Landmark International Exhibition: The WOMAN Show 2026

September 2026

This week, the doors opened on the WOMAN show 2026, a major international figurative painting exhibition at James Baird Gallery in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland. I am honoured to be included in this landmark exhibition, which brings together almost 100 painters from around the world, presenting approximately 180 works exploring the enduring theme of womanhood.

The James Baird Gallery’s biennial WOMAN exhibition is dedicated exclusively to figurative painting. Now in its 2026 edition, the exhibition brings together a remarkable range of artistic perspectives on women, identity, beauty, individuality and the human experience. The result is a diverse and compelling conversation between artists working across cultures, generations and approaches to figurative painting.

I am especially pleased to have one of my distinctly Canadian figurative paintings included in the exhibition.

A Moment of Contemplation on the West Coast

The painting presents a quiet, intimate moment of contemplation on the West Coast. Seen from behind, a woman sits wrapped in a richly patterned Hudson’s Bay six point blanket, holding a glass of red wine as she looks toward the landscape beyond. Her back is turned to the viewer, creating a sense of privacy and introspection while allowing us to occupy her position and share her view.

The composition moves between interior and exterior spaces. A large green chair anchors the foreground, while the Hudson’s Bay blanket sweeps dramatically across the lower portion of the painting. Its bold bands of red, green, yellow and blue create a distinctly contemporary visual rhythm and immediately connect the figure to a recognizable Canadian visual language.

Beyond the woman, leafy branches frame a misty landscape of forest and distant hills, suggesting the lush, temperate environment of coastal British Columbia. The landscape is present, but it is not the sole subject. Instead, the painting is about the experience of being within a landscape and the emotional relationship we develop with a particular place.

The wine, blanket, chair and expansive view suggest a ritual of slowing down and being present. The figure’s Rückenfigur pose, with her identity deliberately concealed, allows her to become a stand-in for the viewer. We are invited to sit with her, look outward and experience the quiet pause.

This is an idea that has become increasingly important in my work. Rather than approaching landscape as a traditional landscape painter, I am interested in the stories, symbols and human experiences embedded within a place. My figures often become a way of entering the landscape, both physically and emotionally.

The simplified forms, saturated colour and graphic shapes transform an ordinary domestic moment into something more symbolic. The painting becomes less about depicting a specific view and more about inhabiting a place: pausing, looking outward, feeling connected to nature and finding a moment of contemplation at home.

An International Conversation

I am proud to be included alongside such a remarkable roster of artists. Seeing my work presented within an exhibition devoted to figurative painting, and alongside artists from Canada and internationally, is particularly meaningful to me.

The exhibition continues James Baird Gallery’s commitment to bringing together diverse voices and perspectives through contemporary painting. For me, it is also an opportunity to place a distinctly Canadian story within a much larger international conversation about women, identity, place and the human experience.

The WOMAN 2026 exhibition runs at James Baird Gallery in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, until January 2027.

Artists participating in WOMAN 2026

Marie-Ange Hoda Ackad, Kelly Rose Adams, Sophie Adair, Robyn Asquini, Zach Atticus, Kendall Ayoub-Nichols, Adrian Baker, Helene Beland, Federica Belloli, Daniel Brient, Katie Butler, Melisa Calabria, Elena Caravela, Nacho Casteleiro, Ricardo Celma, Antonella Cinelli, Angelina Cortes Funes, Yury Darashkevich, Kirsty Templeton Davidge, April Dawes, Michael De Brito, Olivia Di Gregorio, Manu De May, Stephanie Deshpande, Bernadette Doolan, Elizabeth Dyer, Lola Erhart, Gracia Escarguel, Nanette Fluhr, Rosanna Gaddoni, Isabel Garmon, Caroline Gates, Vincent Giarrano, Vitaly Gunaza, Barbara Hack, Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Angela Hardy, Pippa Hale-Lynch, Heather Horton, Azul Iturri, Caroline Ji, Emma Kalff, Nelly Kazenbroot, Lisa Keay, Saara Knapp, Maya Kulenovic, Christopher Laffin, Julio Alan Lepez, Jacques Léveillé, Corinne Lewis, Susan Lim, Kathrin Longhurst, Diana Carolina Lopez, Keight MacLean, Orlin Mantchev, Kai McCall, Guido Mauas, Josefa Medina, Ximena Montecino, Hernán Javier Muñoz, Marina Nazarova, Tomas Ortolani, Malin Ostlund, Benji Alexander Palus, Alessandro Papetti, Bianca Pirlog, Valentina Porcelli, Linda H Post, Constance Regardsoe, Nadine Robbins, Gwen Roberts, Lu Sakhno, Paula Saneaux, Al Saralis, Brandy Saturley, Daniella Savarese, Nicole Sleeth, Jay Senetchko, Laura Spivak, Matt Talbert, Nic Thurman, Natalia Tomas Segovia, Ivan Troj, Cristina Troufa, Tuesday Troup, Kate Van Doren, Shannon Vaught, Kari Visscher, Sarah Warda, Chenoa Warner, Angelika Weinekötter, Nelson White, Graeme Wilcox, Daniella Williams, Torsten Wolber, Anne-Marie Zanetti and Narelle Zeller.