Nicole Katsuras | Atlas

Nicole Katsuras | Atlas
Solo Exhibition
May 9-23, 2026
Main Gallery
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening reception: Saturday May 9, 2-4 pm
Artist In Attendance 

Bau-Xi Vancouver proudly presents Atlas, the new solo exhibition by Canadian artist Nicole Katsuras. With a deep, ongoing influence from the visual and conceptual balance found in Japanese ukiyo-e images, Katsuras incorporates the additional Japanese influence of wabi-sabi in a new collection of elegant impasto works gently suggestive of land formations, balancing precision and spontaneity and infused with a sense of desire for adventure.


Artist Statement:

My new paintings emerge from a dialogue between two foundational pillars of Japanese aesthetics - the visual language of ukiyo-e and the philosophy of wabi-sabi - and my contemporary painterly practice. The works chart a journey, an exploration of forms loosely suggestive of topographical features – craggy peaks, swift rivers and blooming valleys, meandering trails and remote coves. 

The compositions are built upon luminous, hand-dragged oil grounds - fields of flat colour and subtle gradients that echo the spatial clarity and graphic restraint of ukiyo-e prints. These calm, distilled backdrops are disrupted by richly textured impasto forms and paint extrusions in an array of shapes that rise from the surface in organic, almost sculptural relief. My chosen palette reflects an affinity with the harmonies explored by early to mid 20th century Japanese painter Sanzo Wada - unexpected colour juxtapositions evoke a sensitivity to mood and season, while also bridging historical colour systems with a contemporary visual language. Some of the compositions utilize these concepts to joyful, expansive abundance, while others possess a poetic spareness. In its entirety, the collection represents a balance between calculated precision and spontaneous gesture.

While my works suggest natural forms, I do not seek to depict the natural world so much as embody its principles: growth, impermanence, and transformation. I strive to spark an awareness of the world beyond - be it actual or metaphorical - and offer a meditation on how imperfection can be a desired, essential and appreciated element in the construction of beauty.

-Nicole Katsuras, 2026


VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION