CANADIAN HOUSE AND HOME Magazine Cover Story
What an honour to have Sarah Richardson connect with my painting and feature it in the entry of her dreamy Georgian Bay cottage!
“House & Home of the Month: Sarah Richardson’s newGeorgian Bay cottage with her signature watery palette”
My painting “Finding the Quiet”
“Finding the Quiet” featured on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Have you seen my painting featured prominently on Season 5, Episode 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale?
New at Koyman Galleries in Ottawa!
Three new paintings now available at Koyman Galleries in Ottawa!
First up for 2024!
A new painting completed and installed in a beautiful mountain home in Telluride, CO. Placed by Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride, CO. (48 x 72in)
SOLD OUT! Exhibition: Slate Gray Gallery Feb 28 -April 2, 2023
Exhibition Slate Gray Gallery – Telluride, CO – ‘Without Reservations,’ a duo exhibition featuring Gina Sarro and Fran Nagy, opens this Thursday at March Art Walk from 5-8pm!
30 x 60in Acrylic on canvas
40 x 90in Triptych – Acrylic on canvas
36 x 72in Acrylic on canvas
40x40in Acrylic on wood
48x48in acrylic on wood
“Places we Share” Spotlight Exhibition Kurbatoff Gallery Oct 21 – Nov 11, 2021
“Places we Share” Spotlight Exhibit at Kurbatoff Gallery
Seven new paintings capture the vastness of the West Coast mountains, trees and lakes. Saturated colours and the use of more geometric shapes and lines contrast with the muted misty blues and greens that envelope the landscape along the coast of BC.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to show this new group of work from Oct 21 – Nov 11, and hope that you will drop by in person to see the exhibit up close and personal!
Visit my “Contact/Representation” page at “http://ginasarro.com/contact”/ to see these new paintings at Kurbatoff Gallery, along with other paintings currently at the gallery!
Surrounded by Silence
Keeping you Near
Etched in my Mind
Alone Together
Just the two of us
Effusion Gallery – Fall Creative Series Oct 8 – 15, 2021
Fall Creative Series: Gina Sarro at Effusion Gallery in Invermere, BC
In these four new paintings, I capture the vastness of the misty mountain air. I use saturated marks of colour to juxtapose the muted blues that are indicative of the high mountain environment.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to show this group of work over the Thanksgiving Weekend Oct 8 – 15 at The Effusion Gallery of Art and Glass in Invermere, BC.
Visit my “Contact/Representation” page at “http://ginasarro.com/contact”/ to see these 4 new paintings at Effusion Gallery, along with other paintings currently at the gallery!
Surrounded by Silence
Standing Still
Reflected Moments
New Gallery Representation!
I am so grateful to be represented by a number of amazing galleries in Canada and the USA!
New representation this year includes: Effusion Art Gallery in Invermere, BC; Kurbatoff Art Gallery on Granville Street in Vancouver, BC; and Koyman Galleries in Ottawa, ON.
You can also see my work at Canvas Gallery in Toronto, ON; The Christopher Hill Gallery in Saint Helen, CA USA.
Visit my “Contact/Representation” page at “http://ginasarro.com/contact”/ to see my work at each gallery!
Koyman Galleries
Kurbatoff Gallery
Artfully.ca – Canada’s newest online Gallery
I’m excited to be a part of Artfully, Canada’s newest online gallery! To view a collection of my work, and the work of other Canadian artists, visit their online gallery at artfully.ca
Art to Make a Difference • Online Auction in support of CLICK
Did you know that 1 in 5 kids live in poverty in Vancouver? I came across this statistic 4 years ago when a friend introduced me to CLICK – Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids. During their yearly fundraising events, I have donated my art to this Vancouver charitable organization, and now more than ever, CLICK needs our help.
Art has a way of lifting spirits, offering calm and a little reprieve from the current situation we are all dealing with. I have donated these 5 paintings to CLICK, and we hope to find homes for all of them! 100% of the proceeds from the online auction will go towards program that assist inner city kids in Vancouver.
Visit CLICK’s auction website at https://www.32auctions.com/CLICKICKW2020/ to make a bid on your favourite! The auction is up until May 31. Together we can make a contribution to help children in our Vancouver community!
