Nicole Katsuras | The Gentle Ground

Nicole Katsuras | The Gentle Ground
July 13-27, 2024
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception Saturday July 13, 2-4pm

Bau-Xi Vancouver proudly presents The Gentle Ground, a new solo exhibition by Nicole Katsuras. In this new series, the artist utilizes her signature free-flowing extruded paint application to create spaces of lightness and grounding in which to contemplate the present moment. These lyrical abstractions are the artist's floating worlds, inspired by the definition of Japanese Ukiyo-e.


Artist's Statement:

“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”
-Abraham Maslow

In this new body of work, I hope to plant new seeds and flowers for new growth, positive energy and new beginnings.

Today, life is filled with never ending to-do-lists and always being “on the go”. It is easy to forget and appreciate the present, no matter how chaotic or simple it may be. These oil paintings are like a Zen garden: places of contemplation, moving sites of reflection and moments of renewal — filled with recurring motifs of maps, floating islands and land forms. Tendrils of extruded oil paint are like pathways to interconnect and ground you to the here and now, allowing yourself to be present and mindful, even at an intersection of activity. To just gently observe and appreciate the moment and the “now” can be liberating, energizing and restorative. These paintings are as much for me as they are for the viewer — the colours and textures of creating pull us into the moment. Embracing and allowing yourself to let go in these moments, I find, is so beneficial.

I have started to experiment with some gouache on small panels - a sort of meditative, simple, repetitive exercise, tiny strokes of colour within organic line forms. I have always done small sketches to map out my compositions within small boxes and rectangles - there is a similar structure with my line work but simpler and more stylized.

– Nicole Katsuras, 2024


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