Exhibitions

Darlene Cole | Reverie
December 3-17, 2022
340 Dundas St West, Toronto
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 3 2022 | 1-3 PM - Artist in attendance

Bau-Xi is thrilled to present Reverie, a stunning collection of new paintings by Canadian artist Darlene Cole. 

Gary Michael Dault once wrote, “Darlene Cole’s paintings are filled with the very fragrance of paradox. They feel immediate, for example, as if they have been painted rapidly from life, on the fly, as notations rather than deliberations, all the while crystallizing and enshrining the innocence of a dreamtime that shimmers in the haze of Cole’s effulgence light like memory.”

On her latest collection, the artist writes:

"Tapping into the deeper theme of ‘reverie’, this cycle of paintings are unforced but unforgettably layered in a time when moments that feel like a dream might help carry us through the shadows…walking in the forest, sitting by the pond or lake, listening to live music, or the burst of a new season.

In the studio, the gesture, light, and mystery were forefront for me along with the intensity of emotion. I approached each canvas in a way that I hadn’t before…thinking of the darkest areas first and allowing the paint and subject matter to emerge from the unknown. In some paintings the figure is present and in another, the figure pivots to be the viewer and encounters a bear…then a swan. I wanted to coax (with paint) the complexity of emotion and sensitivity from nature as a means of solace."

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 COLLECTION

Nicole Katsuras | Antidote
November 19-30
Opening Reception November 19, 1-3 PM | Artist in Attendance
340 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Bau-Xi Gallery is thrilled to present Antidote, a stunning exhibition of new abstract paintings by Toronto-born artist Nicole Katsuras. 

On her latest collection, Katsuras writes;

“Art is the antidote for our times. Personally, the act and the object can be a carrier of positivity, joy and light. These new paintings are a continuation of my ongoing study and experimentation with paint; focusing on the natural world but always synthesizing my inward reflections, personal memories, emotions, and history to create gravity free dreamland state, flora and intuitive landscapes. 

Embracing the freedom and endless possibilities oil paint has to offer with my commitment to colour,  texture, line and movement. I hope to create an antidote to life’s malaise."

The artist is renowned for her creative approach of embracing past traditions of art history while presenting her unique visual language in her paintings. Informed by the nuances of the oil medium and a cascade of visual stimuli, Katsuras paints a bold yet intricate extruded technique to compose lively, elegant and playful abstracted scenes. 

Nicole Katsuras has exhibited her paintings internationally, with noted solo shows in Toronto, Vancouver, London, Seoul and Paris. Her artwork is part of several public collections and countless private collections across the globe.

VIEW THE COLLECTION 

Steven Nederveen | The Ocean In Us
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
November 19-30, 2022

Steven Nederveen’s work deals with the passage of time, a theme stemming from his own practice of meditation. Moments of peaceful clarity lead the artist to draw connections between our natural environment and aspects of spirituality through an artistic process that combines painting and photography. In this new exhibition, he focuses on the drama of crashing waves, paying homage to the historic seascape paintings of shipwrecks by old Dutch masters, referencing dark black skies, turbulent waters and fine detail.

Artist statement:

As a waterman and the son of a sailor, I’ve spent a lot of time on the waters of the west coast. I know these waters, and yet I can never really know them. The ocean is an endless variety of movement, light and feeling. We can see ourselves in its vastness and depths, its calm and its torrents. Water reflects back to us our inner worlds and emotions. 

In my latest depictions of the sea, I have re-cast the ocean as subject and zoomed in on one small section of turbulent water, using contemporary techniques to distill ocean crashes into gesture and form so that we can feel the full impact and chaos of the untamed sea. I use a golden glow to represent the human spirit, depicting it as an extension of nature itself, inseparable from the beautiful chaos of these waves. The vastness of the water reflects the vastness of ourselves - these pieces are both inner and outer landscape. 

-Steven Nederveen 2022 

VIEW THE COLLECTION

Bradley Wood | Gilded Daze
November 3-16, 2022
Opening Reception November 3, 6-8PM | Artist in Attendance
340 Dundas Street, Toronto

Bau-Xi is thrilled to present Gilded Daze, the inaugural exhibition for Canadian-born, New York-based artist Bradley Wood with the gallery.

Known for his expressive and chromatically charged paintings, Bradley Wood is renowned for his depictions of opulent, abundant environments and intriguing figures. In this exhibition, Wood contemplates the passage of time and the thematic undercurrent of excessive wealth masking the personal grappling of introspective conflicts. The artist stages dramatic scenes of days passed, while connecting with our current reality of crafted personas within digital and social media.
 
On the inspirations informing his latest collection, the artist writes;
 
“I've always grappled with notions of time -- as an artist and, these days, as an aging father. It prompted me to weave these blending timelines into my usual oeuvre of figurative interiors and fictional seated portraits, creating narratives about the contrast between outer appearance and internal mindsets.
 
In this body of work, many references are found at its core: medieval pictorial flatness, 17-century figuration, the surreal movement of the early 20s, decorative interiors like those painted by Les Nabis, abstract expressionist mark-making, along with the subject matter with current-day cues. All are meaningful approaches mashed up intentionally to achieve timelessness in my work.”
 
Through his intricate brushwork and bold palettes, Wood’s intimate oil paintings on linen present his stylized figures in his signature visual language. Like a seasoned playwright, the artist weaves elaborate narratives and imagined backstories for his fascinating subjects.
 
