Recipient of Open Rhodes Artist Raffle

Julie DaBrussin, MP, Peter Tabuns, MPP & Paula Fletcher, City Councillor & East End Childrens Centre

Samantha Bulas

Samanatha first loved visual art at an early age when she was influenced by her mother. She works in acrylic and is inspired by nature and her own children. This is her first time showcasing her work in the show.

Michele Burnett

Michele creates sculpture and functional art using clay. She has been working with with this media for over fifteen years and enjoys its' the grounding properties . Her sculpture is generally of human body and abstract form. Her Last August Series of functional clay pieces includes trays, platters and bowls with impressions of late summer flowers.

Clement Cheng

Clement after spending much of his life working in corporations whilst doubling as an ardent part-time artist and art student, I decided to become a full time artist 12 years ago.   I have an urgency to articulate not just my aesthetic views, but more importantly, my concern for humanity.  My work includes both contemporary figurative paintings and abstract paintings.  I studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto and attended classes at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, U.K.  I have shown at various galleries and exhibitions in Toronto, Ottawa, Italy and New York City.

Michael Dorang

Michael has been playing with different art types all his life but it was when he found clay that he found his medium. The combinations of earth, water, and fire appeal to him on a primal level. Michael aspires to create pieces that combine form and function with unusual and playful finishes. Each of his pieces is unique and different. This has also lead Michael to explore jewelry making using natural elements such as clay, stone, shell and glass to create fun and unique pieces.

Gordana Olujic Dosic

Gordana’s mixed media/textile work is often about contracts and dychotomies, with strong narrative base and a touch of humour.  In this body of work nature has a dialogue with history, reminding us of our shared humanity.  And why is numbering featured so prominently?  Think of it as a reminder of time or, perhaps, of our need to put things in order, however elusive that may be.  And why the pom-poms?  Well, just for the fun of it, of course!

Claire Hoang

Claire is a 12 year old artist, who is currently attending a French high school. She enjoys all kind of fine art such as: watercolor & acrylic painting, drawing and loves doing crafts.  Claire lives in East York.

This is Claire’s third year participating in Open Rhodes.

Julie Glick

Julie Glick has studied at the Ontario College of Art, the University of Toronto, the Avenue Road School of Art and semi privately in the studio of Catherine Hobart and Klaas Hart. She has participated in well over 20 solo and group exhibitions. In 2003 she was awarded the Spirit of Chinook Award from the Scarborough Arts Council. Glick’s work can be found in private and corporate collections in Canada, the United States, England and Hong Kong.

Georgia Kirkos

Georgia has been a professional photographer for over twenty years, working in both portraiture and photojournalism. She also teaches photography, and exhibits collections of her work. Georgia’s upcoming project is a series of photographs exploring powerful gender-defying images of women in occupations not traditionally open to them.

Emi Kobda - Japan

Emi Kohda was born in Nagoya, where she currently lives and works.  She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Nagoya Zokei University of Art & Design in 2012, where she studied Japanese painting, “nihonga”.

Since then she has participated in many group exhibitions, most recently “Jijikokukoku Exhibition” in September this year at 5/R Hall&gallery in Nagoya.

 In her painting, Emi uses sumi, pigments from natural ingredients and metal leaves, on washi, canvas, wooden board and silk. Her main motif is the crocodile, which she paints in large format. To her this motif is symbolic of the peaceful passage of time, which her painting wants to convey.  Another frequent motif in her work are cats, usually painted in small formats. Living with four cats she likes to paint their funny gestures and emotional moments.

Erin McGuire

Erin doesn't consider herself a photographer as much as an editor. An adherent of the "shoot a mile of film" school, her talent lies more in winnowing the quality out of quantity.  The winning photos are made into prints and photo cards, or printed onto wood blocks and aluminum. Between trips to Europe, she and her dozens of digital memory cards abide in a 17th floor condo with an unobstructed Western view of Toronto's East end.

Julie McNeely

Julia has always loved my animals; I want to paint them as beautiful, living beings with souls. The farm scenes I choose resonate with the heart; they make people happy.  I believe that people have a strong connection to animals and that animals reflect how they see themselves. My animals are a mirror held up to my viewer for reflection, contemplation and smiles. I play with colour—smooth, liquid brush strokes that sculpt, building the painting.

layer-by-layer and glaze-by-glaze. From early morning, bright reds and oranges to the moody blues and purples of a summer evening, I capture those little moments, the specks in time that make a day special. For me, paintings have to have a life in them—a heart. I paint everyday

Gillian Morris

Gillian’s love of art began in her early years. She has participated in many courses in pen and ink, acrylic and watercolour painting. Her painting has been greatly influenced by her extensive travels, with a particular focus on her love of light on water. She spent time at Dedalo Arte School in Tuscany, Italy where she experimented with plein-air painting, china ink and life drawing. More recently her paintings have focused on the stunning scenery from living near Lake Ontario.

Tracy B. Richards

Tracy B Richards is a relatively new artist, discovering her affinity for painting after being “guided” by a vision she had during a meditation in 2013. Since then, Tracy has stepped into this medium with both feet, through her own adventuresome experimentation.

Tracy’s art has been described as “intense”, “bold”, “fearless” and “spirited” and is inspired by an ongoing commitment to her own authenticity. 

Tracy was born and raised in Toronto, where she lives with her four sons.

Rick Shea

Full-time marketing consultant, part-time photographer, lifetime lover of photography. 

Whether Rick is exploring the world or in and around Toronto, Rick likes to explore with his camera.  Many things catch Rick’s eye, including nature, landscapes, cityscapes, abstracts and people, but his favourite discoveries are often moments. 

Barbara Smith

Barbara’s work brings together her two loves—photography and felines.  Her subjects are the cats she and her husband have rescued over the yeas.  A portion of the profit from the sale of Barbara’s Straybies Cat Cards will go toward veterinary care for other cats that will one day cross her path.

Laura Soltesz

Laura is an artist, mother and proud grandmother from Mississauga, Ontario. Her passion for art began at an early age as she explored and excelled in art classes at school. She eventually shied away from the arts because she was self-conscious of her skills, although she continued to draw leisurely. As a mother of three she frequently used her love of art to create crafts with her children. Interior decorating, sewing, crocheting, and learning new skills like reupholstery are other ways Laura has continued to develop and expand her creativity.

Laura is thrilled to be participating this year with all of the talented artists at Open Rhodes.

Tiffany Sookdeo

Tiffany Sookdeo is a mixed media artist that loves to create a strange alternate world through colour and texture. Enjoys painting in a variety of mediums like oil, acrylic, egg tempera.

As an artist she believes it is important to reach out to different perspectives of a singular person. Touching base with pathos and logos through concept and subject matter. Sometimes my content is meaningful, sometimes it’s aesthetic.

Eiko Watanabe - Japan

Eiko Watanabe was born in Nagoya, Japan, where she now lives and works. She graduated from Toronto Film College in 2007 and started her career in short film and documentaries. Her documentary “Harmonica Man” was screened at Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival in the same year. Also, she is currently working in digital design. 

Anita Wiklém

Anita takes her inspiration from her childhood in Norway, especially influenced by the beauty of raw nature and the rough and rugged weather patterns that comes with the four seasons. Working with colour and texture she creates Shameless Self Expressions.

Gianna Wichelow

Gianna is a long-time fan of functional pottery and finally started studying three years ago at Harbourfront Craft Studios in downtown Toronto. Inspired by nature, she is drawn to pottery by the concept that creating it features all four elements in nature. She is also inspired by collaboration and her personal hero, William Morris, and his mantra, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” She dabbles in other creative pursuits, including writing, and wishes there were more hours in the day to play and play.

Children Artists:

Kaya        Lauren      Livé Jawili     Maia       Shaila     Tallulah

Mutti Art Projects - featuring Landon Speers

About the gallery:

mutti – pronounced /ˈmʊti/ – the affectionate term for mother.

mutti is a contemporary “apartment” gallery in the city of Toronto that offers viable alternatives to see and collect art outside of white cube gallery spaces.

Digitally we curate objects, spaces and places of desire and physically we exhibit mixed-media, lens-based and illustrative artists we’ve come to know and love. We welcome creators from emerging to mid-career and encourage collaborative projects and presentations.

Exhibition 002 : Wild Rose

Mutti Art Projects is proud to present Canadian-born, New York-based artist Landon Speers. Speers brings his visual and musical practices together with the release of ‘Wild Rose’, a book of original photography with an accompanying album of ambient compositions.

Exploring beauty in states of growth and decay, the landscapes of Wild Rose are captured with an approach akin to portraiture. Time is the hidden subject emerging from geological formations and inhabited spaces, momentarily absent of humans. An intimate sense of life long lived in these environments lies beneath the surface of every image with a spectral glow. Focused on nature’s simple gestures even in the least likely of places, Wild Rose suggests a new relationship with our surroundings and an appreciation for our world’s infinite details.