roots in the east stretch back generations, and each time I visit, I feel a profound connection to the land. It has left an indelible mark on my artistic imagination. This series is a repurposing and recombination of over 70 individual sketches and drawings. I hope to create something both familiar and new, evoking a sense of wonder and imagination, allowing for the essence of a place to flow through my work.

While my paintings are inspired by actual places, they are not just replications of reality. Rather, they are a synthesis of memory, imagination, and the natural beauty of the landscapes I've experienced, offering familiarity while also creating something, giving them the freedom to be new and unique.

Through my use of refined colours, layered washes, airbrush, stencilling, and textured techniques, I aim to capture subtle gradations and nuances of color, light, shadow, line, atmosphere, and form. I balance realism with abstraction, using negative and positive space to evoke a sense of place. Gestalt theory guides my decisions, emphasizing the interplay between individual elements and the whole, as well as the different ways viewers might perceive the paintings based on their own biases and preferences.

These landscapes, found in places like 1000 Islands, Lake Ontario, Muskoka Region, Killarney Provincial Park, and the Georgina Bay area, are beautifully dramatic and profound in their natural responses to prevailing weather conditions.

My goal is to transport viewers to a peaceful place where they can be reminded of the simple joys found in these areas.

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Anne Griffiths | The Nature Cure


Anne Griffiths | The Nature Cure

March 9 - 23, 2024
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday March 9, 2-4pm
Artist in Attendance


Bau-Xi Vancouver is proud to present The Nature Cure, the anticipated solo exhibition by BC-based artist Anne Griffiths. Griffiths' emotive abstracted landscapes, rendered in a jewel-like palette, reflect the artist's intentional focus on the act of connecting and communing with natural surroundings. The Nature Cure is a timely reminder of our inherent connection to nature and its potential role in maintaining our mental well-being in turbulent times.

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

As the world becomes an ever-more confusing web of artificial entities and falsehoods, we each struggle to find objective truths and authentic experiences. To me there is nothing more real than the simple act of immersing oneself in nature. It is something consistent that we can hang onto for sanity in this world consumed by ‘alternate facts’ and seemingly endless confrontation.

In this new body of work, I have explored my own reactions to this ‘nature time’. It seems to heal me of stress while time stands still; and there is more beauty to take in than time to absorb it. This grounding in the natural world collides with my angst for the state of our human-centric world. These paintings are the physical and artistic manifestation of that collision.      -Anne Griffiths, 2024

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Michelle Nguyen | Before I Depart

Michelle Nguyen | Before I Depart
March 9-23, 2024
Upper Gallery
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday March 9, 2-4pm

Bau-Xi Vancouver proudly presents Before I Depart, the new solo exhibition by Toronto-born artist Michelle Nguyen. Known for her unflinching examination of death, transmutation, and the bridge between earthly existence and the afterlife, Nguyen delivers a new series of riveting and intricate compositions replete with detail, symbolism and allegory.

Nguyen has exhibited in Canada, New York City, and London, UK. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia in 2016 and is now based in Montreal.

 

Artist statement:

“Our lives are full of griefs, full of losses big and small, and every loss is a spiritual death.”
— Breeshia Wade, Grieving While Black

Despite making heavily death-centric work, I have always been terrible at goodbyes. I have often opted for the exit of a ghost. I’ve been trying to become more intentional and sentimental, so when I made the move to Montreal, I tried very hard not to downplay the grief that comes with every departure.

I moved to Vancouver in September 2012 to study at the University of British Columbia, with the intentions of majoring in creative writing. I had never been to Vancouver before then and knew little about it. I was in need of a change and the campus photos looked nice. I never would have fathomed I would spend eleven years of my life here, or that my art would grow so drastically alongside me.

For the last six years, I spent the majority of my waking (and some sleeping) time in the same East Van studio. The packing and cleaning felt like a form of grieving as I reflected on my time in that space. The routines and habits I had formed would no longer be. The people I saw the most often would no longer be a bike ride away. I would have to re-familiarize myself with everything once again.

One of the perks of working in restaurants is that you get to try a lot of nice and varied wines. You learn to appreciate how a specific time and place can be captured within a bottle. Grapes are very impressionable things. In addition to varietal and age of the vines, there is climate, geography, and soil type that affects the quality of the fruit. Then you also have the human labour, wild yeasts, the aging process. You can taste salt from the coast, or the smoke from a wildfire. A liquid expression of a specific year and place.

I, like the grape, am a parched and noble sponge, absorbing everything around me. Though I never depict myself as subject, I view every single one of my paintings as an autobiographical work. My palate and subject matter often shift with the seasons, the fruits and colours an indication of what my surroundings were like during the making process, what I’m literally eating or craving at the time.