Born in Regina in 1970, Bradley Wood completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2006. Prior to studying at RISD, Wood completed studies at Art Center Europe, Vevey, Switzerland (1995-1996) and California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, USA (2000-2001). The artist has been featured in over 15 editorials and publications, including The Globe and Mail (2021, 2011); The New York Times (2013); Artsy (2016); The Irish Times (2018); among others. He is part of countless private collections across the globe.
 
Bradley Wood has been represented by Bau-Xi Gallery since 2021.

VIEW THE COLLECTION 

Jeffrey Milstein | Autumn
October 13-29
350 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present, Autumn, a collection of photographs captured over the Hudson River Valley and New York City in the richness of the season. As the gold and crimson hues of Autumn blanket the horizon, the artist takes to the skies, "a view unavailable from the ground opens up. From here you have grand vistas, yet you are close enough to see intimate detail." 

Milstein takes his aerial photographs from the cockpit of light aircraft or small, agile helicopters, always flying at sunset, when the low light makes shadows longer and suffuses everything with a golden glow. From this vantage point, Milstein brings his architect’s training, and his graphic designer’s eye, to bear on the world below. His preoccupation with pattern and colour transforms even the most banal sites into works of abstract beauty. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Sheri Bakes | The Company of Stars
October 15-29, 2022
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Saturday October 15, 2-4pm - Artist in attendance

In her signature stippled style with a continuing focus on nature, Sheri Bakes presents a collection of landscapes inspired by a dear friend’s experience hiking from California to BC. Bakes captures the characteristic vegetation along this long route, depicting the changes in landscape, weather and atmosphere evident in the received photos taken along the journey northward.  Bakes’ ever-present indication of movement, breath and life-force - the unseen made visible - connects all her images, inviting quiet contemplation and offering momentary sanctuary from a busy and relentless world.

Artist Statement:

This recent body of work is inspired by a friend’s six-month solo thru-hike along the Pacific Crest Trail and the photos she shared with friends and family along the way. 

Jennifer Szabo entered the Pacific Crest Trail on April 8, 2022, at Mile 0 in Campo, California, and by the time this show opens, she will have finished in Manning Park in BC, sometime in September. 

The Pacific Crest Trail is approximately 2,650 miles and is listed as one of the top five most challenging thru-hikes in the world. Wildfires prevented Jennifer from hiking two sections of the trail, approximately 362.6 miles. 

Building this show was challenging and also gratifying from the start of the process to the finish. It provided a way for me to accompany my friend on her journey from the studio, and to accompany her mom (who is also a good friend) on her own journey of emotions while her daughter was out on the trail, while simultaneously experiencing my own paint-focused journey through the work.

This show is in celebration of my friend Jennifer, her incredible accomplishment in solo thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and also in celebration of her wonderful, very dedicated and supportive family, Peter, Nancy and Emily. 

-Sheri Bakes 2022

VIEW THE COLLECTION

Eric Louie | Hide and Seek
October 1-13, 2022
Main Gallery
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver

The reworking of canvases has always been a common, natural, and even essential element of an artist’s practice. Bau-Xi Gallery presents an extraordinary collection composed entirely of newly reworked abstract paintings by Vancouver artist Eric Louie. In his signature graphic, sculptural style, Eric rethinks his organic abstract forms with new colour, line and balance, fine-tuned to reflect the process and accumulation of learning along life’s journey. The new paintings gain fortitude from the energy of the originals, which lie dormant under the surface for a later discovery.

Artist statement:

I find a lot of joy in reinventing my older pieces. This rebirth or salvation - changing something old into something new - has many rewards and moments of discovery. Through a process of transcription via the iPad, I can explore new avenues for forms within the works, leading to surprisingly different outcomes than I had originally imagined. This cycle of technology informing my painting has become inescapable and is reflective of our use of technology in life in general.
 
As in past bodies of work, the paintings elicit comfort through suggestions of the familiar, while remaining subjective in their virtual spaces. They reference landscapes or connote flora or fauna-like imagery, sometimes even figural, without being overt. My paintings allow one to relate to their content, while at the same time posing questions as to its significance. The show title ‘Hide and Seek’ reflects the idea that paintings are in constant flux, and that the artist tames them while they are in the studio. They undergo the processes of expansion and contraction of information, from maximalism to minimalism in some cases... The works speak to a futuristic aesthetic, bending metallic gradients and bands of light over leaf-like formations. In them, I see a sense of strength and perhaps utopian beauty found in idealized shapes and compositions.   – Eric Louie 2022

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

Robert Marchessault | Resilience
October 1-13, 2022
Upper Gallery
3045 Granville Street, Vancouver

Robert Marchessault is a well-established Canadian painter with an extensive exhibition history. His poetic landscapes focus on space, light, atmosphere and distance. Marchessault’s new works explore one of his beloved subjects - the anthropomorphic presence and emotional impact of a single tree standing amidst wide open plains. Viewing and contemplating the collection in its entirety evokes a sense of tranquility and timelessness. 

Artist statement:

My landscape paintings are made from memory, not from on-site drawings or photographs. I use memory as a filtering agent to remove nonessential visual elements. When a work is successful, it has a poetry that presents some aspect of my understanding of who I am.

In considering this group of new paintings, I see a continuation of my love for iconic trees. These tree paintings are about more than beauty; in them I try to celebrate natural resilience. It excites me to see abundant flowering and green growth emerge in spite of stress and hardships. Tree spirit and energies show outwardly through shape, colour and textures; I mark these onto the surface with my brushes.  These qualities inspire me. The act of painting is my way to respond positively to the way life overcomes hardships. This often begins in a wordless moment of shifted perception.   -Robert Marchessault, 2022

VIEW THE FULL EXHIBITION