Heat flow, 2022

About the artwork

In the painting Heat flow, Kaur draws on her background in design and biology, as well as her life experience and identity as a woman of colour, to create a vibrant abstract work intended to initiate a dialogue with her viewers.

“My paintings are kind of made of fragments, and I think of my life as fragments too, as very specific, different experiences, and painting becomes a way for me to piece all of them together. If you take the time to reflect back on your life there’s that common thread or line – an underlying thing that’s holding it together.”

Russna Kaur

1991

Kaur's works are developed through rigorous investigations of colour, digital sketches and experimentation with mixed media, often exploring how the surface of a painting can reveal a narrative that addresses complex personal and cultural histories.

Russna Kaur (b. 1991, Brampton, Ontario) is a painter currently living and working in Richmond, British Columbia. Kaur completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Waterloo in 2013 and a Master of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2019. Kaur is the recipient of the Takao Tanabe Painting Prize, 2020 and the IDEA Art Award, 2020. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Burrard Arts Foundation in Vancouver and received the Centrum Emerging Artist Residency in Port Townsend, Washington.

Kaur has exhibited works nationally at institutions including the Remai Modern in 2023, Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, and Kamloops Art Gallery. Kaur has an upcoming exhibition at the Audain Art Museum in 2024. She was commissioned to create work for the Boren Banner Series at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA and has shown internationally in Mumbai, India. Kaur’s work is held in numerous collections including the RBC Art Collection, Audain Art Museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Surrey Art Gallery, and the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art.

Curated by

Nina Kim

About

Nina has worked in the art sector for over 20 years. She has worked with major galleries and auction houses such as Sotheby's and Heffel. As an art advisor, she has managed major private and corporate art collections, including that of the Chairman of Thomson Reuters.