The “BOUNDLESS” art exhibition features a selection of pieces that explore the boundaries and fluidity of the fundamental nature of things.

Pulling inspiration from various elements of their lives, interests, and exploration of existence and the unconscious, the artists showcase their distinctive understandings of the nature of things through both abstract work and thematic expressions.

This Q&A is designed to further explore the elements which give deeper meaning to their works of art, and show appreciation to the artists of “BOUNDLESS”.

Antonia Questions and Answers

A bit about Antonia:

Antonia Furlano is an abstract painter who grew up in the small town of Barrie, Ontario. Her dream was always to move to Toronto, where she now lives, to pursue a career in art. Her passion for creativity began early on in her life, taking drawing and painting lessons throughout her adolescence. She was classically trained in acrylic and watercolour, specializing in realism. She continued her education by pursuing Fine Art in college, where she developed an inquiring mind for abstract and pop art.

While she began as a classical painter, her curiosity has recently led her to explore a variety of techniques and mixed media. She experiments with stencils and spray paint, among other mediums, pushing the boundaries of her art. Over the course of her career, she has worked in several creative positions, such as hair styling, home staging, and interior design, infusing her unique artistic lens into every project.

Q: You mention naming your work after song lyrics. Is there a specific type of song that might be more likely to inspire you artistically speaking, and how do you incorporate this into your work?

A: I love music. My genres are a wide variety. From the classics that I would listen to as a kid, acoustic covers, 90s hip hop, to reggae and euro-dance. Happy songs, sad songs. Music is a big part of the creative process for me, and it really depends on the mood I am in that day. I title my work after song lyrics I was listening to at the time I was working on that specific piece.

Q: Have your experimentations with various mediums and techniques ever surprised you or led you to making something completely different than what you had initially conceptualized?

A: Yes! I still feel as though I’m evolving my style. As a classically trained painter, abstract was so foreign to me. I never knew where to start and when to finish. I might start with one idea in my mind, and then finish in a completely different direction. So much of my work relies on how the paint splatters on the canvas, and how it dries. After it dries, hours, sometimes days go by and I see something totally different from when it first hit the canvas. I am also really drawn to street art and pop art, which is why I use an influence of spray paint stencils and pops of neon.

Colleen Questions and Answers

A bit about Colleen:

Colleen is an abstract artist living in Toronto, Canada. She has always been involved in some form of creative pursuit, and for many years has built a career in visual merchandising. Once Colleen had her daughters, she actively involved them in the arts and encouraged them to be creative.They’ve had more “art days” than she can count. Just over a year ago, Colleen felt a creative void and a strong desire to express and escape through art. Painting was exactly what she needed.

Q: You mention the importance of the initial colour you choose. What is the journey in selecting the first colour? Is it just “flow”, as you put it, or is it more deliberate?

A: The initial colour I choose tends to gravitate towards either earthy tones or cool blues and greens. These two choices are heavily influenced by my love of the lush landscapes of Great Britain (where I spent most of my summers as a kid) and the ocean. Generally, my first colour is planned but what happens next is completely intuitive and flow. The end result of a painting is almost always a surprise to me. There are many times a painting starts off as one colour direction and ends up somewhere very different.

Q: You address how no two people see the same painting the same. Would you hope for there to be a specific takeaway from your art, or do you leave that completely up to the audience’s interpretation?

A: I love the fact that no one “sees” the same painting, especially in regards to abstract. A perfect example is when I show my own family a finished piece, they all see something very different. Some paintings appeal to them more than others. I have always loved buying art from various artists.I’m a big believer in something “speaking to me”. My hope is that my art “speaks to someone” out there and they see what their imagination reveals to them.

Q: Has your intuition ever completely surprised you when leading you throughout your artistic process?

A: My intuition constantly surprises me while painting. Whether it’s the colours I choose, the tools I select or the markings made. When I started my painting journey I was drawn to very watery flows but as you can see from this collection, it is very different. My intuition took me on this journey. I’d love my art to evoke emotions and memories in the viewer. It’s inspiring to see their interpretation.

Rahul Questions and Answers

A bit about Rahul:

A pediatrician by vocation and painter by passion, Rahul was born in India into a highly educated family. Inspired by his family’s dedicated pursuit of knowledge, Rahul continued the tradition by enrolling in medical school. After gaining his medical degree, he began practicing medicine and found his calling in the field of pediatric sciences. His chosen field took him across the globe, allowing him to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

After working in Australia for a number of years, he moved to Canada almost nine years ago. Along with being a practicing physician, Rahul is also an associate professor at Western University and has found a strong avidity for teaching. While his exceptional skills as a doctor and enthusiasm for his profession are made evident by a proven track record, Rahul has a passion for the arts that is boundless and ingrained in his core.

