Exhibitions

Sylvia Tait | Repertoire
Retrospective Solo Exhibition
March 22 - April 5, 2025
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday March 22, 2-4pm


Bau-Xi Gallery proudly presents Repertoire, a retrospective solo exhibition by celebrated Vancouver-based abstract artist Sylvia Tait. This exhibition constitutes an expansive journey through the artist’s creative evolution from the 1960s to the present, prompted most often by the energy and shifting focuses of the changing times. From vibrant canvases to the restraint of hard-edge serigraphs and the nuanced monochromatic Anthologies series, Tait’s distinct balance of colour, form and structure invites a rich visual dialogue.

Sylvia Tait studied for four years at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts under Arthur Lismer, Jacques de Tonnancoeur, and Eldon Grier.  She has been represented by Bau-Xi Gallery since 1977. Since the late 1950s, Tait has exhibited across North America in solo and group shows. Her paintings are in private, corporate and public collections in Germany, Switzerland, France, the USA, Mexico, Ecuador, UAE, Hong Kong, Japan, South Asia and Canada.

Enduring artist statement excerpts by Sylvia Tait:

“What matters to me is the process and reaching a temporary conclusion for an experience not easily expressible in any other medium… I really just like to place colours beside each other and watch the interaction.” 
– from solo exhibition Fractions and Sequences, 2001

“I see an energy in my paintings, different paths leading to interpretations of feelings of nature and life forces.” 
- from solo exhibition Making Tracks, 2014

“The four-sided forms in the paintings are cool, uncluttered areas that can either house symbols or graphics, or stand alone; they can be sensual, free-floating or firmly grounded. The breakups, or slashes, are the changes and interruptions. They are the shifts in energy. Nothing is permanent.” 
- from solo exhibition Paintings Without Words, 2023

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Gallery Artists | Menagerie
March 6 - 31, 2025
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, March 8th, 2 - 5 pm

Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is thrilled to present Menagerie, the dynamic group exhibition featuring work by Richard Barnes, Darlene Cole, Jill Greenberg, and Casey McGlynn. 

From humble and ritualistic beginnings conveyed in the Lascaux Caves, artists have been ardent documentarians of our eternal fascination and reverence for the animal kingdom throughout history. While Menagerie explores this aspect of our humanity via modern painting and photographic practices, the pursuit remains much the same. These featured artists share their unique perspectives on the subjects they portray in their work; whether it be the majesty of their stature, documentation for future generations, or imbuing feeling and emotion via anthropomorphist tendencies.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Nicole Katsuras | The Diver And The Pearl
March 6 - 31, 2025
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, March 8th, 2 - 5 pm | Artist in attendance

This March, Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is proud to present The Diver And The Pearl, the perceptive new solo exhibition by Toronto-based artist, Nicole Katsuras. The Diver And The Pearl is an insightful metaphor on our collective journey through life, teaching us to navigate the world around us with hope and curiosity as we strive to uncover “pearls” along the way. Inspired by the elements of water, Ama Divers, the historical movements of CoBrA, Impressionism and Ukiyo-e, the artist invites the viewer to explore these floating worlds. 

Artist statement:

"How could you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver" – Rumi. 

“Like life, the sea is full of mystery and the unknown. Individually, our life’s journeys are unique, as is our search. 

But the search for this “pearl” is universal — mixed with a bit of luck, our set of circumstances, goals and determination.  We need to be like the divers, searching the great depths, collecting oysters along the way, and hoping that with a bit of hard work and good fortune, we may find a pearl or two in this lifetime.  

For me, the art of painting and the sea are great metaphors of life and how we choose to use our limited time. These “floating worlds” in The Diver And The Pearl are made up of abstract and gestural forms. Swaths of rich colour, lines, and extrusions operate as archetypal forms of landscape - mountains, pools of water, trees, meadows, flora and fauna - that I revisit throughout my body of work.  In this series, the Ama Divers were subjects and starting points for these new paintings and works on paper. This combined with the spirit of the historical movements CoBrA, Impressionism and Ukiyo-e provided the platform to experiment with paint.” – Nicole Katsuras

Katsuras develops her paintings with pure oil paint, using saturated colours in abstract forms to create imagined places. The compositions and viewpoints negotiate surface and depth as well as abstraction and representation. The elements of water are the most prominent in this series, with waterfalls, swirling pools, and deep dark seas acting as abstract passages for the viewer to explore. The piece “Freedive” represents a network of bright oil impasto and extrusions on a moody deep blue background. It is inspired by the woodblock print Abalone Divers by Utagawa Kuniyoshi which depicts divers in the depths of the savage sea and Claude Monet’s Wild Coast at Belle-Ile (1886), a scene of the untamed waters crashing and swirling on dark moody rocks.

In addition to this collection of oil paintings, Katsuras incorporates a series of small paintings on paper using Gouache. The piece “Mermaid” stands out, suggesting a floating underwater world with the skyline above, evoking the work To the Sea and Sun, 1922 by Wassily Kandinsky.

Nicole Katsuras was born in Toronto, Canada. She received a Master of Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London, UK, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Toronto. Her work can be found in many corporate collections including McCarthy Tetrault, Canaccord, Encana, Bennett Jones, CIBC, Luciano Benetton, Mirvish Collection, and Holt Renfrew.

Nicole Katsuras’ approach embraces various traditions in art history while attempting to create a new formal vocabulary. Informed by the nuances of the oil medium and a plethora of visual stimuli, Katsuras uses a bold yet intricate extruded paint technique to compose lively, elegant, emotion-filled and playful abstract scenes.

