Diaz Contemporary is pleased to present a solo exhibition by leading Canadian painter Elizabeth McIntosh, who has become well-known for her adventures in abstraction. In this new body of characteristically diverse paintings, McIntosh is more direct in her references to the early modernist abstraction and still-life that have long inspired her. Intersections are revealed between the approaches of these early modernists and McIntosh’s practice, such as an appreciation of trial and error, and of the playful development of autonomous works. In dialogue with these early 20th century references, McIntosh expresses her commitment to an abstraction that involves a resistance to a pre-determined motif
Pink Nude refers to the title of a Matisse painting completed in 1935. It is a painting that is well documented for the number of changes made to the composition and placement of the figure during the painting process.
In Pink Nude, McIntosh will introduce a group of small format paintings. This scale, new to McIntosh, has allowed her to work more quickly, thereby emphasizing the experimentation that marks her practice. She commences each painting with an excerpt or passage borrowed from a historical work. This starting point enters into dialogue with subsequent layers and over-painted forms, often becoming completely masked as newfound relationships are revealed. This process of improvisation harkens back to the adventurous and risky early days of abstraction. She endeavors to paint in conversation with these moments in history, here making more perceptible her interest in mining this material and bringing it to new light in her own way.
Elizabeth McIntosh has exhibited widely across Canada. Recent solo exhibitions include Three Oranges at Exercise in Vancouver (2012) and Violet’s Hair at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver (2010-2011). Selected group exhibitions include Enacting Abstraction (2009) and PAINT (2006), both at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Her work is in major public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Vancouver Art Gallery. In 2010 ECU Press, in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts, published a monograph of her work entitled A Good Play. Elizabeth McIntosh lives in Vancouver where she is an Associate Professor at Emily Carr University.
Elizabeth McIntosh, Beginner's Luck, oil on canvas, 20" x 24", 2011
  
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