Darlene Cole | Paradise
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.