Painting #1 “When we meet again”
Painting #2 “Here without you”
Painting #3 “Places we found”
Painting #4 “Quiet reflection”
Painting #5 “Passing time together”
CLICK • Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids
Elissa Cristall Gallery Group Exhibition February & March 2020
Elissa Cristall Gallery Vancouver
Group Exhibition at the Elissa Cristall Gallery in Vancouver
2239 Granville Street (near 7th ave)
Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3G1
604-730-9611
info@CristallGallery.com
www.CristallGallery.com
February through March 2020
2019 Solo Exhibition The Space Gallery Yaletown
Disrupting the Landscape
Private OPENING RECEPTION:
Thursday Oct.3, 2019 5:30 – 9pm
Complimentary tickets through Eventbrite
EXHIBIT HOURS:
Friday Oct.4, 11am-9pm
Saturday Oct.5 11am-9pm
Sunday Oct.6, 11am-5:pm
The SPACE An Art Gallery
1063 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC
“Let mistakes lead to invention”
Long recognized for her Canadian landscapes, Vancouver-based artist Gina Sarro has gradually shifted her paintings further away from literal representation, and closer toward a depiction of the simplified shapes and colours of her imaginary compositions. While her subjects always draw from the physical world—the mountains looming over the West Coast sea, draped in shrouds of cloud and fog—Sarro’s latest body of work pushes further to edit out these elements, depicting them in their simplest form.
In Disrupted, bold gestures of colour intersect with the calm palette of the natural world, interwoven with a delicacy and a force that come together to frame a moment in time. The paintings are not site-specific, but suggest an accumulation of retrieved memories. Areas of Sarro’s canvases portray recognizable elements of nature, while other areas are so abstracted that they suggest the feeling of a painting within a painting. Together, these elements portray a mixture of the objective world and a narrative that plays out in the mind’s eye.
Acknowledging that experiences of nature can be at once elusive and definitive, structured and dispersed, ordered and chaotic, Sarro captures these juxtapositions with abandon and immediacy. Using both brush and palette knife, Sarro pays attention to the instinctive elements that come with experiencing nature, while revising them with restraint. Her landscapes transform into something simultaneously new and familiar, disrupting nature only to return it to us as an abstracted story.
For further information or high resolution images:Please contact Gina Sarro at gina@ginasarro.com or 604-773-1360.
Private viewings of the exhibition are available upon request.
Above image: “Now and then”, 40” x 40” x 1.5”, Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Event Location
THE SPACE
An Art Gallery
1063 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC
THE SPACE grand opening September 14, 2017
2017 – Solo exhibition at THE SPACE GALLERY Vancouver
2017 – Intervals of Time – Press Release
OPENING RECEPTION:
Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017
5:30 – 9pm
EXHIBIT HOURS:
Thursday Oct.12, 11am-9pm
Friday Oct.13, 11am-9:pm
THE SPACE
An Art Gallery
1063 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC
“The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture.”
In her latest exhibition Intervals of Time, Gina Sarro invites us into her meditations on environment, time, and the internal experience.
Sarro’s literal subject is her surroundings. Her acrylic landscapes on panel reflect her journey through homes in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and finally British Columbia. Through her distinct technique, Canadian skies, mountains, lakes and fields evoke both flatness and depth. She uses brush and knife partly to diminish, and partly to layer the paint itself, balancing strong compositional horizontals with rhythmic vertical gestures. Her subdued colours suit the calm stillness of her process, but only to the extent of their disruption by vibrant insertions of geometric lines. This creates a visual conversation that speaks to the deeper intervals of time and experience Sarro is drawing on:
“It’s just me, the paint and canvas; a quiet and intimate interaction allowing me to be true to the act of painting. The intention is to paint unintentionally”
Sarro is looking closely at her own internal landscape, sourcing its connection to our shared human spirit. She seeks the same outside herself as within, layering her attention in pass after pass over each subject. This layering depicts and then reduces, simplifying and even erasing elements towards their essence. There is abandon in Sarro’s willingness to obscure the original visual inspiration, though ultimately she arrives at a mid-point between her outer and inner environment, revealing her care for both. Her paintings give us pause. A moment with both the world and our inner selves; to visit an artist’s journey of refined seeing into both.
For further information or high resolution images:Please contact Gina Sarro at gina@ginasarro.com or 604-773-1360.
Private viewings of the exhibition are available upon request.
Above image: Intervals 1, 36” x 60” x 1.5”, Acrylic on wood panel, 2017
Clicking on a painting enlarges it in a light box allowing you to see more details and inquire about the painting. You can also play a slideshow of the images, and even share them on your favorite social media platform.
Event Location
THE SPACE
An Art Gallery
1063 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC
THE SPACE grand opening September 14, 2017
Greater Vancouver Home Builder’s Association
At the end of June, my work was featured in the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association (GVHBA) Parade of Homes event. The newly built home is located in West Point Grey, Vancouver.
I’ve known the homeowners Scott and Tracey for a few years, and having seen the footer in my emails, they had visited my website and viewed my work on social media. Scott and Tracey had the idea that The Parade of Homes was the perfect opportunity for them to see my work in their home! After walking through their space, we keyed in on the important site lines and talked about the scale, including size and orientation of the paintings that we thought would work for each room/area. We decided that there were seven potential spaces for art. Back in my studio, I chose a combination of my more representational work along with my abstract work to mix up the visual interest, keeping it fresh in each room while bringing a coherency and flow to the space.
When choosing art for a space, many factors come into play. The first priority is to ensure that the piece speaks to the homeowners. If there is no connection between the piece of art and the ones experiencing it every day, then there really is no point. It is essential to ensure the scale of the work is right for each wall and for each space. There has to be an overall balance in terms of size and weight of each piece. Scale is key to ensuring that there is a positive flow to the space. The color and subject of each painting has to work for each room/area of the home. Each piece of art has to complement the finishes, while also taking into account what the room is used for. For example, I recommended paintings that were less saturated in color and ‘dreamy’ or ‘calming’ for the bedroom, and paintings that have a more saturated palette, and were painted allowing texture and movement to dominate, for the great room area, complimenting the high energy space where all the everyday activities take place.
My challenge for Scott and Tracey’s home was to ensure that each room could stand on its own while also allowing my art to offer a sense of continuity to the entire space. The homeowners, homebuilder and I were very pleased with the overall result, and we had a lot of positive feedback at the GVHBA Parade of Homes on the weekend of the open house. After the event, the homeowners asked if they could keep my work for a few weeks, as they had a family gathering planned and wanted to keep the art up. It was wonderful to know that my paintings were really adding to their space and that they seemed to be making a connection with them. The few extra weeks turned into a decision by Scott and Tracey to purchase the collection of paintings! I am so very grateful to Tracey and Scott for their love and support of my work.
Art Auction to support Art Therapy
Thank you to Erica & Chris Mitchell for being the successful bidders on my painting “New Beginnings” at the Allure & Prestige Art Auction hosted by Sherri Cheung. Together we made a wonderful contribution to “Heal our Lives” Art Therapy! Thank you also to Paul Becker for his engaging expertise as auctioneer!
The Art of Giving
Thank you to UBC & VGH Hospital Foundation for featuring me in their January 2016 “Impact” Newsletter!
UBC&VGH Impact Newsletter Jan 2016
https://vghfoundation.ca/stories/the-art-of-giving/
I think a lot of us take our health for granted. But when we don’t have it, or a loved one is sick, we come to know very quickly how important our hospitals are, and appreciate how integral they are to our community. The beauty of life becomes very clear when someone we love is sick, injured or faced with a terminal illness, and we suddenly realize that our health is the only thing that really matters; The getting better, the healing process is the priority. During these times, we need and depend on our hospital, and are counting on the doctors, staff, equipment and the whole facility to do whatever it can to help us or our loved one heal.
I believe it is important for us to support and give back to our hospitals in any way we can, to support this coordinated effort. I am so thankful that VGH has a Gift of Art program, giving artists an opportunity to make a difference and help someone heal. Art can help heal in many different ways:
Lifting the spirits of doctors or staff members as they enter or exit the hospital after a long day of helping people.
It reminds a patient of, or gives them the opportunity to reflect on, a happier moment, and allows them to go to a peaceful place for a few moments. Maybe that feeling stays with them throughout the day or even throughout their stay in the hospital.
It gives a patient a chance for hope, and changes their outlook on their situation.
It may bring a peaceful feeling to a grieving loved one, and change their emotional state.
It could initiate and facilitate a conversation between two people that are grieving together, or between 2 people who have never met; Both are feeling the sadness of a sick loved one, and the painting offers a calm retrieve. Art can bring people together.
Art can indeed help others through a difficult time by helping them heal, and continues to give back to those who experience it. The Gift of Arts program allows me as an artist to give back to my community and to maybe somehow make a difference – I love that!
In the spirit of giving
Mimi Lapointe and Philippe DeSerres
The Black & White Charity Art Auction held last night was a huge success! Hosted by Annie Frind of the Art Affair, the festive night at the Vancouver Club in downtown Vancouver, was a sell-out event! One piece of art from each of 15 featured artists was auctioned off live by Paul Becker of Erik Becker Art.
I am so very grateful to Philippe DeSerres from DeSerres.ca , and Mimi Lapointe for being the successful bidders on my painting! Together we made an amazing donation to the Salvation Army Christmas Food Hamper!
