Billie Rae Busby is an award-winning contemporary visual artist who creates abstract paintings of the Canadian landscape. She uses a precise hard-edge technique and colour theory to reinvent her surroundings. Her paintings evoke wonder and possibility by depicting mood, memory, movement, connection and time.
Billie Rae was born and raised in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and educated at the University of Saskatchewan (B.A. Studio Art ’98). Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada since 1999, she is inspired by both the complexity of urban architecture and the vast rural landscape. She strives to interpret ordinary places in a fresh, new context.
Since 2007, her abstract works have been exhibited across Canada and have been acquired by several collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Her works are part of the prestigious art collection in Canada House in London, England. Two of her original works were designed into custom, hand-tufted carpets for the Laurier Room and Alberta Room in Canada House.
In 2021, she completed a public mural project with BUMP (Beltline Urban Mural Projects) in Calgary and an artist residency at the renowned Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Artist Statement:
I experience a paradoxcial attraction for both rural and urban scapes. I am stirred by the sharp, significant lines that construct both places. My quest is to find balance in the void of the solitude in nature and the visual complexity of the modern city.
By using a hard-edge painting technique, my abstract landscapes depict wonder and possibility, along with movement, mood, memory and time.
I paint hard, crisp edges by masking off areas and adding smooth layers with a palette knife and brushes through control and precision. By varying the size of lines and angles on the canvas, I can manipulate the space and accentuate the vastness of the flat area.
Through each painting, I feel more connected to who I am and my surroundings. These paintings are abstracted landscapes. The process involves the opposition of strong, decisive marks to form a vaguely familiar location. I experience great anticipation to see and interpret ordinary places in a fresh, new context.
See Me Through This | New works in acrylics by Billie Rae Busby
April 30th - May 28th, 2022
