Solo Exhibition - ‘Everything Under The Sun’ - Vancouver

Before my latest show opened at Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver, I sat down to discuss my latest work and the theme for this show. Everything Under the Sun runs at Bau-Xi from June 7 to June 21, 2025.

Works at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver - June 2025

BX - You mention being “supercharged” by the sun—how did this physiological or emotional energy affect your studio practice in creating the new collection Everything Under the Sun? Have specific rituals or routines evolved that you engage in to harness it?

AG - At the beginning of this spring when I was preparing to start the work for this exhibition, I felt in need of some restoration and renewal. With the days getting longer as we emerged from winter, the sun seemed to be the source that gave me the power to go to work with positive energy and inspired me to build on some ideas around representing light in the presence of darkness. This approach also helped lead to the very diversified body of work for this show.

I am in the habit of stopping at the beach or a local park while en route to the studio and this year this was the dedicated self-care needed to transition my morning routine to more focused studio sessions in the afternoons and evenings.

Spilling Pink Wine - Oil On Linen - 52.25” x 62.25” (133cm x 158cm)

BX - Your landscape paintings offer varying degrees of abstraction, often leaning into near complete abstraction. What does abstraction allow you to express about nature that more literal landscapes might not?

AG - My work is an intuitive response to my experiences in nature rather than a literal translation of any specific place. So the paintings vary in their level of abstraction depending on my memory of that place and time. I think that so many things cannot be explained in literal form, so by working abstractly I hope to share an experience with the viewer. If I can engage their interest enough to feel something that moves them in some way, to go out to look at and appreciate nature more intently, then I feel like the work is successful.

Drifting By With Orange Creamsicles - DIPTYCH - Oil On Canvas - 48” x 96” (122cm x 244cm)

BX - You describe light not only as a physical phenomenon but also as a metaphor for kindness and resilience. How do you translate these intangible ideas into your visual language?

AG - The concept of light finding its way into the darkest of places offers me ways to evolve this idea through the exploration of line and colour. I feel like I am just beginning to understand where I could go with this concept and would like more time to build on this work. There are many periods of art history where we see this concept at play in very literal and symbolic ways and the common thread during these art movements seems to be the topic of wars, suppression, famine and natural disasters.

It seems like an exciting way to articulate resilience and rebellion in the most abstract forms. Through this I hope I can inspire, or at least appease the viewer of these times by giving a sense of strength and hope.

‘Indirect Optimism’ and ‘Incandescence’ displayed at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver - June 2025

BX - Living amidst such a biodiverse and shifting coastal environment, how do you feel your paintings of this region contribute to the larger conversation around our connection to land and place?

AG - It is a critical moment to encourage interest in combating climate change, and if art can be a catalyst for that then I am more than happy to contribute. I am encouraged to see cities around the world making efforts to bring green spaces back to urban areas and to make cities more livable and healthy. The results are clearly happier and healthier people.

I am so grateful to live amongst such wild and natural settings here in Victoria and if I can create a dialogue with someone by drawing their interest, then I hope to help them build a personal connection to their own natural places.

A Lightness Seeping Through - Oil On Linen - 50” x 50” (127cm x 127cm)

BX - You’ve exhibited increasingly in Europe and across Canada, yet your work remains rooted in the landscapes of Vancouver Island. How does place continue to shape your vision, even as your audience becomes more global?

AG - I think there is a universal love for the natural world and people seem to respond to it in all forms, even if it isn’t familiar to them. I suppose this west coast Canadian landscape is a language that I feel comfortable speaking and it seems to live in my DNA. It is also an endless source of inspiration for me and I wish to continue evolving my work from this as a starting point.

The feedback I have received from an international audience is that my work appeals to them in surprising ways. They often find a tension in it due to its other-worldly feel but that the unique energy from this place has a strange beauty that they want to get to know better.

‘Lifting Shade’ and ‘A Glint Of Grace’ displayed at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver - June 2025

BX - The idea of “seeds of lightness” is beautifully poetic. Do you see these works as small acts of environmental or emotional activism? More broadly, do you see art as a counterbalance to modern life’s fragmentation?

AG - Yes, I am an optimistic person so I tend to search for the positive in all settings. I think this idea of the goodness of light is a way to bring hope into the message of my work. Art, like nature, is good for the soul. If I can contribute positively to a person’s life and they find continued joy from a painting that sells hope, then I am happy to take on the role of the emotional activist. I like that label.

Solo Exhibition - ‘Everything Under The Sun’ - Vancouver

Group Exhibition - ‘Palmae’ - Paris, France