Charity Art Auction
Event: Black & White Charity Art Auction – featuring the art of Salvador Dali & 15 amazing Vancouver Artists
November 19, 2015
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Location: The Vancouver Club Ballroom – 915 W Hastings Street, Vancouver
Live Art Auction: 7:30 pm
I’m excited to be one of 15 artists featured at the annual Black & White Charity Art Auction! There will be an auction of original art and the exhibition of several works available for collectors. This is a great opportunity to add to your collection, as the art will be at an exceptional value, with a large portion of sales donated to a great cause.
Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Salvation Army Christmas Food Hamper. Through The Salvation Army Vancouver Community & Family Services, we can help create a special Christmas for a Vancouver family in need, by raising funds for a hamper complete with a full turkey dinner, as well as gifts for the parents and kids, arriving right to their doorstep!
Headliner: Salvador Dali! Yes, that is correct, thanks to Chali-Rosso Gallery we are extremely fortunate to be exhibiting authentic, museum quality, hand-signed Salvador Dali art, including a rare and highly-collectible bronze statue of the iconic melting clock! If you are a Dali fan, you will certainly be impressed.
Entertainment: Includes a live jazz band, walking magician and other performers.
Attire: Black & White dress is strongly encouraged. Attire is not limited to formal wear, have fun dressing up!
Join our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1766255520268414/
Due to the high demand for this event, we recommend that you purchase your tickets as soon as possible before the event sells out. All ticket sales go directly to the Salvation Army Christmas Food Hamper. Tickets are $40 at the door, or available online at an exclusive 2 for 1 value! Click here to grab your tickets now: https://www.picatic.com/event14453817735231648
#MyInspirationGS Winners
My Inspiration Contest for Vancouver General Hospital has 2 Winners!
In November 2013, I launched an inspiration contest asking my community to help me in creating a painting that I would be donating to the VGH Gifts of Art program. The contest closed Dec. 7, 2013 after I received 20 entries!
The painting titled “Islands of Inspiration” has been installed in the Jim Pattison Pavilion on the exterior wall of the Dialysis area, a procedure which has been generously supported by the Aquilini family. The painting brightens an area that is visible to most patients as they leave their treatment, and to anyone who enters or exits VGH from the Laurel street entrance. After talking with Jim O’Hara – Vice President, Leadership Giving, and upon review of the submissions from my community, the idea for this painting was quickly determined. Jim spoke of the feelings of many of the patients who undergo dialysis treatment, and how they feel parched and crave water following their treatments. I received submissions from two participants that spoke to this feeling of a need for water, and their submissions immediately inspired a painting of our beautiful westcoast! The 13′ painting recalls images and is reminiscent of our experience when traveling to the island, or in and around the West Coast of British Columbia.
It is my hope that this painting, which my community helped to inspire, will continue to give back to all those who experience it, by making a connection that reminds them of a peaceful memorable moment while they were enjoying our beautiful British Columbia landscape.
I am pleased to announce that I have presented Wanda Schalm, and Denise Flood with a reproduction of “Islands of Inspiration” to thank them for their contribution towards the creation of this painting.
Denise Flood
Wanda Schalm
#MyInspirationGS – Thank you for your “inspiration”!
I want to thank all of you who took part and offered your inspiration for the painting I will donate to the Vancouver General Hospital. I also want to say a special thanks to VCH News for helping to promote community involvement.
I am happy to share with you some of the 20 inspirational submissions I received. They range from photographs of nature, children, other paintings to needlepoint and inpirational words.
I now have the pleasure of enjoying all of your wonderful inspirations, and will begin drawing upon them to create the painting that I will be donating. Stay tuned!
Thanks again, and all the best for the holiday season!
gina
P.S. Click on a thumbnail to see the full image and who it was submitted by.
#MyInspirationGS Contest – How to Post
Technology can be confusing, but don’t get discouraged!
I want everyone to be able to help me create a beautiful painting to donate to Vancouver General Hospital so here are instructions on how to post:
Facebook:
1. Log-in to your Facebook profile
2. On the top of the home/newsfeed page, click ‘Add Photos/Videos’
3. Select desired inspirational photo
4. In the comments section, write “#MyInspirationGS”
(don’t forget this step! this is how we will know you posted!)
5. Click ‘Post’
6. Done!
Twitter:
1. Log-in to your Twitter profile
2. On the left-hand side, click on ‘Compose New Tweet’
3. In the comments section, write “#MyInspirationGS”
(don’t forget this step! this is how we will know you posted!)
