This October, Bau-Xi Gallery is proud to present Landscaped, an expansive group exhibition featuring works by David T. Alexander, Anne Griffiths, Frederick Hagan, Robert Marchessault, Jeffrey Milstein, and Steven Nederveen.
The opening reception will be on Thursday, October 9th, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at 1384 Dufferin Street. The exhibition will be on view from October 9th – November 3rd at Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin in Toronto (1384 Dufferin Street).
Artists have been depicting, documenting and describing the world that surrounds us for time immemorial. In the 17th century, landscape painting transitioned from being a background element to a respected genre used to express shifting views on nature, morality, and national identity. While the styles varied, many paintings shared the purpose of elevating the natural world. Even today, artists continue to visit this shared fascination, expressing it through more expansive mediums, techniques and methods.
The ensemble of artists featured in this grouping do so via painting, photography, or some combination of both. They may reference images they have taken on their travels, or work from the image in their minds eye. It could occur in the studio, or out in the wilderness, en plein air. The scale may be designed to overwhelm and amaze or invoke an element of intimacy.
Irrespective of their approach, the artist continues to elevate the natural world in new and exciting ways.
About the artists:
DAVID T. ALEXANDER
Alexander studied at the Vancouver Art School and Langara College before graduating with a BFA from Notre Dame University in Nelson, BC. In 1980, he moved to Saskatoon, SK to obtain his Master’s degree while researching in New York, London, and Paris. In 2006, Alexander was a special guest artist-in-residence at the Morris Graves Foundation in California, and in 2018, he was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He lives and works out of his studio on the Sunshine Coast, BC.
His work can be found in many prominent public, private and corporate collections throughout the world, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Museum of London, the University of Toronto, Concordia University in Montreal, the Museum of Art in Iceland, HBC Global Art Collection in New York, and Embassies in Berlin, Beijing and Krakow. Corporate and private collections include those in major Canadian cities as well as in Dubai, Seoul, New York, Mumbai and Nice, among others.
ANNE GRIFFITHS
Anne Griffiths’ studio practice is motivated by the expression of landscape through intuitive knotting of colour and form. Through gestural line work and an energetic colour palette, Griffiths creates spatial relationships and poetic interpretations of landscapes visited and then recalled in memory. She is interested in how we take a feeling of a place away with us in our memory, and how that energy can transform by playing with some level of abstraction in the rendering of a traditional landscape.
Anne Griffiths is a Canadian painter based in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied painting at Emily Carr University and received a diploma in design and illustration from Capilano University’s IDEA Program in 1986. Griffiths’ work has been shown in Canada, the UK and Europe in both solo and group exhibitions and has been placed in numerous private and corporate collections. Most recently, her work was selected for group exhibitions in Paris, Berlin and London, and will be exhibiting in both group and solo exhibitions in Vancouver, London, Copenhagen and Turin in 2025.
FREDERICK HAGAN
Frederick Hagan’s unique work has for decades responded to and shaped Canadian painting. Born in Toronto in 1918 and raised in Cabbagetown, Hagan looked to his lived environments as sources for his artistic subjects. This is certainly evident in the collection of work to be exhibited in “Close to Home: Paintings from 1940-1990”. The works offer intimate glimpses into the artist’s home and studio – masterpieces honouring the humble objects found there.
In 1967, Hagan was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal. In 1985, he was commissioned by Canada Post to create 16 postage stamps, issued 1986-1989. In 1998, he was awarded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal. His work is presented in prominent public collections including those of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Royal Ontario Museum.
Frederick Hagan passed away on September 6, 2003 at the age of 85.
ROBERT MARCHESSAULT
Robert Marchessault is a well-established Canadian painter with an extensive exhibition history. He was born in Montreal in 1953 and achieved a BFA from Concordia University, Montreal in 1978. His work has been exhibited in nearly 120 solo and group shows throughout North America. His newest series of works on panel evolves out of his continued interest in the contemporary, sublime landscape.
Since relocating to Ontario, Marchessault has been the recipient of multiple OAC grants, and in 2000 was the Artist in Residence at the Joshua Tree National Monument, Palm Springs. Selected collections include Hudson’s Bay Company, Ernst & Young LLP, The Royal Bank of Canada, Esso Resources Canada Ltd, Xerox Canada Ltd., and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
JEFFREY MILSTEIN
In Jeffrey Milstein is an acclaimed American photographer who has won numerous awards for his aircraft photography and mesmerizing aerial landscapes.
A professional photographer, graphic designer, and architect, Milstein infuses his photography with his lifelong creative passion for and fascination with flight. His trained eye and steady hand produce images of pristine clarity that focus on design, color, and symmetry.
Milstein’s photographs have been published in Men’s Vogue, TIME Magazine, European Photography, American Photo, Eyemazing, Die Zeit, Wired, PDN, Esquire and Conde Nast Portfolio. His acclaimed series “Aircraft: The Jet as Art” was exhibited in a year-long solo show at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC from November 2011 – November 2012. Milstein makes his home in Woodstock, NY.
STEVEN NEDERVEEN
Steven Nederveen’s work deals with the passage of time, a theme stemming from his 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. By collapsing mediums, Nederveen develops a magical realism that insists on new perspectives on the landscape genre. Through painterly manipulations of photography, he creates the sense of a competing past and present; of struggle and transformation.
Steven Nederveen’s work is featured internationally in galleries, art fairs and magazines, and is part of private and public collections including Air Canada, the House of Armani, and the Canadian embassy in Iceland. He studied fine art at Medicine Hat College and went on to receive a Bachelor of Design from the University of Alberta in 1995. His studio is currently based in Toronto.
About Bau-Xi Gallery:
BAU-XI GALLERY is one of Canada’s most established art galleries – founded in 1965 – with spaces in Toronto and Vancouver. Bau-Xi Gallery acquired Foster/White Gallery (Seattle) in 2002, most recently acquiring Canada House Gallery (Banff) in 2018.
July 2023 marked another milestone for Bau-Xi Gallery, as it opened its doors to a new Toronto flagship location at 1384 Dufferin Street, in one of Toronto’s fastest-growing arts neighbourhoods. The new location offers over 22,500 sq. ft. of gallery space dedicated to the exhibition of contemporary painting, photography, mixed media, and sculptural works by Canadian and International artists. This year, Bau-Xi Gallery celebrates 60 years of contemporary fine art.