Nicole Katsuras has exhibited in Toronto, Seattle, Palm Beach, London, Seoul, and Paris. Her work is part of both private and public collections across North America and Europe.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Gallery Artists | Chroma
February 6 - March 3, 2025
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, February 8th, 2 - 5 pm

This February, Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is proud to present Chroma, a group exhibition featuring work by Erin Armstrong, Gavin Lynch, Kathryn Macnaughton, and Sheri Paisley (Bakes).

Chroma refers to the purity and depth of a colour. An artist will employ chroma in a myriad of ways, whether it be a vibrant pop, pulling your eye towards certain elements of the composition – or a dark richness, creating a sense of contrast and depth. Each of these artists uses 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.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Janna Watson | Elementals
February 15 - 27, 2025
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday January 15, 2-4pm


Bau-Xi Vancouver proudly presents Elementals, the highly anticipated new solo exhibition from Toronto-based abstract artist Janna Watson.

Ever inspired by nature and literature in its many forms, the artist focuses her new collection specifically on the elements of stone, water and wind, finding a muse in the 20th century Irish poet and author John O’Donoghue (1956-2008) and his moving talk “The Inner Landscape”. Her signature dynamic gestures, captured in paint, suggest the significance of a moment, both in our own lives and in the perpetual life cycle of these elements.


Artist statement:

“The interplay between farmers and the elements is a poem without words.  The air could hold the breeze of the rain or the wind of warmth to the discerning nose. The stone carried its memory deep into the hands that chiseled it. Fire was life in the hearth which was the centre of home. Water introduced itself to us from its most natural source in streams and wells. I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”   -John O’ Donoghue 

John O’Donoghue perfectly paints the sentiment of being immersed in nature and the reciprocity of its spiritual elements, which he eloquently describes as “poems without words”. These paintings express the unspoken language of nature, seemingly spontaneous and inherently connecting our outer and inner landscapes.  

For me, it’s in the silence where nature’s generous unfolding invokes an awe of the numinous sentience of the elements.

- Janna Watson, 2025

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Darlene Cole | Paradise 
December 5 - 23, 2024
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin, Main Floor Gallery 
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 7th, 2024 , 2-5 PM | ARTIST IN ATTENDANCE

Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is pleased to present Paradise, the highly anticipated solo exhibition by internationally collected artist, Darlene Cole. When one observes the canvases of Darlene Cole, a Brooklin-based painter, they immediately recognize the soulful and nuanced narrative that stands before them. The artist carefully constructs the scene, utilizing not only colour and form, but a distinct watercolour-like application of oil paint to create feelings of nostalgia and wonderment.

Cole seeks to place thoughts and emotions at the forefront, almost at odds with one another - love and loss, playful and melancholic, known and the unknown - in order to evoke a deep and personal reflection from the viewer. These dichotomic creations are skillfully navigated by the artist, with the resulting piece becoming harmonious through deft brushwork and intricate details.

The artist states:

"In this body of work I see each painting as a sliver of Paradise as though each canvas is being viewed through a keyhole. I invite the viewer beyond the visual; a diorama of lucid dreams and emotional intimacy woven with themes of love, resiliency, drama, and sensitivity.

With the gesture of each brushstroke, the oil paint is layered with the complexity of nature in mind that reverberates my palette into dream-like moments. Alongside terror and darkness in the world, my hope is to illuminate sparks of light in a world of Paradise." - Darlene Cole

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.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Shi Le | Landscape - A Select View 2 
December 5 - 23, 2024
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin, Upper Floor Gallery 
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 7th, 2024 , 2-5 PM | ARTIST IN ATTENDANCE

Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is thrilled to present Landscape – A Select View 2, the highly anticipated solo exhibition by Canadian landscape artist, Shi Le. For over four decades, Shi Le has sought to capture the world that surrounds him through a holistic approach. From his peaceful walks along the river edge, to the contemplative moments observing the movement of nature, Shi Le channels those experiences onto the canvas via a filtering and colouring process.

When asked to reflect on this recent body of work, the artist states:

"As the world slowly came back to life over the last few years, I too have awakened in some way. I’ve taken many strolls through the Ontario countryside, watching the landscape change with the seasons. Each piece is a reflection of what I see—rocks, trees, lakes, and light, all blending together, shifting in ways that feel alive, that make me feel energetic and excited. The work gives me peace and purpose, something to hold onto as I continue to create and pursue in art.

I want my paintings to offer that same peace to others, a chance to slow down and find stillness in a noisy world. The details in my work, the vibrant colors, are meant to show how nature and life are always changing, but always beautiful, even during the coldest winters. My work offers a meditation, a chance to breathe, and a space for quiet." - Shi Le

With this in mind, we begin to see how the artist's feelings run deep within and form the experience for the viewer, one of reflection and allowing a quiet moment amongst the hustle and bustle of our daily pursuits.

Shi Le received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Sichuan Fine Arts in China and a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. The artists has also taught at various institutions including Lakehead University, University of Waterloo and the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Holiday | Gallery Artists
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
December 7-31, 2024
Opening Reception Saturday, December 7 2-4pm


Bau-Xi Vancouver is pleased to present our annual holiday group exhibition, featuring stunning new paintings and photography in the spirit of the season. Please join us for refreshments at the opening reception on Saturday, December 7 from 2-4pm.

The exhibition includes works by artists including Bratsa Bonifacho, Tom Burrows, Cori Creed, Jamie Evrard, Kim Keever, Nicole Katsuras, Kathryn MacNaughton, Casey McGlynn, Robert Marchessault, Michelle Nguyen and more.

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION