Beavers in the City
Canada Day
Thursday, 1 July 2004

Meet the artists


Danny Faubert
Artist Statement

As a young and up-and-coming artist with a background in interior design and visual arts, Danny Faubert experiments with bold colours and a graphic style.  His works features vivid urban images and ‘pop art’ inspired portraits which have been on display in both Toronto and Ottawa.  Although Danny was raised in the rural Ottawa area, he is inspired by urban images such as the cityscapes of Toronto where he has resided for the past four years.  Reflecting his life, his style lends itself to a unique contrast between urban and rural living, and his beaver echoes this urban/rural sensibility.

Pedro Isztin
Artist Statement

The work of Pedro Isztin attests to his conviction of the limitless enrichment of the human spirit that is gained when borders are crossed and experiences are shared. Born in 1964 to a Colombian mother and Hungarian father, Pedro has been traveling regularly between Latin America, the United States and Canada, where he was born and raised.

Pedro studied at the Ottawa School of Art, but is mostly self-taught. His work has been exhibited and very well received in galleries and public spaces in Canada and abroad. In the words of one Italian critic, "If analysis with a camera lens is also an analysis of the human spirit, Pedro Isztin has succeeded in drawing, with technique and originality, the profile of his subjects' souls." (Daniela Mascella, Image. Rome, Italy, June/July 1993)

Lois Kapitaniuk
Artist Statement

Lois Kapitaniuk is a Canadian painter and printer whose original artworks reflect her excitement and energy for life. Inspired by the vast array of colour and textures she finds in everyday life, Lois translates these elements into the form of paint on canvas with each brush stroke. The first stroke is placed on the canvas or paper, and every stroke that follows is a reaction to the last. Painting from still life provides Lois with a script, and every finished piece of fine art is a record of the interaction between the artist and her work.

Exploring colour and its power is a major driving force behind Lois’ work. Every person reacts to colour differently, yet viewers of Lois’ work are overwhelmed and entranced by her colour choices. Guiding colour around a canvas with a freedom and ease that only comes from years of study and practice is life-affirming for Lois.

Shanna Steals
Artist Statement

Deeper than Skin: The Anatomy of Our Time

To expose an interior space is to make the invisible, visible.  Like being on the other side of the looking-glass, my works often deals with unveiling and bringing a voice to that which is repressed.  Dealing with issues such as sexuality, gender, cultural otherness and the environment, my work is experimental as it challenges the viewer to confront inescapable actualities as well as subconscious fears.  The idea of resurfacing is at the root of my work; to bring the reality of our condition to the surface is to challenge the realities which need to be faced. 

Deeper than Skin: The Anatomy of Our Time addresses the issues of consumerism, pollution, urbanization and the depletion of our natural resources.  Caught between who we are, who we were, and who we are going to be, my work is a metaphor for the malaise of our time and the voice of a new generation.

Vivien Tytor
Artist Statement

Allusions to Music

Music inspires me to paint, and in this series of photographs I combined my paintings with the subject, a borrowed musical instrument, and used the properties of iridescent paint and refracted light prisms to create auras and expand on the illusion of liquidity. As a musician draws from the instrument its capacity to produce wonderful sound, I expand on the instrument’s intrinsic aesthetic beauty and give it another expression in a visual realm. I was struck by the craftsmanship and beauty of the instrument and combined it with the colours present in my paintings to create photographs that are both surreal and abstract. These photographs are not about documenting the instrument, but investigating its nature and interpreting visually the elements of music. I have shown that photography can be used in a “painterly” manner as a form of image making. For me the camera is just another tool in the creative process. The accuracy and reality of photography is called into question. Like music, the forms are blurred at the edges sometimes, and at other times clear. As in music, the shapes undulate and echo to create harmony.