Sprinkle Junkie, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 183 x 152 cm

Googly Eyes, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 61 x 56 cm

Day Glo Daydream, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 165 x 152 cm

Smell Ya Later, 2016, inkjet with mixed media, 152 x 112 cm

Hot Night Out, 2016, inkjet with mixed media, 152 x 112 cm

Plastic Bangles

Rachel Vanderzwet

November 11 to December 10, 2016

Approaching her practice with curiosity and a desire to explore the complexity and allure of contemporary visual culture, Vanderzwet is drawn to source imagery often fraught with what she terms “bubble gum” qualities. Her work is bright and cheeky, loud and alluring, energetic and humorous, but it never loses touch with the quotidian and familiar. The surfaces of her paintings and large scale mediated collages flirt with the edges of recognition, engaging in a playful negotiation of material, composition and subject matter which is sometimes fully realized and at other times falls into abstraction. Vanderzwet’s layered compositions offer the viewer the possibility of untangling her unabashed and engaging surfaces while simultaneously creating further intrigue through her sure-handed manipulation of colour, material and form.

Rachel Vanderzwet has an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of Victoria as well as a BFA from University of Guelph and a Diploma in Graphic Design and Art Fundamentals from Niagara College. She has shown nationally in Toronto, Halifax, Guelph, Victoria and Vancouver and regularly exhibits with Robert Lynds Gallery in Vancouver.