4. Click the camera icon and select desired inspirational photo
5. Click ‘Tweet’
6. Done!
Instagram:
1. Log-in to your Instagram profile on your smartphone
2. Click the camera icon at the bottom of the screen
3. Take a photo OR select desired photo from your existing camera roll
4. Crop photo as desired
5. Apply filter, if desired, and click ‘Next’
6. Write “#MyInspirationGS” in the description
(don’t forget this step! this is how we will know you posted!)
7. Click ‘Post’
8. Done!
If you still feel confused but would like to post, don’t hesitate to email me for assistance gina@ginasarro.com. Thank you for all of your support. I can’t wait to see what we come up with for this donation!
#MyInspirationGS Contest – Vancouver General Hospital Painting Donation
The gift of a painting to an individual or organization is something that keeps on giving to all individuals who see it and experience it. I feel it is important to give back to my community and support togetherness – which as a Vancouver artist, I am able to do through donations. Past donations include BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, and schools in my neighbourhood.
This December, I will be donating a painting to the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, and I am enlisting the help of my community.
I would like to know… what inspires you?
In many posts I talk about the things that influence my daily life and art. Inspiration can come from a variety of sources, including nature, environments, interactions and relationships, or even the mundane. These experiences are combined and guide my paintings. With the holiday season approaching, and community togetherness in mind, I want to involve others in this VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation donation by using YOUR inspirations!
Post a photo on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram of what inspires YOU and include the hashtag #MyInspirationGS. On December 7th one photo will be chosen as inspiration for the donation painting and one lucky contributor will win a framed, signed print of the donated VGH painting!
To learn how to submit your inspirational photos, please click the link below:
http://ginasarro.com/donations/myinspirationgs-contest-post/
A walk by the ocean (Part 3/3)
I run back to my studio and download the many photos of my walk. I edit them, print them, and tape one up beside me on my easel. Sometimes I paint from this beautiful photo, and sometimes I paint from it many times. It is intoxicatingly inspiring. It seems however, that more and more, I study the photographs and then put them aside to be viewed again and again at a later date. It is the suggestive elements of the walk by the ocean that stick with me. The photograph does not get taped up. I sit at my easel with a blank canvas in front of me and download these mental stimulations, my memories. I let inspiration, intuition, experience and my love of process take form via my paintbrush onto the canvas.
“The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture.”
Vertical Horizons canvas 2
A walk by the ocean (Part 2/3)
I love to travel and experience nature, but the inspiration for many of my paintings comes from a walk by the ocean close to my home. I am blessed to live near the ocean, and each time I visit, I take photographs as if it were the first time I have ever seen it. The atmosphere, colors and light are different each time. The walk at the ocean inspires me because it fills up and replenishes my sensory banks. I can see sky, earth and water all visually interconnected with each other – to me when these 3 essential elements coexist, my paintings find balance; there is an endless spectrum of color, distance, texture, simple organic shapes, pattern, reflections, negative space, and objects such as leaves, birds, wood. Yes, the scenery is gorgeous, and a hundred paintings could be inspired with that alone, but there is more. I am inspired by what I see, but I am as equally inspired by what I don’t see. My mind collects and documents the nonvisible – the intangible. I want to paint what I don’t see – The air sometimes cool and fresh, sometimes warm and humid; the birds, chasing and chirping; the waves washing upon the shore with a calmness; the leaves gently falling; the rain perpendicular to my face (yes this is Vancouver); the simple passing of the landscape as I move in it and throughout it. My body is breathing and my soul is happy – I feel inner peace. I am mentally stimulated – I have a strong urge to be creative. When all is good, when the stresses (real and manufactured) of life are away, if only for a while, then there is inspiration – inspiration to paint.
Jericho Beach, Vancouver BC – Nov. 2013
A walk by the ocean (part 1/3)
The Oxford Dictionary defines inspiration as: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
As a landscape artist, my physical surroundings, the environment where I live, grow, and experience life is my inspiration. My visual observations are the primary inspirations for my paintings, but the intangible is making a stronger presence and is changing the direction of my work.
A painting is a physical object – it consists of a support (a canvas, wooden panel, or piece of paper), and paint. The combination of these two simple items, allow the inspiration of any artist to find a place to exist. But what inspires an artist to apply the paint? How can it be possible that these two simple items create paintings that speak to us all in individual ways, bring out different emotions and even heal us? The physical must intertwine with the emotional.
Jericho Beach, Vancouver BC – Oct. 2013