My current studio setup isn’t nearly as large as the last one. I am painting at home, tucked into a corner of my dining room. As a result, I have been making smaller paintings. I’m forced to be more intentional, but have been enjoying focusing on finer details. I can multi-task in a way I wasn’t able to before, with my kitchen just being a few steps away. I’ve been able to feed myself in a way I hadn’t been able to before. Where my easel is located, I can look outside onto my deck in case the neighbourhood cats decide to visit. I’m forced to take a break and play with them for a little while. I am forced to work differently, and I think it’s a good thing. I am trying to re-examine my relationship with my art practice. To do that also requires me to reconsider my life priorities. It’s important to be flexible in your thinking and process as a creative. I want to live a life worth making art about and put less pressure on myself to always be producing. Personal growth is just as important as artistic growth. Age can easily harden a person, but I want to continue to grow softer and more earnest.

This collection includes the last paintings I made in my Vancouver studio. 2023 was also the year I entered a new decade and turned thirty. I’m trying very hard not to resort to clichés, but I do feel as if it’s the end of an era for me. A series of little deaths. Death is irrevocably tied to notions of change. “The truth is that progress, or change in any form, requires some form of death or loss—death of our vision, loss of an imagined future, loss of power, and loss of self,” Breeshia Wade states in Grieving While Black.

These paintings depict many different changes (both big and small), and many different kinds of deaths (literal and metaphoric). There are many references to Greco-Roman mythology, and Vietnamese superstition and belief. There are women and beasts depicted in mid-transformation, allusions to climate change, insect extinction, food globalization, and ancient gods. Life is shown as dependent on death to exist. Death is necessary to create room for the person you are becoming.     -Michelle Nguyen, 2024


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Janna Watson | Poems



Janna Watson | Poems

February 10 - 24, 2024
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday February 10, 2-4pm
Artist in Attendance


Bau-Xi Vancouver proudly presents Poems, the highly anticipated new solo exhibition by Toronto based artist Janna Watson. For this dynamic body of work, the artist found inspiration in deeply contemplating the nature of art as language, and the distilled and expressive power of the abstract gesture. 

We are thrilled that the artist will be in attendance at her Vancouver opening reception for the first time since the onset of the Pandemic.

Artist statement:

“Language is not a tool we have, it is a shapeshifter, a being that lives with us, walks and talks with us and has its own business and intentions.” -Anne Carson

Part of the exhilaration I acquire from painting is being able to see shifts within myself manifested into physical reality. The most truthful form of expression I have found in my life thus far has been the abstract language of painting. Self growth is fluid and often goes unnoticed, but when I am painting I can see worlds within myself being constructed and deconstructed. These moments and movements are intuitive and represent my internal landscapes. The more I learn about painting, I learn about myself. The more I create, the more I realize that art is about art. Creation creates and it is an infinity of unfolding, effortless action. This series was created in the joy of autumn. I fell in love and didn’t have expectations for the first time in my life. I approached these works with the same unforced joy.

-Janna Watson 2024

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Unique Perspectives | Curated Exhibition

Gallery Artists | Unique Perspectives
February 1-22, 2024
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto

In our everyday lives, certain elements can often go unnoticed. Not on purpose, but simply because they are omnipresent. Whether it be a book, a flower, or even the buildings and people that surround us, we accept these as a part of life. Through their imaginative creations, artists have the unique ability to take these objects and ask us to look at them anew. This month, we feature works by Cara Barer, Isabelle Menin, Jeffrey Milstein, and Michael Wolf, artists who keenly observe the world around them, taking everyday objects and offering a unique perspective to the viewer. Their hope is that we take these experiences with us and look at the world that surrounds us with a deeper fascination.

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Chroma | Curated Exhibition

Gallery Artists | Chroma
February 1-22, 2024
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto

Chroma refers to the purity and depth of a colour. An artist will employ chroma in a myriad of ways, whether it a be vibrant pop, pulling your eye towards certain elements of the composition – or a dark richness, creating a sense of contrast and depth. This February, we have chosen works by Bratsa Bonifacho, Alex Cameron, Anda Kubis and Eric Louie – artists who use high chroma in their respective practices. As a result, their work is bold and energetic, often applying paint directly from the tube, only adding tints, tones, and shades by necessity. These artists are able to utilize these techniques to create uniquely stunning work, catching your eye, and drawing you in to absorb one colour after another.

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Joseph Plaskett | Repose

Joseph Plaskett | Repose
January 13-27, 2024 | EXTENDED through February 1
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday November 18, 2-4pm


Bau-Xi Vancouver is proud and honoured to open 2024 with Repose, a special retrospective solo exhibition from eminent Canadian artist Joseph Plaskett (1918-2014). This collection of oils, pastels and etchings features quietly captivating scenes of interiors and gardens most loved by the artist.

