Nicole Katsuras | Metamorphosis
June 3-15, 2023
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception Saturday, June 3, 2-4pm

For over a decade, Canadian artist Nicole Katsuras has been synthesizing and abstracting both her outer and inner worlds. The development of her unique impastoed abstractions, with her extrusion and “wet-on-wet” techniques, reflects her interests in topography and Impressionism. Her organic, lyrical process reveals the emotive effects of colour, shape, and textures. Inspired by the gestural painters of Abstract Expressionism and the works of Ukiyo-e, Katsuras uses free-flowing paint to explore abstraction and transcendence. Katsuras lives and works in Toronto.

Artist's Statement:

In this new body of work, I explore the symbolic aspects of the multi-layered term Metamorphosis. Biologically, metamorphosis is defined as a complete change of physical form, like the four stages of a butterfly. However, symbolically, the meaning is rooted in the supernatural and inner worlds of one’s being or soul. This meaning uses the butterfly as a metaphor: throughout history and across cultures, butterflies are seen as harbingers of change, regeneration and transformation, and are reminders of the fleetingness of life. In Greek, the word psyche also means butterfly. These symbolic, inner-world meanings of metamorphosis are what inform this series. Visually, my new paintings focus on floating forms - islands that hint at human existence and also at something intangible, fleeting and surreal.  The shifts are subtle - the movement of strokes and colours; deep aubergine backgrounds first read as inky blacks; gradients shift directions and scale. 

– Nicole Katsuras 2023

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Kim Keever | Diffusions
June 8-29, 2023
350 Dundas Street W, Toronto
Opening: Thursday, June 8, 5:30 -7:30 PM 

Kim Keever’s creations of paint pigments blooming underwater take on enchanting, otherworldly forms. Bau-Xi Photo is pleased to present Diffusions, an exciting new collection of abstract photographs from the artist this June in Toronto.

Keever is always searching for discovery in his practice, born out of chance, patience and experimentation: "I would like the viewer to have the feeling that they haven't seen this before."

After earning an engineering degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Keever worked briefly for NASA on various projects involving high-speed fluid flow. Although he switched careers to become a full-time artist in the mid-1970s, his previous vocation continued to inform his work, lending a scientific methodology and investigative process to his artistic practice.

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Cori Creed | Sightlines
May 13-27, 2023
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception Saturday, May 13, 2-4pm

Bau-Xi Vancouver is proud to present Sightlines, the upcoming exhibition by established BC landscape artist Cori Creed. Cori’s dynamic new canvases continue to celebrate the rich and wild province of BC, with the intention of capturing the essence of moving through the landscape.

Artist's Statement: 

It is easy to find inspiration in the dramatically and uniquely varied wild places of our province. I am constantly drawn to our wild places for so many reasons. I derive so much peace and perspective from soaking in the natural world and in doing so, I receive inspiration in the patterns and light and forms that I surround myself with. There is always another peak to be explored or a corner to turn on a coastline - treasures to be chased and revealed. It is a homage to the subject, but also to the things that lie beyond.

- Cori Creed 2023

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Vicki Smith | Good Medicine
May 4-25, 2023
350 Dundas Street W., Toronto
Opening Reception Thursday, May 4, 5-7 pm | Artist in Attendance

This May, we are thrilled to present Good Medicine, the highly-anticipated solo exhibition by Toronto painter, Vicki Smith. Reflecting on her most recent body of work, Smith states,

"Engaging with the Arts has a significant and measurable positive effect on health and well-being. Whether through visual art, music, movement, or creative writing, we gain a method of communication and introspection that would otherwise fall short if left simply to words. Art is a powerful conduit for working through trauma, memory, and expressing emotions.

