Gavin Lynch | Light Spells | Advance Preview

The preview period has now closed. All paintings are now available for viewing on Gavin Lynch's artist page. Please click here to see all available works in this collection.

Gavin Lynch | Light Spells
November 6 - December 1, 2025
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, November 8th from 2 - 4 pm | Artist in Attendance

This November, Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is delighted to present Light Spells, a captivating exhibition by Canadian painter, Gavin Lynch. In this body of work, the artist turns to the magic of the natural world, channeling that wonderment into his bewitching portrayals of our environment. Lynch’s creative motifs highlight the ephemeral – whether it be through dappled sunlight, or delicate layers of fog – to remind us to slow down, look, and take in the beauty that surrounds us.

Artist Statement:

The title Light Spells resonates with me because it carries the possibility of a double connotation: in describing the paintings it could firstly suggest that these depictions of the immateriality of light could somehow cast an incantation upon the viewer, a spell.

A spell to get a bit lost, a spell to be transported away through the act of looking, a spell to take a beat. Or rather perhaps a spell to ruminate on our relationship with nature, where things currently stand and ~ bigger picture ~ what is at stake. I’ve always felt that paintings ~ essentially some coloured mud arranged on a flat surface ~ are imbued with something that is more than just a sum of their parts, and that this often feels like some type of archaic magic. I still believe in the transportive power of painting.

Secondly, Light Spells could be taken in a more temporal context: that we are experiencing a moment of light in an otherwise dark time. Amidst the turbulent backdrop of the contemporary experience and a challenging year, I’ve been really grateful for the light spells when I’ve found them. Perhaps there is some metaphoric magic in that, also.

On a more formal level, the paintings continue a thematic return to depictions of nature, specifically landscapes that are both familiar and local to me. These paintings feel like a bit of a homecoming to the Canadian landscape. After having previously explored painting both virtual and digital spaces, these works have come full circle back to the places and motifs that I have painted since I began making art almost 30 years ago. In a digitally saturated world, bringing things back to nature feels more relevant than ever.

The approach to the paintings remains the same, as I still view the canvas with a collage mentality, and create them using a variety of painting implements, including brushes, squeegees and airbrush. The motifs, however, are focused on fleeting moments of light, such as sunrises, rays of light filtering through the canopy and the ephemeral atmospherics of fog. I love painting’s ability to forever freeze these moments that are, in our lived experience, so fleeting.

The works are intentionally uplifting, picturesque and beautiful: they are intended as small spells to remind ourselves that there is still beauty out in the world, and that, if some form of magic were to ever exist, it would surely be in nature. – Gavin Lynch

All artworks are now available for acquisition. To secure a piece, please contact us at 416-977-0600 or toronto@bau-xi.com.