Johannes Zits
Toronto (Tkaronto)
Toronto artist Johannes Zits’ multi-disciplinary practice focuses on the many meanings engendered by the body. He draws attention to conventional image-making and how mass media images are disseminated and consumed. In working with the natural environment, Zits extends the notion of the performer to include nature itself. Considering nature as an equal ensures that it can be neither construed as a passive prop, nor adored and fixed in the realm of the sublime.
Since graduating with a BFA from York University in 1984, Johannes Zits has presented work across Canada as well as internationally. In 2013, Zits performed at the 8th Encuentro, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and presented a collection of this videos at Le festival international du film sur l’art in Montreal. In 2014, he presented variations on the performance “Island” at M:ST Festival, Calgary, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, and at Meta 2013, Chongqing, China.
Nicole Sleeth
Newfoundland (Ktaqmkuk)
Nicole Sleeth is a Canadian figurative oil painter whose work centers the female gaze as an exploration of power, connection, and lived experience. She brings a classical understanding of the human form and oil painting to her contemporary representations of the nude female figure.
Sleeth explores themes of intimacy, desire, gender and sexuality, body image, and self-consciousness. Her works create a powerful tension between the real and the ideal, calling into question the expectations imposed on women, both externally and from within. They demonstrate a longing for a liberated self, at times competing with an acute awareness of the viewer and the viewed. Subtle, shimmering skin tones create a sense of tactile closeness, with large-scale paintings taking on a commanding bodily presence.
Since 2010, Sleeth’s paintings have been exhibited in Canada and the United States, showing alongside works by Lucien Freud and Alex Colville, among others. Her work is in private collections in Canada, the United States, England, Argentina, and Singapore. She lives and works in Carbonear, Newfoundland.