Throughout his academic and medical career, Rahul has carried an innate talent and strong ardor for painting with him. What began as a hobby and creative outlet eventually took the form of professional pursuit of the arts, specifically abstract art. His oeuvre is a reflection of his thoughts and variant emotions, representing his belief in colours being a central part of all living and non-living beings.

Q: You mention having trotted the globe. How do you take inspiration from your travels and incorporate it into your work?

A: Travel is a meaningful way to open your eyes to new practices and ways of making and creating. Different ways of life, beliefs, and values influence one’s creativity. My creations are a reflection of my cultural experience and geographic contexts traveling across the globe, which offers any beholder a sight worth more than what meets the eye.

Q: Your statement mentions enthralling the human psyche. What do you hope for your audience to feel and take away when they see your art?

A: I believe, every colour has a meaning – it speaks of something – and when many colours blend it has a language, a language that has nothing to do with realism or perfectionism. It’s just so powerful, and that is where my art (abstract) is born. I direct these colorful, bold, and boundless abstract languages onto canvas and try to connect to people with an aim to sooth, to heal, to energize, and help them search for inner peace and tranquility, and give life a real meaning.

Q: Your work features very bright colours. What draws you to a brighter palette as opposed to a more muted one?

A: I believe bright colors equate to a state of being full of energy and life. My thoughts and varying emotions represent my belief in bright colours which I feel is a central part of all living beings and non-living objects. I love working with bright, sparkling colors & textures to create bold, vibrant and colorful abstract art.

David’s Response

A bit about David:

David Bastedo is a dynamic Canadian multi-disciplinary artist whose mediums include painting, sculpture, and photography. His lively, often vibrant creations exemplify self-expression and self-discovery, mirroring his personality and life experiences, while encapsulating his youthful spirit, creative curiosity, and pursuit of emotional release. Driven by a love for colour and the delight it evokes, Bastedo challenges himself by continually pushing his boundaries and experimenting with new techniques and motivations which serve as a positive channel within him, promoting his ongoing artistic growth.

After a prominent career in photography and digital art, Bastedo’s return to painting marks a transition to a more tactile experience; a process that is deeply introspective and serves as a reflection and a response to his lived experiences and environment.

During the pandemic, Bastedo sought to re-establish his connection with the analog and sensory nature of art. His creations function both as an outlet and a representation of his personal journey; characterized by continuous evolution and transformation, demonstrating the formidable power of creative expression. As an Artist, Bastedo exhibits his passion and skills, encouraging individuals to stay true to their own interests and appreciate their own journey and sense of artistic adventure.

Q: You mention that you are a multi-disciplinary artist. When working with one medium such as painting, do you ever incorporate your skills and artistic journeys with other mediums into that specific process? How?

A: I like colour. Pinks and greens remind me of my youth. Yellow and orange make me think of my dad. I want to live with colour. It brightens an otherwise dull day. Life is colourful. Full of texture and contrast. I like to bring these elements into my work. My father used words like a surgeon uses a scalpel. You can communicate almost everything with the alphabet and numbers - but not quite. You can do more with numbers than the alphabet - just a zero and a one is all you really need… sometimes I encrypt words into my paintings. I like the idea of hiding something in plain site.

Q: Your statement mentions that you deem a piece of work to be complete when it is able to sufficiently evoke happiness or the mitigation of unpleasant emotions. Can you elaborate on the parameters of this and how this applies across the board to various people?

A: Many of us have anxieties and hang ups, disappointments that follow us through life; economic and social expectations that we cannot seem to live up to, no matter what we do and how hard we try. We lose touch with what is actually important. Our friends and family. The things that bring us joy and contentment. What makes us feel alive. What brings us peace. What calms us. Creating, painting, taking pictures, making things, is what brings me joy. I had always known it, but never acknowledged it. Never found absolute contentment in the things I was doing. I had stopped painting for a long time. I began to paint again as a way to cope with the internal and external forces that were upon me. I paint with passion and love in my heart. My work is really an expression of my heart. An examination of my inner thoughts, confrontation of fears and anxieties. I mostly work in silence. I start with a feeling and match it with a complementary colour and then apply that feeling and idea and the urges that go with it to the canvas. I work in layers. Each layer is an expression of the moment. Sometimes I paint words into a painting. What I am feeling, something that moves me. A question. A fantasy. Often, I will write these words overtop of one another until the individual letters are no longer recognized - enabling me to lift the confines of my own self-judgment. Metaphorically, these become boxes of my secrets. Some layers are drastic. An act of self-destruction. I try to face my fears when I paint. To overcome angst, fear of failure, fear of success even - what is good enough - to push my boundaries, my feeling of safety. Above all else, I paint for joy and to learn about myself and to find happiness and contentment in my daily life.

A work is complete when it no longer bothers me. When I am at peace with it.

Q: What is the artistic inspiration behind your choice of brush strokes?

