- City
- Toronto
- Booth
- Nathan Phillips Square
Booth 22
Freda Tan
I am a Toronto-based painter working primarily with oil paint. I believe the universe is in constant flux and with that constant movement and change, it brings endless possibilities and openings. I call these possibilities "becoming"! I was professionally trained in both life science and visual art, and have a Bsc and BFA from U of T and OCAD. In a way, I was trained to think in both micro and macro aspects and I see things in both abstract and their organic forms. My practice bridges such abstraction and representation through research and the recurring motif of the 5 elements: fire, wood, water, earth and metal. I believe these elements are transitional through line of our existence (my practice as well). There's really no separation of things, and there's always relationships in my paintings. Sometimes they may seem like an odd pair but when we switch perspective and see things in relation to one another, it will all make sense.
I work with a soft handling of paint, and my brushwork allows forms to breathe into one another, letting light and gestural lines carry energy across the surface. This is my way of promoting the power of softness when the reality we live in is already harsh enough. Welcome to my world and I invite you to sense the vibrating energy of matter in motion and to feel the openness of possibility within every moment of becoming.
