Creative Resilience, Resilient Creativity features work by 20 emerging artists who explore themes of community, innovation, intimacy, resilience and isolation, drawing upon their lived experience during the pandemic. The exhibition is presented by OCAD University Chancellor Jamie Watt.

 

The pandemic presented a unique environment to create in a time and space like never before. This new free, public exhibition presents works that express a range of what it meant to create during a pandemic – from themes that include profound loneliness and isolation, resiliency, innovation and experimentation.

The exhibition builds on the success of OCAD U’s recent GradEx 107 and features 20 artists from the last three OCAD U graduate exhibitions. The exhibition is free and opens to the public on Thursday, June 9 at 6 p.m. in the lobby of First Canadian Place at 100 King Street West. Sponsored by Brookfield Properties and Navigator, works will be on display until June 24.

 

Curatorial Message From Marilyn Adlington

In partnership with OCAD U Grad Ex, Creative Resilience/Resilient Creativity: Chancellor Jaime Watt’s Gallery surveys the many ways that living through a pandemic warps our experience of time and space. Historically, the work of artists has been a consistent guide through times of strife and devastation, providing glimmers of connection, hope, and perhaps even joy, amidst dark and challenging realities. This exhibition brings together twenty artists selected for their capacity to spark reflection and respect for the collective grief shared amongst the masses, shedding light on the breadth of insight and inspiration that has been consistently demonstrated by OCAD University graduates over the past three years.

In medium or message, each artist featured in Creative Resilience/Resilient Creativity engages themes that respond to the conditions of the pandemic, spanning sentiments of loneliness and sorrow as well as surprise and longing. While some address the pandemic through the depiction of domestic spaces and shifted routines of care, others engage the experience through the materials they use. In many cases, the shifts in their artistic practice results in unique and experimental work that challenges notions of genre and artistic discipline by instead celebrating the innovative creativity that comes out of such resilience.

Ultimately, the collection features a multifaceted perspective that is enriched by its distinctive modes of address. Together, the artworks featured in Creative Resilience/Resilient Creativity present an attempt to encapsulate many realties that the pandemic has forced upon us. Because each artwork has a story that is inspired by the same event, the exhibition becomes a vessel for collective storytelling and a form of community connection. The breath of experiences throughout the past three years are worth documenting as a cultural record that demonstrates how resilience and creativity mutually reinforce one another. As both a cultural snapshot and philosophical meditation, Creative Resilience/Resilient Creativity offers a thoughtful compendium of artwork about the pandemic that demonstrates how we may all be encouraged to dream differently in this new world.

 

 

Exhibiting Artists

Nicole Ji Soo Kim
In this repetitive state of being/living
(2020)
Documented performance
Program: Drawing & Painting
My artistic process is heavily intertwined with my day to day life; shifting, adapting and hardly resisting big life situations that influence my mental and physical state. Rooted in a personal work of mourning, I explore connections between grief and indifference. I invite a nihilistic approach as a rather positive framework for these experiences, giving meaninglessness meaning and significance. I emphasize the need for compassion toward collective grief surrounding the human condition, environmental distress and day to day exhaustion in relation to the mundanity of life through the ephemeral effects of abstract drawings, performances and public interventions. A desire for direction, order, balance as well a curiosity toward spirituality are themes that are frequent in my work.
Nicole Ji Soo Kim is an emerging interdisciplinary artist working primarily in drawing. Her art education began at School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, completing her BFA at OCAD University (2020). She has shown in group shows in venues such as Xpace, Beaver Hall Gallery, OCADU and various online platforms. Nicole has participated in the Roundtable Residency (Toronto 2020). She is expected to participate in the NARS Foundation International Residency (Brooklyn 2022) funded by Canada Council for the Arts - Explore and Create: Research and Creation Grant.
Ryvin Angco
CRYSTALZ
(2021)
Digital collage and found materials
Program: Drawing & Painting
HOME SKOOL is a series of digital collages created in the COVID-19 lockdown. The subject matter of each works originated from found objects and elements created inside of my home.
Ryvin Angco is a Toronto based digital artist currently studying at OCADU. He is majoring in Drawing & Painting and is in the specialized Digital Painting and Animation program, in pursuit of his Bachelor of Fine Arts. Focusing on experimental works that are inspired by memories and feelings, Ryvin’s works take an out of the box approach to stimulate his audience. Coming from a musical background, Ryvin combines both visual and auditory elements to his works to create and evoke a multitude of feelings and emotions out of the audience. Ryvin plans to use his knowledge and education from OCADU to enhance and elevate his music career, in which he plans to pursue right after graduating. From a young age, Ryvin knew he was visually and musically inclined in the arts and kept this passion alive. His drive and ambition in knowing what he wanted and how important creative expression was kept him motivated to pursue his art career. Ryvin hopes to inspire others through his works and music, by empowering others to stay true to who they are and keeping their individuality alive.
Stephanie Camille
focus.jpg
(2021)
Digitally collaged oil painting
Program: Drawing & Painting
I, like most people, am very connected to my computer. Through familiar digital windows, I explore my existence using personal poetry and journal entries. By combining Alla Prima paintings with digital popup windows, I attempt to unpack my reliance on the online world. During times of isolation and loneliness, I find comfort in the constant overload of familiar windows.
Stephanie Camille is an oil painter who lives in Toronto. After graduating from Brock University with a BA in Studio Art and Dramatic Arts, she attended OCAD to further pursue her growing passion for art in the Drawing and Painting program. Stephanie will be showingcasing her newest work at the Toronto Outdoor (Online) Art Fair in July 2021.
Sara Abulkarim
Lockdown
(2020)
Acrylic painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
Sara explores the concept of memory. She paints moments and fragments of her life, meaningful spaces and moments that sculpted her into the person she is today. Sara loves to try and explore different subjects and mediums. She works with acrylic, mixed medium as well as oil paint.
Sara Abulkarim is an emerging Artist from OCAD University. Born in iraq, she immigrated to Canada in 2002. She grew up in Montreal where she studied Interior Design. In 2017 she transitioned to study Drawing and Painting at OCAD University. She has had group exhibitions with Ocad University, Awenda, first year painting, manning innovation award. As well as a few opportunities in Montreal.
Raha Fard
Solitude 3
(2021)
Acrylic and oil painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
We are connected; we are connected to each other through identity, through the land. I feel when you are suffering in the farthest part of the world, I feel the pain in your body, and I feel sorrow in your heart. No matter what we are doing, and in what position we are, we go into our solitude, our anxiety, and our sorrow, with the news about people who are in unbearable circumstances in the other parts of the world. Solitude Series, done with acrylic and oil on canvas, depicts a lonely female figure in different positions in her solitude. The patterns in this series of paintings are inspired by Persian rugs and traditional Persian motifs.
Raha Fard is an Iranian-Canadian artist, based in GTA, Canada. She had a Master’s degree in telecommunication engineering, and 15 years of experience; before studying drawing and painting at OCAD University. She works in multiple disciplines such as drawing and painting, installation, digital art, and making short films. Investigating her own identity as a member of the Iranian diaspora, her works are rooted in Persian traditional architecture and Persian poetry, with a focus on cultural and mystical themes which help her to explore and define her identity regarding her motherland and the mystical beliefs which she was raised with. Her works also engage with critical perspectives related to social issues happening in the world.
Tenzin Tsering
Alone Together
(2021)
Digital illustration
Program: Illustration
Alone Together delves into the feelings of loneliness and depression, as many 1st generation immigrant adults who establish themselves in a new country know little to no people they can rely on.
Tenzin Tsering is a multi-disciplinary artist who loves comics, characters and colour, which is greatly reflected in her work. Often described as whimsical in nature, her illustrations explore themes surrounding her Tibetan-Filipino heritage; struggles of identity, and deep-rooted culture.
Esther Do Yeon Kim
New Normal
(2020)
Mixed media painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
Kim's works scrutinize the idea of gratitude on mundanity, delivering a sense of picturesque happiness—a celebration of a tedious moment. She explores simple, flat forms to encompass expressive, whimsical, calm, and joyous moments with her vibrant and pastel colour palettes. Her art practice is instinctive, schematic, and almost childlike, represented by her simplified yet precise forms, shapes, and lines. To the simplification and abstraction in her art-making, Kim adds soft colours to bring a sense of tranquillity and vibrant colours to deliver a sense of energy and power. She shares her genuine gratitude for life and surrenders contemplation and tension, exploring the idea of family, home, and nature. Her works are an outlet of comfort, an undemanding space of serenity.
Esther Kim is a South Korean Canadian raised in Vancouver and currently a Toronto-based artist. She majored in a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University (Ontario College of Art and Design University).
Harlie Reiss
The Emotional Crutch
(2020)
Program: Illustration
The Emotional Crutch illustrates the manifestations of exaggerated coping mechanisms for individuals that struggle with societal pressures through the use of creating comfortable spaces within anxiety-induced situations. Images convey various behavioural crutches that can be used for surviving under pressure.
My name is Harlie Reiss and I am a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto and a recent graduate from the Ontario College of Art and Design. I have enjoyed illustrating and doodling since I was a child. Over the years I have experimented with a variety of mediums from acrylic to graphite as well as photography, collage and theatre stage design. My illustrations are inspired by the vibrancy and simplicities of children's illustrated books. By using bold, eye catching colourful pallets to create my art makes the process a lot of fun and I hope that it reflects in my work.
Leah Probst
White Clown Laid Off
(2020)
Oil painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
The importance of this painting falls on the context of the story behind it. From the first time I saw the Cirque Du Soleil show – Corteo, I was drawn to this character. Little did I know at the time I would end up spending a year watching this very show 3-4 times a week. No matter how many times I watched it, the "White Clown" never seized to mesmerize me, holding my gaze in every act. For the White Clown, appearances are what matters most. He is an authority figure that represents tradition and order. Of all the colourful characters, he admires only the stars and scorns the others. He is the one who opens the door to the magic of the circus. Off stage was when the human behind the character of the white clown reviled himself. Marcello radiated love, sympathy, hope, and joy. In this painting my intentionality was to mould Marcello and White Clown’s personalities together, becoming a proper, yet kind-eyed clown while exposing his authentic humanity.
Leah Probst is a Toronto-based artist, where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ontario College of Art and Design University. Working mainly in the traditional medium of oil paint on canvas, she also works in Acrylic and soft pastel. Her subject matter is strongly figurative and portrait-based. Her paintings are comprehensible and recognizable, consisting of vibrant figures that come alive and seem to leap off the canvas. Probst believes that each viewer should be able to take away a unique experience shared with the work of art. Probst conveys clarity and honesty to the portrait, inviting the viewer to appreciate the fundamentals of the subject. She reveal the individual, looking beyond the surface toward the human condition with empathy to the personal connection she has with each subject. The evident slowness in her paintings acknowledge attention paid to the layering of information, built-up levels of paint, and a complexity of mixed colours which bring the paintings to life.
Rabiyah Sagheer
Quarantine Faces
(2021)
Watercolour painting on paper
Program: Drawing & Painting
Quarantine Faces was a project initially started with the intention to improve my portraiture skills. However, soon turned into a much bigger project. Inspired by the ""Expressions"" series by Darren Butcher, the work involved a sense of community and painting. With the help of colleagues, friends, and family, a collection of unique faces was brought together to form a single artwork. The Quarantine period was incredibly difficult and challenging for everyone involved, so as a creative, I wanted to work towards creating a piece that had a sense of community, inclusivity, and joy.
Currently studying at OCAD University, Rabiyah Sagheer is a Canadian-Pakistani artist based in Toronto. Her work makes use of a wide range of media from traditional and digital painting, to exploring jewelry design and installation based work. The artist explores themes that surround her, whether personal, social or politically charged. The time and personal experiences in her life play an integral role in the work she creates.
Jennie Lau
Through the Isolated Eyes
(2020)
Collaged digital painting
Program: Drawing & Painting
Through the Isolated Eyes is a series of digital paintings and collages I create during the pandemic period. The work is about the ways that manmade structures interplay with the natural world. It intends to reflect the unique time of self-isolation which demands self-reflection into how we imagine the future world or where we want to be when we investigate the sacrifices and shortcomings of the world we have created. This series brings my personal connection with nature, urbanization and environment. It touches modern and nature; realty and imagination; social life and isolation; and creates a new digital space.
Jennie Lau is an emerging artist based in Toronto. Her art works consist of paintings, collages, time-based media and installations. The media of the paintings include acrylic, oil, watercolor, ink and digital. She has participated in local solo and group art shows and online group exhibitions. Some of her artworks have been covered by the local and virtual media. Jennie’s art journey and goals are to learn and explore new techniques and subjects, explore how her art works would contribute to the local community or a broader boundary.
XY (Cindy) Zhao
Internet
(2020)
Gouache and ink painting on paper
Program: Illustration
False and misleading information is always on the Internet. Human nature can be extremely vulnerable once the netizen absorbs misinformation. Through my artwork, I want to reveal the adverse consequences of human beings' over-reliance on the Internet: the Internet can manipulate and distort what we have in our mind with ease.
Xinyun is a Toronto-based illustrator and a part-time art instructor. She graduated from OCAD U with a bachelor's degree in Illustration recently. Zhao creates surreal and fascinating illustrations based on personal experiences, ethnic culture as well as social phenomena. She enjoys creating her works by using traditional mediums and she is exploring further techniques of digital painting.
Athena Nemeth
Protect us against Covid-19
(2021)
Sculpture
Program: Drawing & Painting
Old antique photos from 1800s which I have embroidered from times in history that they have used masks to protect themselves.
Athena Nemeth is a non binary Italian/ Hungarian artist based in Montreal completing their Bachelor of Fine Arts at OCAD University. Working as a textile artist that paints with thread to touch on subjects of materiality using objects that are discarded or old which they alter to create anew. In their practice they like to touch upon identity, history and nationality in their pieces. Through the pieces which they make using thread, they want to speak upon the change of how textile art can be represented into the fine art world and leave the woman’s craft stereotype of what it is thought of. Athena will be going on to complete their Masters of Art in Fine Art at the University of Brighton after graduating OCAD University.
Michael Thompson
Reaching Out
(2021)
Digitally collaged cut paper
Program: Illustration
The need for intimacy. Based on being quarantined from each other during the pandemic and connecting virtually even though you’re in the same city.
I’m Michael! I’m a queer, Toronto-based illustrator always looking for new challenges, new projects, and new opportunities. I’m a mixed-media artist, I would be lying if I said I had a specific way of working, but lately I’ve been working in a cut paper/ digital mash-up. I have years of professional experience using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Procreate. I've done work for independent publications, art review journals, and as an Image Post-Production Technician.
Natalie Wesselius
Enter the Void
(2020)
Oil and oil stick on paper
Program: Drawing & Painting
Inspired by Francis Bacon's spaces as well as the inescapability of subjective perception of our reality. In this case, the imaginative taking hold and causing disorientation.
As a Hamilton-based artist, I feel it is important to understand class distinctions in our urban spaces; how our environments are a reflection of how our economy treats us. Growing up with an immigrant mother and a school teacher father, I’ve learned the significance in teaching, helping, and understanding each other rather than to be combative with bias. Art is a great tool for this, as it connects us through stimulating visual empathy. Having difficulty speaking at a young age, drawing was my preferred way of communicating and the start of my therapeutic relationship to art. Experiencing mental illness myself and with those close to me, I find it easier to put emotions into abstracted visual art. Primarily an oil painter, as well as practicing ballet, photography, film, music and collage, I’ve come to appreciate different forms of expression as its own performative language.
Brian Jiang
Our Little Hideaway
(2020)
Acrylic painting on wood panel
Program: Illustration
"Our Little Hideaway" - based on the subreddit community r/secretcompartments, enthusiasts of creating hidden spaces. The members of this group cohabit their dream living space (which of course, happens to be filled with hidden compartments). This painting is apart of Brian Jiang's graduating thesis series, “CU IRL”, which imagines how niche online interest groups would navigate social dynamics if they inhabited speculative worlds of their own, safe from the public scrutiny of real life. The series depicts how the internet is reshaping notions of what community and social spheres should look like.
Brian Jiang (they/them) is a queer trans Tkaronto-based artist and illustrator of Chinese descent. Their work combines the surreal and playful, with imagery comprising of interacting characters, fantastical scenarios, and lush flora. They’re interested in exploring topics such as identity, queerness, and community- building through illustration, painting, and animation. Brian has created work for clients such as LinkedIn, the City of Toronto, UofT Med, Pride Toronto and more. More of their work can be found on instagram @_brianjiang.
Minah Lee
Home Gardening
(2021)
Digital illustration
Program: Illustration
"Hobbhism" compares Buddhist practices to various hobbies by visually synthesizing the vital components of both worlds. This project suggests that the mundane daily activities we encounter in our lives are, in reality, closely connected to our spirituality and bring us spiritual wellness.

