25 February to 24 March 2016
Opening Thursday 25 February from 6 to 8 pm

Castro, Dorion, Kline

Diaz Contemporary is pleased to present an exhibition of abstract paintings by gallery artists Francisco Castro, Pierre Dorion and Chris Kline. Opening February 25 from 6-8pm and on view until March 24, the exhibition will feature a selection of works that highlight singular approaches to geometry, surface, colour, and light. Francisco Castro, one of Mexico’s foremost contemporary painters, produces affecting acrylic works akin to geometric tapestries. Castro’s strong formal arrangements of colour, texture, and line, are balanced with a subtle looseness that equally communicates both flatness and depth. With a similar close attention to surface, Montreal artist Pierre Dorion examines the intimate and nuanced relationship between photography, light and architectural spaces. Dorion’s canvases are smooth and exact, depicting luminous planes of colour that connect to the physicality of their photographic source imagery. Also based in Montreal, Chris Kline uses paint, canvas and support as his materials for painting. Kline’s quiet, minimal monochromes use translucency and geometry to investigate the limitations of the surface and celebrate the seductive visual qualities that only painting can provide.

Francisco Castro (born Mexico City 1954, based in Mexico City) studied painting at Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado La Esmeralda in Mexico City (1975-1979). He has exhibited extensively throughout North America, with solo shows at Gebert Contemporary in Santa Fe, Howard Scott Gallery in New York City and Diaz Contemporary in Toronto. His work is held in many public and private collections including: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (New York), San Antonio Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (Mexico City), Museo Rufino Tamayo (Mexico City) and the Jumex Collection (Mexico City).

Pierre Dorion (born Ottawa 1959, based in Montreal) completed his Bachelor in Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa in 1981. Solo exhibitions include: Pierre Dorion, Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal, 2012; Pierre Dorion: Peinture et photographie, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 2010; Solo: La peinture de Pierre Dorion, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Galerie d’art Leonard et Bina Ellen de l’Université Concordia, and Galerie d’art du Centre culturel de l’Université de Sherbrooke, 2003. Pierre Dorion, Art Gallery of York University, 1995. Recent group exhibitions include: 6th International Beijing Biennale, 2015; À ciel ouvert. Le Nouveau Pleinairisme, Musée National des beaux-arts du Québec, 2012.

Chris Kline (born Oshawa 1973, based in Montreal) attended Queen’s University (B.A. Honors) and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Recent exhibitions include: 3 x 2 Burnham, Kline, Lachance, Galerie René Blouin, 2015; Chris Kline: Bright Limit, Oakville Galleries and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 2012; Quebec Triennial, 2011. Kline has been a semifinalist in the RBC Painting Competition, and long-listed for the Sobey Art Award. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax); Oakville Galleries (Oakville, ON); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (Montreal); and Musée d’art de Joliette (Joliette, QC).