Toronto-based artist Danika Vandersteen brings together a colourful and eclectic array of painting, found-object, and textile work. Vandersteen creates a compelling and whimsical world populated with people, animals, everyday items, and repeating patterns. Curated by Jill McRae and Andrew Cairns

Through bright colour and pattern, Danika Vandersteen’s work accentuates simple objects, scenes, and characters of everyday life and elevates them to another plane. The waves of her tessellated pieces camouflage details so that a person needs to look closely to discover her surreal layers of insight, tucked into the world she is creating.

These images are augmented by the titles she bestows upon her works, verging on the poetic and adding to the deepening of these layers, found in a space between realism and animation; still images that vibrate with a convivial energy. For Vandersteen, there is an ever-present paradox in presenting feelings, experiences, and observations through an artwork, but in trying to overcome this tension, she finds a deeper understanding of herself and others.

Here Comes a Noble Gull Bearing Excellent News About Your Future, 2017, ink and acrylic on paper. Collection of Natalie Slater