Visit Michael Wolf's retrospective, Life in Cities, at the Rencontres d’Arles from July 3 to August 27, 2017. The exhibition will travel to international institutions, including the Fotomuseum Den Haag in January 2018, and will be accompanied by a monograph.
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CLICK HERE TO VIEW AVAILABLE MICHAEL WOLF ARTWORK.
Something Curated has named Joshua Jensen-Nagle in their Top 5 'Must-See Photographers at Photo London 2017'.
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Michael Wolf is who has been featured for his Tokyo Compression series at Flowers Gallery.
It was wonderful! The people are very warm and welcoming. The presentations went well and the audience was very keen on my latest work, the abstracts and the sculptures. I had a couple days to travel around and take in their unique landscapes. That was very inspiring. I highly recommend Iceland as a place to visit.
2) One can’t help but observe your careful treatment of the elusive properties of cool, arctic light in your upcoming solo show, Nature Transforms. What is it about light that intrigues you?
I've always been intrigued with the play of light on moving water or its refraction through objects. It has a strange hypnotic quality that enlivens my sense of wonder. Sometimes it puts me into a state of meditation that connects me to my soul, and that is usually followed by a deep sense of connection to the world around me.
3) Emotional memory of place is a theme that you explore and delve deeply in throughout past and present bodies of work. How is this new series informed by your recent trip to Iceland? What was it about Iceland that inspired you to experiment with new materials?
Iceland is a place of stark contrasts with its volcanic underbelly and glacier peaks, and soaring cliffs against black sand beaches. It's a memorable place with lots of distinct experiences but I focused mostly on the glaciers. Seeing giant slabs of ice drifting towards open ocean is really beautiful but also deeply worrying. With icebergs you're seeing ice that's been frozen for eons, marked with sediment deposits from years gone by. They led me to meditate on the expansiveness of nature and time, giving me a sense of awe and wonder. Seeing these singular white monoliths against the dark blue water inspired me to explore the theme of water and ice - it's transformative nature, our impact on it, and also the hypnotic beauty of ice with its transparent depths and sparkling refractions of light.
In my abstracts, I use an ice-like sheet of acrylic with fractures and clear pockets, to conceal and reveal, manmade markings (ink brushwork). The varying colours reflect the Nordic skies at various times of day or night. 
Detailed shots of Iceberg 1
The sculpture is a result of testing the boundaries of multiple layers of transparency. Through 24 painted sheets of acrylic, a fully 3 dimensional object is created. A stylized iceberg floats in a sea of colour. As the viewer walks around the piece, the iceberg changes from a unified image to a series of disjointed layers and back again to a unified image on the other side.
Also, Olafur Eliason is one of my favourite artists, he's Danish/Icelandic, and a bunch of his work is in Reykjavik. Seeing it first hand was incredibly inspiring and has single-handedly encouraged me to explore new methods and concepts in my work.
4) How would you say your work has developed in the past few years and how do you see it evolving in the future?
I've spent a lot of time depicting contemplative landscapes and trying to evoke a sense of wonder from nature. They are informed by my own experiences. I love this exploration and how it's developed so far.
I plan to continue on this path while incorporating the viewer into the work more directly. I can see how the sculptural pieces can lend themselves to large-scale site-specific works, possibly incorporated into architectural interiors. In my new multi-layered abstract pieces, viewers may be reflected in, or revealed and concealed by the various layers as they move around the piece. I hope that my work re-awakens in the viewer a similar experience that perhaps they've had in the past.
Joshua Jensen-Nagle has been selected to be exhibited at the prestigious UK art fair, Photo London. Bau-Xi Gallery will exhibit his work as the only Canadian gallery represented at the fair. The artwork selection for Photo London includes iconic beach photos from Italy and Brazil, ski scenes shot in Whistler, and this stunning new image from Iceland 'Breaking Away' (shown above). Bau-Xi Gallery looks forward to the opportunity to present this talented Canadian artist to photography collectors in the UK.
Photo London runs May 18-21, 2017 at Somerset House in London More about Photo London here
ARTWORK THAT WILL BE ON VIEW IN LONDON:
1) How would you describe your work ?
