My 35-year artistic practice ranges from painting to installation and public art on a monumental scale. I explore memory and the sensation of ephemeral, fleeting moments. At the core of my work is a fascination with the unseen. Integral to my investigations is the liminal space between reality, the mind’s eye, and imagination. My projects range from site-specific paintings to colourful architectural windows to kinetic sculptures playing with fantasy and light. I have designed both temporary and permanent installations in Canada, the U.S., and Germany – made of recycled plastic, glass, mosaic, LED lights, and steel.
My artworks always portray a celebratory and uplifting message. Working in glass and mosaics allows me to capture layers of colours and complexity, resulting in a variegated depth of light play. I am interested in exploring the reflective quality of light using various levels of transition and colour contrast. Viewing my imagery becomes a journey of discovery. Hidden details lay camouflaged beneath overlaid strata of colour.
Great Gulf commissioned me to create custom art installations in 2016 for their new condominium development at 25 Richmond Street East in downtown Toronto. Glass studio Mayer of Munich fabricated the 420 square feet of hand-painted float glass in three different areas of the property, installed in late 2020. My designs recall the elaborately decorated Beaux-Arts interior of Shea’s Victoria Theatre, which stood on this site from 1910 to 1956. I found the original 1908 blueprints at the City Archives showing flamboyant ornamentation inside the vaudeville playhouse. The overlapping windowpanes and repetitions of patterns reference the first “moving pictures” of celluloid film. I varied the linear patterns on three different panes of glass, each installed in front of the other. This innovative technique has not been accomplished on this scale before. The forms coalesce and break apart, appearing to be in motion as the viewer walks past. A film about the process of creation can be found HERE.
The Toronto Transit Commission awarded me a contract in 2016 to design integrated artworks at Chester Subway Station. My concept, Florae, is a series of wall mosaics and art glass elements inspired by native plants and flowers found in the station’s area. The innovative use of hand-glazed ceramic tiles imbues these stationary walls with a sense of movement and wind blowing seeds into the sky. The globally celebrated studio Mosaika of Montreal fabricated the mosaics. Pulp Studio (California) produced the PIX Imaging prints for the windows – this is my second time working with them.
In 2013, Concord Adex commissioned a three-storey tall artwork, Gardiner Streams, for Quartz Condominiums at CityPlace facing the Gardiner Express Highway in downtown Toronto. I designed a colourful window depicting the movement of car headlights on the nearby expressway in a celebration of colour. The resultant image, installed in 2016, is an enlarged SentryGlass by Dupont transparent print embedded in between layers of glass.
Private and public consultation constantly forms a critical component of my work. After conversations with the client and consultants regarding the interests of the local stakeholders, visitors’ aesthetic preferences, and the specific qualities of light in the architectural setting, I will develop the final concept designs.
I collaborate with a wide variety of fabricators who are experts in their field. Using only the highest quality maintainable materials and practices, I continually investigate new design elements to enhance the public sphere. My large-scale endeavours demand a high level of organization with a team of assistants, technical riggers, and consultants. I have strong people skills and administrative proficiency in handling these complexities.
The CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto) Therapeutic Art Project purchased one of my paintings, “Eagle Bay”, in 2019. The warm vibrancy and lively vertical brushstrokes serve as intuitive wayfinding colours, guiding patients and visitors through the Centre. I am thrilled when my artwork can benefit patients and visitors by enhancing a calm and healing environment. Collaborating with specialists and design teams to create comforting surroundings is such a worthwhile cause. Numerous corporate clients have purchased my paintings for their lobbies and offices, including Canada Council Art Bank, Bank of Montreal, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt, and the Ontario Hospital Association.
I am always involved in community action for those in need. For the past 14 years, I have been on the board of directors of an affordable housing project in Parkdale, the Phoenix Place apartments.
My signature use of brilliant colour unites an array of complex and unexpected design elements. My ideas form bold and energetic imagery that shows a sense of movement, dynamism, and playful use of light. In addition, I will create an artwork that speaks to the respect which must exist between all levels of civilization.
