Exhibitions

Gallery Artists | Method III
August 8-22, 2020
340 and 350 Dundas St W, Toronto

While not always evident, an artist’s ritual and methodology exists as an unseen, yet imperative, part of the artistic process. This August, Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present Method III, an annual show highlighting the unique methods and processes behind the work of a select group of artists. Spanning both of our gallery spaces on Dundas Street West, Method III features the work of painters and photographers, and inspires dialogue about the journey taken to arrive at a finished piece.

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Steven Nederveen | State of Flow
July 18 – August 1
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver

State of Flow, mixed media artist Steven Nederveen's latest exhibition, continues his exploration of the psychological flow state — a kind of moving meditation — through the movement and physical properties of water.

Through Nederveen's process, a two-fold mirroring takes place: the paint material adopts the qualities of water as fine sprays and heavy pours while textured pools obfuscate the underlying image. The artist's hand, too, becomes the means through which the momentum of the wave is enacted, its force wearing away at the photographic emulsion even as it builds up the artwork surface.

Nederveen's keen engagement with the varied forms of his subject matter recalls the ubiquity of meditations on water and reveals the endlessly evocative potential of this imagery. Each composition captures a singular moment that encompasses a rhythm of perpetual motion, a still image patterned after infinity.

Michael Kenna | July Feature
July 11-25, 2020
340 Dundas Street West, Toronto

This July, we are thrilled to showcase acclaimed English photographer Michael Kenna’s work at our 340 Dundas Street W location. Kenna’s career spans across four decades, over four-hundred and fifty solo exhibitions and has work included in over a hundred permanent collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; The National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; The Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Kenna's signature style is attributed to his long-time exposures – mainly taken at dawn or in the dark hours of the night – which capture the interactions between the natural landscape and human-made structures. The artist's intimate silver-gelatin prints are still hand-processed, and reflect a sense of refinement, demonstrating his appreciation of photographic history that has become a trademark of his artistic approach.

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Joshua Jensen-Nagle| Endless Summer II
July 4-16, 2020
3045 Granville St, Vancouver

Bau-Xi Vancouver is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Canadian photographer Joshua Jensen-Nagle in his return to his acclaimed Endless Summer series. Featuring photographs of the Mexican Riviera, Western Australia, and the Great Lakes Region, Jensen-Nagle continues to­­ capture aerial images of sunbathed figures set against sublime natural backdrops.

Jensen-Nagle’s bird’s-eye view and immersive, large-scale format disturb one’s sense of depth and perspective to abstract these familiar sites; dramatic visual patterns emerge from the photographic surface: colourful umbrellas form recurring motifs, swimmers afloat become the material of choice for the artist’s mark-making, poised between the painterly washes of sand and surf demarcating his compositions.

Beyond their evocative potential and arresting imagery, Joshua Jensen-Nagle’s scenes inspire a dialogue revolving around the nuanced spatial history of the beach. The effect of this imaging is multifold, a study of topographical and ecological tensions between the boundaries of land and sea; a liminal space between nature and civilization, the familiar and unknown. Situated in this shifting interstice, Jensen-Nagle examines the ways in which humanity inhabits these far-flung environs; ruminating upon the nature and evolution of leisure and its place in the breakneck pace of our everyday lives.

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Bau-Xi Vancouver is pleased to present Writing on the Sky, an exhibition of new works by painter Robert Marchessault as part of his ongoing consideration of the graphic possibilities a tree presents when isolated against a spare ground.

Combining his skill in classical painting tradition with his continued interest in painterly abstraction, Marchessault's tree imagery is as firmly rooted in colour fields of loose brushstrokes and washes as they are standing in surreal landscapes.

Marchessault's trees are imagined amalgams spontaneously composed from a series of expressive gestural marks. Drawing from careful observations of his subject matter, the artist deconstructs these organic forms to rearrange their varied twists and shapes into singular specimens of distinctive character — a poignant intimation of human nature. 

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Vicki Smith | Holding Space
June 6 - 18, 2020
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver

The therapeutic concept of holding space is a process of witnessing and validating someone else’s emotional state without judgement or interference.

I feel that is also the beauty of art.  Art holds a space into which we can release our often wordless emotions and experiences. It will absorb and reflect back to us without judgment whatever we arrive with. The simple act of paying attention and being present to what is in front of us will allow emotions to rise up.  A work of art performs the beautiful task of being a space that holds that experience so we can move through it.

“When we hold space we make room in our hearts so that others can be in theirs” Krishna Das

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Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present a dynamic new body of work by Toronto-based painter, Janna Watson. In a solo exhibition titled Falling Forward, Watson reasserts and expands on her distinctive abstraction and emphatic colour that propelled her into national and global recognition. 
 
"Life unfolds towards the unknown, as intangible forced propel us into the future at an unprecedented rate."

Falling Forward was completed in 2020, before "shit hit the fan", and yet still feels appropriate. 

This new body of work by Canadian painter, Janna Watson, articulates the subconscious energy afoot, that draws awareness to an invisible creator and shares in this moment, making visible the things that create movement in life. 
 
Invisible forces have always directed us, and in more ways than we realize: wind steers us, gravity grounds us, friction moves us forward, currents can pull us under and now a virus has taken us to our inner spaces. 
 
Inward is a familiar landing place for Watson, where she finds the force to transform objects and colours, in order to reflect on new futures. 
 
“The ghostly, silent virus is pulling the world inside out,” she explains. “The inevitable sublime that is creating, and re-creating life and time, moment by moment, cannot be stopped. 

"Things just can't help but become themselves."

Falling Forward will be released at Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto in June 2020. Please contact us at 416-977-0600 and toronto@bau-xi.com for enquires and acquisitions. 

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Since 1965, Bau-Xi Gallery has functioned as a meeting place where we have gathered to form a vibrant community with a shared belief in the importance and soul-sustaining function of art.

As we witness the distressing effects of Covid-19 and its impact on our larger communities in Toronto and Vancouver, we feel the need to act now and help where it is most needed.

In an effort to give back and support the cities that we have called home for over 50 years, we are launching our online exhibition, ART CARES.

This charitable exhibition will feature select paintings, works on paper, and photographs by gallery artists from May 12th to May 31st. 100% of our proceeds will be donated to Food Banks Canada. 

As essential organizations, food banks continue to support food insecure Canadians. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been met with uncertainty, seeing a loss in financial support and support staff, and an increase in demand. Food Banks Canada has been supporting provincial food bank networks through their coronavirus response efforts, securing food, finances, and volunteers. 

Over $200,000 CAD in artwork has been donated by over 40 Bau-Xi Gallery artists. ART CARES showcases selected artwork located at both Toronto and Vancouver Bau-Xi Gallery locations and can be viewed online.

We salute our artists for their caring and generosity, making this exhibition possible.

Please help us in our effort to support food insecure Canadians in this unprecedented time.