Vivid Encounters | Ten Yetman & Bîstyek

28 April – 16 July 2023 | Painting workshop by Ten Yetman 31 May. See below for details.

Opening reception 6-8pm, Thursday 27 April 2023.

What stories do you tell about yourself? Do you have a particular anecdote that comes up when you’re getting to know someone? Are there one or two tales that all your friends know? Which stories have you shared with strangers? We create narratives to understand who we are and how we came to be that way, as well as to describe ourselves to other people.

In this exhibition, Ten Yetman and Bîstyek’s paintings prompt us to think about how stories shape what we see. Yetman’s maximalist works are packed with effervescent landscapes and freaky beings, plunging viewers into her strange and seductive scenes. Bîstyek portrays psychological complexity using simple, bold lines, text, and blocks of bright colours; his large paintings convey a monumental irrefutability. While Yetman invites us into her world, Bîstyek asks us to bear witness.

Curated by hannah_g

Click here for a PDF of the exhibition essay by hannah_g

Painting workshop: Wednesday 31 May, in-person at GBG.

Ten Yetman will share the process for making her paintings and then participants will paint their own landscapes with monsters and creatures!

Book your place with [email protected].

Artist Biographies

Ten Yetman is a visual artist born in Winnipeg, Canada. After attending the Fine Arts Program at the University of Manitoba (2004-2009) she spent many years living in Mexico City and afterwards in Nagoya, Japan teaching art classes and exhibiting her work. Heavily influenced by her experiences abroad, her work explores cultural and historical expressions of death and immortality. After moving back to Canada in 2013 she has been continuing to paint and exhibit work in Canada and the United States. Ten will be exhibiting paintings in the upcoming show “Feral” at Trash Lamb Gallery in San Diego and “Pause” at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia- both opening on May 19, 2023.

Bîstyek is a Canadian self-taught visual artist based in Winnipeg. Bîstyek was born in Syria from a Kurdish family and arrives in Canada as a refugee in 2017. Bîstyek’s style is dramatic, angular, flashes of memories captured in unsettling shapes and sometimes saturated colour. His pieces are heavily influenced by his personal life and experiences.