Messy, drippy, oozy, sketchy, colourful, full.
2) What are you most excited about in this current body of work and what are you striving to achieve that would set it apart from previous ones ?
I love working big and loose. These are my wildest paintings yet and I'm enjoying using big house painting brushes. I want to convey the feeling of being inside a lush, unkempt garden. From up close I hope the paintings just look like paint marks and from far away I want them to create a depth people can climb into.
3) Most adored colour in your tool box ? Most hated ? Most challenging ?
Currently Perylene Red, a transparent hue somewhere between cherry tomato and the inside of a pomegranate is my favourite colour. Powerful and even harsh, staining colours like Thalo Blue and Green and Quinacridone Violet can take over and ruin a painting or, with a little of their compliment added can create exquisite blacks and greys.
4) As an artist who is also a writer, how do you feel your writing informs your painting and vice versa ?
I'd say writing and painting are about being moved by an experience and conveying that sensation to the viewer/reader in a unique and personal way. Both mediums teach me that if I don’t have a clue how to start, I just have to do something - Anything.
5) Besides living in Vancouver you also live part of the year in Umbria. Is there a difference in approach, materials, or subject matter when painting while immersed in these 2 distinctly different cultures and climates?
The light in Italy is so beautiful and warm and so many gorgeous still life objects are available in the countryside and the markets. Artichokes come with their leaves on them and I can pick branches of pomegranates.
I paint in my bedroom and pretty much have to make work that will fit under my arm and through the luggage scanner unless I want to get into the whole shipping thing. I don't actually mind those constraints since they make it possible for me to concentrate on smaller works and think more about the craft of painting. I used to figure skate and skaters would spend hours doing what was called "school figures" or various permutations on the figure eight. Italy is where I do my school figures.
I enjoy having lots of quiet time over there to think and get recharged to return to my busy city life and get to work in my big, well lit studio.
6) What would be a surprising fact for someone to discover about you ?
That I just invested in a Cyr Wheel and plan to learn to use it.
7) Which artists have had the most profound influence on your work ?
Artists whose work I admire and look at lot are Matisse, Joan Mitchell, Manet, and Cy Twombly to name a few.
Just saw some wonderful paintings in New York by Elise Ansel, Katharina Grosse and Atta Kwami Thami all of whom use colours which will inspire me for a long time.
8) Given the current political climate, what role do you think artists can play ?
Since my work is not at all political I try to do what I think every thinking person should be doing right now which is stick up for what I believe in. Make noise.
9) What word of advice would you give to an aspiring artist just starting out ? Or what piece of advice would you have wished you could have given to your younger artist self knowing what you know now?
Being an artist is a scary and unpredictable career. I would tell an aspiring artist to surround herself with other aspiring artists who believe making art is an important and worthy job.
10) What are you plans after this show ?
I already have an idea for some big new works which I hope will tide me though the postpartum time of having hung a show. In April I’ll return to Italy.
CLICK TO VIEW ARTWORK BY JAMIE EVRARD
Joshua Jensen-Nagle has been selected to be a part of the prestigious UK art fair, Photo London. Bau-Xi Gallery will exhibit his work as the only Canadian gallery represented at the fair. The artwork selection for Photo London includes Jensen-Nagle's recent aerial beach photos from Italy and Brazil, ski scenes shot in Whistler, and the iconic image 'Washed Away' (shown above). Bau-Xi Gallery looks forward to the opportunity to present this talented Canadian artist to photography collectors in the UK.
Photo London runs May 18-21, 2017 at Somerset House in London
VIEW ARTWORK BY JOSHUA JENSEN-NAGLE HERE
Investing in art helps to enhance staff and client experience in any corporate space. Bau-Xi offers the following complimentary services for corporate clients:
Learn more about how to begin building your corporate art collection by contacting our associates in either location.
Artwork pictured: Virginia Mak, "Small Moments 01", 47 X 47 inches, chromogenic print mounted to archival substrate.
Bau-Xi artists Bobbie Burgers, Drew Burnham, Barbara Cole, and Joshua Jensen-Nagle's works are beautifully documented in their art books. These publications contain your favourite artworks curated within, accompanied by texts that complete the picture--a colourful holiday gift option!
