Walking past the glass doors of Gagné Contemporary, I was drawn in by the saturated pinks emanating from a pair of paintings. Upon properly viewing the one with an orange glow, I recognized the work of Hayley Chi Hay Chiu, having seen her work in past shows at The Artist Project. The familiar subject with cropped hair appears in a cramped room full of wooden things and windows showcasing vistas. The surreal, distorted perspective of Out of the Shell (2025) made for a curious and fascinating introduction to Invisible String. Within the work, the subject grasps at a doorknob, welcoming viewers into the exhibition.
Installation view of Invisible String at Gagné Contemporary
The work to the immediate left of Out of the Shell is Danielle Vincent’s One and Only (2025). Both paintings focus on the doorknob as their primary subject. Where the knob of the former work is a standard brass sphere, the knob of One and Only is crystal. The light passes through and refracts, creating a prismatic effect in the painting. Crawling along the surface of the knob there is a brown spider and, as one’s gaze follows the spider’s trajectory, a keyhole is spotted.
Danielle Vincent, One and Only, 2025, oil on canvas, 8 x 6 inches (left) and Hayley Chi Hay Chiu, Out of the Shell, 2025, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches (right)
The experience of tracing an element from one work to the next forms the conceptual thread of this exhibition. Curator, Katie Butler’s idea has tethered the works together using the theme. For example, the motif of playing cards surfaces within two works. Daniella Williams, Dinner on Spencer Street (2025) features a cluster of people sharing a meal of pasta in a living room suffused with warm light. They are seated around a table, some in chairs while two others lean over from an olive-coloured couch. Along the surface of the crowded table, small items such as glassware, utensils, and playing cards can be found along with a vase of yellow roses. The painting serves as a snapshot between mouthfuls of tagliatelle. The angled perspective from above allows one to view the striped rug within the living space.
Daniella Williams, Dinner on Spencer Street, 2025, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches
A similar pattern can be found in Brianna Tosswill’s Fool Me Over and Over (2025) where against a flat background there are three figures in jester outfits with ruffled collars. The top figure holds a phone displaying a conversation with ‘Vancouver Guy’, with a text being formed in the reply section. The two figures at the bottom hold playing cards. The left one is the queen of spades, holding a flower and a palm leaf. The right one is a book cover reading ‘A Great Love’ with a couple in formal wear, dancing. The piece encapsulates the nature of early romance— the infatuation with expectations, to encourage desire, and being a fool for love.
Brianna Tosswill, Fool Me Over and Over, 2025, linocut print, 6 layers, printed at SNAP Studio, rubber-based ink on Japanese paper, 20 x 16 inches
The variety of inspiration and the incorporation of many elements is a positive aspect of the exhibition. The hot pink works of Emma Hapner’s The Unicorn Rests in the Garden (2025), and Katie Butler, Continuum (2025) are related. The women’s figures are anatomically correct, depicted in pink, while their hair in each image is the same colour. The unicorn, always considered as a sensitive, shy, young woman, faces us calmly, meditatively and peacefully. Behind her there is an old tapestry she might have stepped out of. The still-life in front of her symbolizes nature and beauty. The three women in Continuum are totally and happily absorbed in painting large canvases also in pink.
Emma Hapner, The Unicorn Rests in the Garden, 2025, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches (left) and Katie Butler, Continuum, 2025, acrylic and oil on canvas, 32 x 40 inches.
Owen Rival’s Bath and Matthew Walton’s Unwanted Visitor both depict male figures in the bathroom. Rival’s figure in the bathtub is peaceful and relaxed, with the dominant colour blue, radiating calmness. Walton’s composition is more dramatic. The bathroom is depicted in pink, while the figures are a kind of green that contrasts it. One man sits in the bathtub, looking rather angrily at the intruding visitor who sits on the toilet. Not a happy moment.
Owen Rival, Bath, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 inches (left), Matthew Walton, Unwanted Visitor, 2025, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, coloured pencil on paper, 29 x 23 inches (right).
Identifying the links between the various images creates an engaging puzzle component within the exhibition. Ultimately, Invisible String proves to be a delightful display.
Text and photo: Rashana Youtzy
*Exhibition information: Invisible String / Group Show, September 24 – October 25, 2025, Gagné Contemporary, 401 Richmond St. W. Lower Level, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 6 pm.