Tucked away in an industrial complex at 1444 Dupont Unit 10 is the Rail Gallery where artist, curator, writer Daivid Liss exhibits his works from 2024 and 2025. This is the first of several exhibitions presented by Collective City showing works of an artist who has contributed so much to the local art community. The exhibition is a follow up to Liss’s earlier show in May – June 2025 at Blouin Division Gallery in Toronto. It continues his series of works in oils, acrylic, watercolour and mixed media.
David Liss in front of his works
The paintings do not represent any particular scene or location. They are landscapes, mostly created in Liss’s backyard which also became his studio. Working in water colours took place inside his house. As Liss says “They reference the earthly and the terrestrial but from a different world. I aspire to conjure atmosphere or ambience – an energy or pulse that resonates poetically within the spirit or the imagination.”
Installation view of David Liss: Land/Mind II
As an art student in Concordia University Liss studied print making and painting in Montreal in the 1980’s. In those days large studio spaces were cheap to rent and Liss got a reputation for creating huge warehouse exhibitions. They were called the NOMAD Exhibitions which moved across Montreal and featured artists who were to make a name for themselves, such as Peter Doig. As word got out of Liss, as a young curator the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts scooped him up and he worked for them between 1995 and 2000. Liss brought a lot of his energy with him and the centre became a hub for the Montreal art scene. MOCA lured him to Toronto, where he became an important figure in the city’s active art community. Departing as an art administrator, Liss has had more time to devote to creating his art though, he is quick to add, he never gave it up. He has thousands of water colour studies, prints and works stored away. He is working toward creating larger pieces on bigger canvases.
David Liss, Untitled, 2025, oil on canvas, 20 x 18 inches
The works in this new exhibit demonstrate Liss’s knowledge of colour and composition. After years of presenting and curating other artists, he has put these recent works on display. There are framed watercolours, mixed media works with spray paint as well as oil paintings depicting landscapes.
David Liss: Untitled, 2021, Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 12inches
Some of my personal favourites were the mixed media works with spray paint, but I was also drawn to the landscapes done with oils.
David Liss: Untitled, 2024, acrylic and enamel spray paint on canvas, 30 x 40 inches
The exhibition is a treat for anyone who enjoys skillful contemporary artworks and no doubt more than a few of these works will find a new home.
David Liss is a practicing artist, an independent curator and writer living in Toronto.
Text and photo: Phil Anderson
*Exhibition information: David Liss, Land/Mind II, September 24 – October 5, 2025, DUPONT RAIL, 1444 Dupont St. Unit 10. Presented by Collective City. Gallery hours: Wednesday – Sunday 12 – 5pm.