Gallery 1C03 is pleased to present The In-Between, an exhibition by local artist Laura Lewis.

Laura Lewis paints larger-than-life portraits of her queer artist friends to explore psychosexuality, gender, vulnerability, melancholy and identity. Her subject-collaborators are comfortable in their bodies -- they command our attention, looking back at us with confidence and poise. Through presentation of The In-Between, the gallery space is given over to queer folx in a tangible way, rendering a diversity of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and challenging antiquated, cis-heteronormative notions of figurative painting. Informed by Lewis’s technical understanding of colour theory, these sensuous works oscillate between broad gestural brushstrokes and finely rendered detail which are metaphors for the construction of identity, conveying a sense of figurative fluctuation or “in-betweenness”.

The planned exhibit program furthers the spirit of collaboration in which Lewis creates her paintings and Gallery 1C03’s intention to offer a safe space in which to affirm and empower 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and build community connections. Featured artists Shaneela Boodoo, Mahlet Cuff, Christina Hajjar, Jessie Jannuska, Julian K. and Malaikah Rang’inya will write brief responses to Lewis’s paintings of them and several of the artists will participate in a public conversation as it relates to representations of queerness and their own creative practices in the local arts community.

In a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ rights are constantly under threat, it is vital that institutions such as university art galleries boldly assert the integral presence of diverse gender identities and expressions in our society and explore the nuance of varied perspectives offered by queer folx. “The In-Between” responds to campus-wide efforts to commit to actions that help foster a university community that is not only inclusive but anti-oppressive.