Erin Armstrong | Don’t Hold Too Tightly To The River Bank
Erin Armstrong | Don’t Hold Too Tightly To The River Bank
340 Dundas Street West, Toronto
September 11-25, 2021
Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present Don’t Hold Too Tightly To The River Bank, a highly anticipated exhibition by Toronto-based painter, Erin Armstrong.
Motivated by the polarizing state of the world that has resulted in a shared experience of isolation, this new body of work presents figures existing in suspense and wait. Through their disorienting surroundings and stolid gazes, Armstrong encapsulates the fleeting moments of “in-between’, relatable anticipation for future plans of which we have more recently recognised the value. Fresh lemons, plucked apricots, blooming and wilting flora, are poignantly positioned in Armstrong’s paintings as symbols of the temporal and fleeting cycles in which we exist.
Lush dripping gardens, brightly patterned clothing, and exotic landscapes feature heavily in the artist’s dynamic exploration into a world of familiarity, yet surrealist daydreams. Drawing from personal experiences, and identifying the collective conscience associated with these recent histories, the Armstrong looks with optimism at the lessons learned and the strength gained from being present.
Erin Armstrong is an emerging figurative artist working and living in Toronto. Using quick and decisive gestural markings over acrylic-based images, Armstrong creates unique distorted figures and portraits in an expressive dream-like world. Juxtaposing the everyday with surrealistic imaginings, Armstrong captures hidden emotions often lost in human experience. Her concern is not to recreate reality as it exists, but rather to evoke an atmosphere that transports the viewer into a world of interpretation.
