canadiana
Montreal 12x12in. Gouache and acrylic on paper 2023
A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams.
- Herb Caen
Canadiana is a series of small paintings created during two cycles of the 24 Hour Artathon at the 401 Richmond Building for Nuit Blanche in 2023 and 2024. Over the course of each event, a new painting was completed every hour, resulting in twenty four works per cycle that move across the geography of Canada.
Each painting depicts a town or city from across the country, translating place names and locations into a playful system of colour and geometry. Working quickly and intuitively within the constraint of one hour per painting, the series captures a sense of movement across the map, as if travelling from community to community.
The works reflect an ongoing interest in how place can be represented through abstraction. Rather than illustrating specific landmarks, Canadiana treats each location as a visual rhythm of colour, pattern, and structure, suggesting how landscapes, towns, and memories of travel accumulate into a broader picture of the country.
While the Artathon is over, if you are interested is a painting similar to these, please fill our the form below.