A native of New Westminster, BC, Plaskett studied art in Banff, San Francisco, New York, London and Paris. His time in Paris and later years in Suffolk, England (where he passed away in 2014) are the focus of this exhibition, and each work reflects his distinctive mastery of form and composition and a perpetually fresh palette. 

Since the 1940s, Plaskett has had over 65 solo and group exhibitions, with work in major public, private and corporate collections including the National Gallery of Canada. He has exhibited with Bau-Xi Gallery, both in Vancouver and Toronto, since 1973. In the spring of 2001, he was awarded The Order of Canada for excellence in the field of visual art.

Join us and explore the intimate and extraordinary world of one of Canada's greatest artists.

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Sculpture Feature

Gallery Artists | Sculpture Feature
January 13-27, 2024
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto 

This January, Bau-Xi Dufferin is thrilled to present Sculpture Feature, that will showcase the sculptural work of Tom Burrows, Ted Fullerton, Joshua Jensen-Nagle, and Will Robinson

See how each artist transcends the meaning of sculpture through their own unique practices, using a variety of materials and techniques to bring these artworks to life.

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2024 A Year In Preview | Curated Exhibition

Gallery Artists | 2024 A Year In Preview
January 13-27, 2024
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto

This January, Bau-Xi Dufferin presents Year In Preview, a curated selection of artworks to preview our exhibiting artists for the year ahead. Featuring works by Chris Shepherd, Kyle Scheurmann, Kathryn Macnaughton, Janna Watson, Erin Armstrong, among other gallery artists! 

We are delighted to showcase highlighted artworks by each artist that best represent their unique creative styles and talents. Please join us this January to view these breathtaking pieces in person and celebrate what is to come in 2024.

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Barbara Cole | Somewhere

Barbara Cole | Somewhere
December 1-22, 2023
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday December 2, 2-4 pm | Artist in Attendance

Bau-Xi Gallery is thrilled to present Somewhere, an all-new exhibition by celebrated Toronto-based photographer, Barbara Cole.

In this series, Cole continues her exploration into the transformative nature of the figure within dreamlike scenes, where women float across spaces adorned with heavy chandeliers, wide marble steps, gilded mirrors, and centuries-old master portraits. There is an otherworldliness that cloaks these scenes, enticing viewers to embrace a sense of wonder and enter a realm that exists between the real and the imagined.

Somewhere is ultimately about the joy of play, transcending time and perception. It merges the worlds of the underwater and the above water experience, tracing historical eras and the multiplicity of human emotions. It is an exploration of the spaces that ignite our imaginations, where friendships flourish and individuals find their own unique expression. Within the luxurious surroundings and the rich tapestry of the imagination, a beautiful alchemy emerges: a harmonious blending of elements that sparks the creation of something truly extraordinary.

Cole has won prestigious awards such as the Grand Prize at the Festival International de la Photographie de Mode in Cannes, and third prize at the International Photography Awards in New York. In 2012, the acclaimed documentary series Snapshot: The Art of Photography II featured an episode devoted exclusively to Cole’s photographic practice. Barbara Cole lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

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Darlene Cole | Prelude

Darlene Cole | Prelude
December 1-22, 2023
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday December 2, 2-4 pm | Artist in Attendance

This December, Bau-Xi Gallery is delighted to present Prelude, an all-new exhibition by renowned Canadian painter, Darlene Cole.

In her latest for the gallery, Darlene Cole presents a stunning collection of oil paintings evoking her signature ethereal scenes. Often familiar and mysterious all at once, Cole's pieces are imbued with a sense of curiosity, playfulness, and an element of open-ended mystery.

On Prelude, the artist writes, "As in the prelude of a suite, each painting acts as a springboard to what comes next. Figures are surrounded by elements of nature and water, inviting an immersion into the body of work with each gestural moment."

Darlene Cole captures a hazy, haunting world of poetry and wonder. The artist’s distinct oil painting techniques lend a watercolour effect to her subjects without compromising rich colour values and velvety textures. Cole’s canvases—dreamy expanses inhabited by spirited figures—are studies of time and memory. These figures, both human and animal, play a pivotal role, evoking emotional responses in the viewer as Cole navigates between layers of reference and meaning. At once playful and melancholic, Cole’s work draws on themes characteristic of her established painting career: the inherent mystery of old architectural interiors, the power of painterly colour and texture to spark memory, and the exploration of childhood innocence and its loss.

Cole's work is extensively collected across Canada and internationally. Notable public collections include: The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, the K.F. Preueter Collection of Canadian Art, Royal Bank of Canada, CIBC, OCAD University, Fairmont Hotels (Toronto, Montreal, Banff), and Manulife Financial.

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