understory
SUSAN FRASER-HUGHES . MARISA MARY MYRAH . VERONICA TRUJILLO
January 27 – March 16, 2024
In understory, artists Susan Fraser-Hughes, Marisa Mary Myrah, and Veronica Trujillo use landscape as a vehicle to explore themes of memory, time, and our place within nature.
SUSAN FRASER-HUGHES
“While a large portion my work explores specific events, and or experiences in my life, and their associated memories and emotions, landscapes allow me to explore life in a different fashion. Many of my smaller landscapes, are direct responses to walks I have had in the woods: the slight nuances that may have caught my eye, the conversations I may have had, the feelings or emotions I may have experienced as I walked, or after I left. Before moving to Vancouver, I had never spent much time in wooded areas. Now, they are my go-to place. Every visit is always a little different.”
MARISA MARY MYRAH
“These artworks are from a series called, On the Edge of Where I Live which describes a section of land adjacent to where I live in Lynn Valley, North Vancouver, that is slated for development. It is a pristine area of old growth forest within a residential area. It is a dense, overgrown, and unique forest, that I want to document and describe through my art before it is gone. When developed, this area of land will be forever changed. These paintings offer viewers an experience of this space, compressed and distilled versions of my time spent there.”
VERONICA TRUJILLO
“Through painting, I examine the connection between myself and the environment. The recent series Forest Skin blurs the lines between representation and abstraction, human and non-human, bark and flesh. Each painting begins in situ, where I capture ephemeral moments of my experience in the landscape. Back in my studio, I treat each canvas as a portrait honouring elements at the original location but also as a framework to explore the possibilities of painting itself.”
Exhibition Reception: Sunday, February 4 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Artist Talk with Susan Fraser-Hughes: Sunday, February 25 at 2 p.m.
Artist Talk with Marisa Mary Myrah: Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m.
Artist Talk with Veronica Trujillo: Sunday, March 10 at 2 p.m.
SUSAN FRASER-HUGHES
Susan Fraser-Hughes attained her BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design, her MFA from the University of Calgary, and her PhD from Aberystwyth University, Wales. She currently lives and works in Vancouver.
MARISA MARY MYRAH
Marisa Mary Myrah studied Fine Arts at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, and completed her Post-Baccalaureate in Painting at the Cyprus College of Art in Paphos. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the Fundación Valparaíso in Mojácar, Spain in 2002. Myrah lives in North Vancouver and works at the Parker Street Studios.
VERONICA TRUJILLO
Veronica Trujillo holds a BFA from the Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in both Canada and Mexico. Trujillo has also collaborated with cultural organizations and businesses on several visual arts projects in Mexico. She currently lives and works in Squamish, BC.