"Home Gardening" Bathing of the Buddha by pouring a fragrance over Buddha’s statue to celebrate Buddha’s birth can be synthesized with a gardening activity, when someone pours water over their plants. “Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara (Korean: Suwolgwaneum)” as the reference image.
Minah Lee is an illustrator and graphic designer from South Korea currently based in Toronto. Minah’s work includes various mediums ranging from analog to digital techniques. She loves to draw witty interpretations of everyday life. Minah Lee is always looking forward to new challenges.
Heejae Jo
I am not quite there
(2019)
Program: Drawing & Painting
With my art, I aim to express my complex identity as an immigrant, a minority, and an Asian female in an interracial marriage. This painting was inspired by my dreams. Using my subconscious, I try to navigate the relationship between my Korean identity and Canadian surroundings. Even though dreams are illogical and nonsensical, they help me catch a glimpse of my feelings about the experiences in my new surroundings.

I enjoy the process of making art, trying to composing each of the elements in harmony. I believe that not knowing the outcome is a key to make the process more fun and enjoyable. This positive attitude toward the uncertainty is revealed in my painting.
Heejae Jo was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1987. Having an interest in learning how people acquire emotion and their patterns of behavior, she studied Educational Psychology at Sookmyung Women’s University. Attending a women’s school also gave a great impact on her feministic perception.

Studying abnormal psychology in university, she has been questioning the boundaries between normal and abnormal. In her art, she likes to experiment with what we believe is normal—tradition, universal value, and rational ways of thinking.
Sarah Dufresne
I dream of you in 3D
(2020)
Acrylic and mixed media painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
My large scale abstract acrylic paintings use colour, line, and organic form to release emotions and create a colour field that soothes and disturbs the eye. My work materializes the visual impact of light as it interacts within an environment. The boldness of abstract expressionist women that came before me inspired my drive to create unapologetically and with vigour. My abstract expressionist pieces, while extremely personal, are also intensely reliant upon the viewer. The emotions that my pieces evoke are more important to me than the content behind them. The therapeutic release that painting grants is something I desire to give back to the viewer as they experience the harmony of colour and brushstrokes in my work.
My name is Sarah Dufresne and I am an abstract expressionist artist from Thunder Bay, Ontario. I have successfully participated in 2 collaborative art exhibits, one being with my father, Guy Dufresne, and 3 solo art exhibits. In Thunder Bay while attending Lakehead University completing my HBA in Psychology, I took some painting and drawing courses in order to cope with the stressors of University and young adulthood. That led me to be showcased in their yearly juried art show (2016 & 2017), which started my experiences of gallery showing
Nicola Infantino
March
(2021)
Oil and acrylic painting on canvas
Program: Drawing & Painting
A painting that explores light and shadow as well as the experimentation of abstraction in conversation with representation.
Nicola Palmieri Infantino is an artist from York Region, Ontario. She is a graduate of OCADU with a BFA in Drawing and Painting and a minor in Business and Social Innovation. Her work consists of mainly pen and pencil drawings as well as oil paintings. She experiments with bright colors and paint application to depict everyday scenes, mundane objects and memories through architecture and still-life. In Fall of 2021 Nicola will be attending York University's Consecutive Education program in the Intermediate/ Senior division to teach future high school students visual art, while also maintaining an artistic practice.