This week, we’re exploring the works of Vesa Peltonen, Marilyn Nelson, and Liza Montgomery. All three of these artists create two-dimensional works using paint and mixed media, with varying degrees of abstraction and figuration, and varying applications of colour and shadow. 

Vesa Peltonen

The Path Less Taken

Vesa Peltonen is a Canadian artist who works in a bright abstracted style, with works that often suggest photographs that have been heavily digitally manipulated. The artist’s bright, bold colour schemes and abstract geometric compositions light up a variety of spaces. 

Marilyn Nelson

Good to be Alive Today, oil on canvas

Marilyn Nelson is an abstract painter and mixed media artist who works in a high-contrast style. Many of the artist’s works utilize dark backgrounds and large strokes of bright colour, sometimes incorporating other striking visual elements like text. Though the imagery is purely abstract, there’s often a deeper conceptual narrative behind the works. 

Liza Montgomery

Women in Marquee Lights: Avital, oil and mixed media on wood panel

Liza Montgomery creates mixed media paintings that deal with the various masks and personas that we wear -- both literally and figuratively -- in different spaces and interactions. The artist’s works tend to feature female figures, with different areas of the painting worked to different levels, creating a sense of temporality or unfinished business.