It splits off, gently lifting under the pull is a solo exhibition of new paintings by BC-based artist Russna Kaur. “Resistant to immediate interpretation, her works sustain a sense of ambiguity, allowing forms and meanings to shift over time,” says Cooper Cole gallery, host of the show.
Above: Unsuspecting, rebellious thoughts – flawless, and with so little time, 2026, Acrylic paint, coloured sand, charcoal and molding paste on canvas 96 x 120 in. (source)
Layering shapes form the meaning of Kaur’s paintings. Panels of canvas are assembled together, emphasizing the work’s physical structure. Repeated gestures, accumulated paint, and overlapping surfaces become analogues for emotion and generational memory.
Kaur is influenced by her early studies in biology, which sharpened her attention to hidden systems, internal frameworks, and the accumulation of time.
Russna Kaur’s website, here.
Cooper Cole gallery, here.
Kaur completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Waterloo and a Master of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
Kaur’s work is held in numerous private, corporate and institutional collections including the TD Bank Collection, RBC Art Collection, Desjardin Collection, Audain Art Museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Surrey Art Gallery, and the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art. Kaur lives and works in Mississauga.
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Her work brings to mind my grandmother’s “crazy quilts” — quilts she pieced together from remnants whatever their texture, patterns, colour, and shape; joining them with elaborate stitches in her embroidery silks, rather like kintsugi ceramic repairs except worked with threads on textile scraps not gold on ceramic shards.
Great comparison, your grandmother’s crazy quilts. Love the image. (Apologies re delays in responding. My system has been wonky for a while and comments sometimes don’t come through and then suddenly will appear. Trying to fix)
“wonky” is a good word for tech these days, more & more… the fancier it gets, the wonkier (less sturdy) it is… and then there’s all the dark forces subverting it… OK, that’s my rant for the day!
Wonderful work.