TO BUY ONLINE
A gift wrapped painting--a surprise for a long-time Bau-Xi client.
CLICK TO VIEW ONLINE CATALOGUE
With the holidays upon us, art lovers often plan on selecting a special piece for their friends and family. Bau-Xi Gallery associates love the opportunity to create a special moment for our clients and their loved ones. We are happy to accommodate special requests to deliver and install artwork as either an expected or surprise gift.
Gift certificates are also available through the gallery, which offer a nice introduction to art collecting for those who may be new to the process. Associates in the gallery are pleased to consult on artwork selection, and provide a tour of the gallery.
In western art history the grid is an emblem of modernism. It references a point in timein which new ways of seeing and thinking were expressed through artists such as Mondrian, Malevich, Rodchenko and later Agnes Martin. These artists continue to inspire me.
Within my artistic practice the grid acts a vessel, it becomes the perimeter for various metaphors, processes and rituals. For example the metaphor of a veil, an enclosed space, and the ritualistic marking of counted breaths within a specific time frame.
I have also wanted to simultaneously convey a relationship between conceptual minimalism and textile handiwork. The layered paint forms a grid, which in turn embodies a relationship to paint that is seemingly woven.
I was raised in a family where the women were avid about cloth and all forms of handiwork, crochet, knitting, weaving and sewing: that impulse has informed my art practice.
I do begin with a predetermined guideline of the grid, which I draw out in pencil first. I can then have a flexible guide and work on a group of paintings to begin with.
As I keep working I then begin to respond to the individual needs of each piece. I can introduce new rules, such as colour or proportional sequence and build layers this way, but I trust how I respond when viewing a piece in determining if it’s completed or not. If I have an internal response I know it’s finished.
This may take some time and that is why some paintings have thicker layers or are denser. I also go back and rework paintings, sometimes over a period of years. The accumulation metaphor of my forever and endless paintings is intuitively guided. This process is something I want to explore more of in the future.
I like to create an atmosphere through listening to different meditative music or mantras. This helps me create a focus of intent. I have practiced meditation for many years and my painting process shares many of its elements. Being present in the moment and being conscious of my breath.
Joseph Plaskett, Suffolk Spring #1(diptych), 1992, Oil on Canvas, 36 X 96 in. ACQUIRE
Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to announce that a selection of Joseph Plaskett paintings have been released for sale, following the recent settlement of his estate. We look forward to discussing these works with collectors. Plaskett passed away September 21, 2014 in his home in Suffolk, England. He was 96.
Joseph Plaskett is considered to be one of Canada’s most talented and established painters. In the spring of 2001, he was awarded The Order of Canada for excellence in the field of visual art. Since the 1940’s, he has had over 65 solo and group exhibitions, with work in major public, private and corporate collections, including the National Gallery of Canada. He has exhibited with the Bau-Xi Gallery, both in Vancouver and Toronto, since 1973.
Born in 1918 in New Westminster, B.C., Plaskett studied art in Banff, San Francisco, New York, London, and Paris, where he lived for many years. His chosen subjects are intimate expressions of everyday life – interiors, still life, and portraits of friends and models. There is a warm humanity to his work; a love of light, form, and colour that is evident in every painting he produces. The ensuing results are masterworks of visual delight.
Anda Kubis, Dance, digital painting on canvas, 30 x 42 inches, ACQUIRE
Bau-Xi Gallery is thrilled to announce representation of recognized Canadian abstract painter Anda Kubis.
Anda Kubis works in expanded digital, material, and traditional oil painting processes. Due to the prominence of colour in her artwork, Kubis consciously considers how the engagement with aesthetics and creativity positive affects human flourishing and quality of life. With degrees from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and York University, Kubis crosses her artistic practice with design and architecture, material exploration, and her significant teaching career. She is the Associate Dean of Outreach and Innovation in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University. Numerous public and private collections have acquired Kubis’ work, including RBC, TD Bank, BMO, Cenovus Energy, Aimia, The Westaim Corporation, and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.