"With the field of Art Therapy being formally created almost a century ago, the therapeutic effects of art engagement, such as relieving stress and depression, decreasing anxiety and increasing positive emotions, have become increasingly supported throughout the world around us. In 2019, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts partnered with Médecins Francophones Du Canada allowing physicians to write prescriptions for free museum visits. That same year, after the Alliance of Healthier Communities initiated the Social Prescription Pilot Program which allowed Ontario doctors, nurses, and social workers to write a prescription for free admission to local Art Galleries and Museums, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum began to participate in this holistic treatment plan; opening their doors in the name of health and well-being.

"The Arts, physical health, and mental well-being have become synonymous in my regard as my own dedicated practice of meditation and holistic care are deeply entwined with my studio practice. One is rooted in the other and vice versa; because of this, I believe what comes out on the canvas is good for me and good for the viewer, because Art is Good Medicine."

- Vicki Smith, 2023

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Anne Griffiths | Becoming the Story
April 15-29, 2023
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception Saturday, April 15, 2-4pm | Artist in Attendance

Anne Griffiths' anticipated solo exhibition of abstracted landscape paintings explores interpretations of space, distance and memory through gestural line work and a sophisticated colour palette.  

Artist's Statement:
 
These new works are a journey to unknown places; the paintings share my deep sense of connection to place in uncertain times. My enduring love for natural environments draws me to seek places I haven't been to, and after immersing myself in these settings I return to the studio with the energy drawn from my observations. Absorbed in the analog world of pure pigment and tactile surface, I put my trust in the creative process.
 
The subjects vary: trees talking (not shouting); ocean life strangled, reaching for clean waters; hearts aching, a collective loss. All these things move me, and in return I tell their stories, expressing them through a palette of unexpected colour combinations. By trusting my intuition, I imagine new beginnings to tales that inspire empathy, create sanctuary, and offer hope.
 
By exploring the essence of the landscape, both physically and metaphorically, my new work strives to unravel new chapters in a path of twists and turns. I have challenged myself to find new ways to be the narrator but also be part of the story.  Each painting is a surprise to me, and I continue to find inspiration in the process of discovery.

-Anne Griffiths 2023

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Steven Nederveen | Gallery Feature
April 6-27, 2023
340 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Opening Reception Thursday, April 6, 5-7pm | Artist in Attendance 

This April, Bau-Xi Toronto presents a feature of new works by Toronto-based artist, Steven Nederveen. With this collection, the artist expands upon his signature mixed media style of painting and photography to create playful forest scenes filled with light, colour, pattern and texture.

Steven Nederveen's work is featured internationally in galleries, art fairs and magazines, and is part of private and public collections including Air Canada, the house of Armani, and the Canadian embassy in Iceland. He studied fine art at Medicine Hat College and went on to receive a Bachelor of Design from the University of Alberta in 1995. His studio is currently based in Toronto.

Click here for a behind the scenes look into the creation of this new collection. 

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Vicky Christou | Infinitude
April 1-12, 2023
Upper Gallery
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception Saturday, April 1, 2-4pm | Artist in Attendance

Vicky Christou's work explores the illusionary play between colour, proportion, and pattern. Christou constructs a dimensional surface by meticulously applying layers of lines of acrylic paint by hand. The accumulated paint lines create an optical play between colour, form and space. Christou’s highly textured surfaces defy traditional distinctions between painting, sculpture and craft.

Artist statement:

Within my new body of work, I reference stillness, memory and infinity. My meditative art practice acts as a performative cornerstone from where I reflectively begin and pause.  

The impasto painted grid form moves into subtle enfolding and unfolding patterns and arrangements, while other paintings are in states of stasis. I was inspired by the concept of infinity and the Greek work Aperion, the constant loop of ephemeral life experiences and happenings. I find beauty in fleeting glimpses of transient light: a colour that glints, peaks in saturation, then descends and fades. The simple poetry of daily observations, my paintings symbolize transient variables of my pauses, still moments of awareness and memories.  

These works use both color and materiality to create feelings of a time and space, or a memory of a person that I want to see again.

-Vicky Christou 2023

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