Celia Lees | When We Were Small

This body of work returns to the world as it once felt, bright, boundless, and brimming with the unselfconscious joy of childhood play. In When We Were Small, I explore the shapes, colours, and rhythms that once seemed to appear effortlessly in our lives, before we learned to measure them, name them, or weigh them with meaning.

The works are built from a place of remembered freedom: afternoons spent making things for no reason, games invented on the spot, objects treasured for their texture or colour alone. Circular forms drift across the paintings like balls rolling out of sight, skipping ropes caught mid-swing, or the brief rainbow caught in your eyes when light shifts unexpectedly. They carry a sense of movement and repetition, like the simple games we played again and again just to feel the motion in our bodies.

In the studio, I chase that looseness, not to recreate it perfectly, but to find its residue. There is care in each gesture, but also permission to let things stay imperfect and open-ended. Some works feel light and playful, others more grounded, as if holding the knowledge that childhood play will never return in full, yet its essence can still be touched through a new lens.

When We Were Small invites you into a place of discovery and presence. It asks you to notice what is truly there, colour as emotion, form as feeling rather than function. It creates space for quiet reflection and calls to those rare, dream-like moments when the world fades away and only the pure experience of the present remains. In that space, longing and presence exist together, quietly intertwined. – Celia Lees

Co-Director of Bau-Xi Gallery, Kyle Matuzewiski, shares his insight into Celia Lees’ newest exhibition. He writes:

For her most recent body of work, When We Were Small, emerging artist Celia Lees seeks not only to invigorate youthful excitement in viewers, but to do so within her practice. The resulting collection embodies that expression in a myriad of ways, whether it be through her dynamic use of colour, or subtle tension and relief through the composition. There is a thoughtfulness and consideration observed when creating, which you can see vis-à-vis the intentionality of Lees’ mark-making.

Having been to her studio several times now, although there may be a chaotic nature to the way in which she creates, the space feels very much like a home away from home. The space is decorated with an honesty – art catalogues amply dog-eared, creative boards with a plethora of reference material, and well-worn and well-used art materials. It can only be natural that in a space such as this, a piece of the artist is expressed within each piece, succinctly communicating her concept.

Celia Lees (b. 1996) is an abstract painter living and working in Toronto. Her artistic journey began as a search for self-expression and a deeper connection with life and herself. 

Lees' abstract works seek to capture the ephemeral – creating while living in the moment, channelling inner emotions, and conveying that which cannot be articulated. The artist utilizes an abstract approach, allowing her to communicate through physical gestures and instinctual mark-making. She works with large applications of paint and deftly balanced compositions while embracing the chaos throughout the process.

The artist's work is held in private collections across Canada, the United States, as well as Europe and Asia. Her paintings have also been placed in commercial spaces such as 200 Amsterdam in New York, Aria in Las Vegas, and The Laurel in West Palm Beach.

Celia Lees has been represented by Bau-Xi Gallery since 2025.

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