A: I like to paint in a few different styles. Each requires different rhythms and neurosis. I only use a couple of different sized brushes. I keep them until they fall apart. Sometimes I like to be repetitive. I like the monotony of it. .. reminds me of tree planting which I did out west for five seasons. I like to put a big blob of white paint on the canvas and then use a palette to spread it around. This is both destructive - covering up my work, my words and my thoughts - but also creative - forcing me to reexamine, start again, not give up, overcome a challenge. Sometimes I stare at a painting for a long time before I am moved to make one stroke or addition while at other times, it can flow for hours.

Kirk Questions and Answers

A bit about Kirk:

Kirk Sutherland is a Toronto-based Canadian artist. He has exhibited his work under the representation of many art galleries internationally over the last 30 years. Many of his pieces are included in both private and corporate collections globally.

Sutherland graduated with high honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) in 1991, majoring in Contemporary Art and Drawing and Painting from the Faculty of Experiential Arts. Kirk Sutherland is a renowned colourist who was born with synesthesia. This blending of senses very much enhances his perception of colour and his overall creative

process. Kirk Sutherland is also known for working with the Hollywood Film Industry, creating and designing public art in urban environments and working with the music industry creating album cover designs.

Q: You mention surrendering a degree of control in your art. How does this play into your artistic process?

A: I suppose it's partly an intuitive reality or even an act of spontaneity to a degree. On the other hand, surrendering is also a deliberate and conscious decision I tend to make, for the purposes of not dwelling in the realm of the contrived. Call it my “Higher-Self”, calibrating with the elements and gravity, perhaps.

Q: How do you decide on the colour palettes for your pieces?

A: I was born with a phenomenon called synesthesia. I acknowledge and witness colour uniquely. I have a tendency to crave colours in a very flavourful way. With that being said I am seminally interested in the juxtaposition of colours and illusionary depth within the picture plane.

Q: What do you hope for your audience to take away from your work? What emotions do you wish to inspire in them?

A: Art making is an unilateral act of individuality. With this being said I see great importance in having my art viewed and experienced. For within the realm of freewill each individual perceives and witnesses every aspect of this dimension uniquely. As an artist I have no expectation when it comes to my audience. If anything I create paintings that are void of narrative and dwell metaphysically in the unseen world. It's a paradoxical scenario, but energetically or otherwise I believe art can heal and allow for us to be grounded or dwell in the ethereal sphere.

Liz Questions and Answers

A bit about Liz:

Liz aka Ela, is a self taught abstract artist known for her vibrant & joyful paintings. After experiencing a heart attack in 2018, she turned to painting as a way to ease anxiety and depression.

Inspired by the beauty of the world around her, she creates abstract pieces that are bursting with colour and energy. Her work is a celebration of life, an expression of the joy & resilience of the human spirit.

Q: You seem to heavily favour the colour red in your work. What inspires this choice of palette?

A: I’m inspired by bright colours -- especially red as it is very symbolic of passion, love and life!

Q: There are a lot of square and rectangular shapes in your work. What does this signify and what do you hope for the audience to feel when looking at this?

A: Squares to me symbolize doors or windows. Entryways to another perspective. What’s beyond those doors? What do the windows look at? I’m essentially asking the viewer to look beyond the surface. Beyond the obvious. Ask questions. Be curious.

Q: Your statement mentions celebrating human life, joy, and resilience. Are there any experiences which have particularly inspired you up to this point?

A: Well, the biggest and most powerful experience that led me to this state was of course surviving a “widowmaker” heart attack with barely any symptoms. Nothing can get you to appreciate every little moment in life more so than being on death’s door and being saved. It’s truly humbling. That experience alone fuelled me to start painting, to learn meditation, to become more aware of life and how truly blessed I am. It’s been quite the journey since then!

Iman Questions and Answers

A bit about Iman:

Iman is an abstract painter intrigued by the parallels of communication. Through vibrant color palettes and layers, she captures emotions found within situations of interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. From a line of artists, she uses her diverse cultural backgrounds and degree in communications to story-tell and bridge worlds together.

Q: How do you incorporate your various cultural influences into your artistic process?

A: My background has really inspired me to cultivate my current styles. I’ve felt motivated to continue to reach from what I have seen regarding textures, palettes, shapes and patterns, to create a blend and explore further. It gives me the freedom to create new, especially in terms of my painting styles. Just as individuals have unique sides to them from their backgrounds and influences, I gravitate toward showcasing that in the form of layers.

Q: Can you describe some of the abstract emotions that you wish to encapsulate in your artwork?

A: In the process of painting, I’m drawn toward building narratives and storytelling. I feel that artworks I’ve been drawn to show a perspective I wasn’t previously familiar with and I become connected to after. In my works, “Bittersweet”, “Time Is No Full Circle” and “No Strings”, each share emotions of contentment. Contentment for me may come after more ranging emotions and brings a sense of peace. Painting the feeling of contentment comes with striking a balance on the canvas, and in “No Strings” contentment came from seeing a situation for what it is, which meant more unified shapes on canvas.

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