The Grand Tour
April Cooke-Mackey
Aug 21 - Sept 9 2026
Opening Reception: Aug 21, 5-7pm

The Grand Tour is a celebratory collection of inanimate objects that reside in everyday life. Painted in oils and drawn in ink are momentary captures of objects that are usually overlooked and taken for granted. The exhibition is a grand tour inviting you to meet the “familiar”, find your own relationship with it and what may arise such as feelings of nostalgia, humour, or indifference.

April works primarily in paint, dabbling wildly in subject matter that includes still-life, figurative and most recently landscapes. This show is an exciting reemergence: her love of “home-scape” and still life reborn since moving back home to Salt Spring Island five years ago.

arTherapy — ghosts in the session
Wardroper, Wilding, Wiefelspuett
July 31 - August 19 2026
Opening Reception: July 31, 5-7pm

Ethan Wilding and Shannon Wardroper:

A participatory art installation inviting reflection through embodied experience. We explore how each of us trade pieces of ourselves for the daily conveniences of new technology.

Michael Wall – Recent Photography
July 10th – July 29th 2026
Opening Reception: July 10, 5-7pm

Michael Wall pursues several streams of photographic exploration and expression; among them are street, landscape and studio photography.

This exhibition consists of work carried out during 2026. It revolves around his interest in examining details of our surroundings which we rarely notice. If we observe, with an artist’s eye, the small details of our everyday lives - particularly those integral to the natural world, such as the dried skin of a garlic bulb - we will find a wealth of visually intriguing material.

Michael turns these details into surprisingly stimulating and dramatic images.

Tossed & Found 8
Recycled Materials Group Art Show
June 19- July 8
Opening Reception: June 19, 5 - 7pm

Shirley Command:
Due to its continuous and symmetrical shape, 8 is a universal symbol of infinity, immortality and limitless possibilities.

In the bible 8 represents “new beginning” as it symbolizes resurrection and a new order.

I am very excited to announce the 8th instalment of Tossed & Found, a show I dreamt up in 2015. The shows have been incredibly successful, with many visitors, collectors and positive critiques. The artists are what make the show, using found materials in unique and creative ways to create works of art. 

One Year. One Hundred Paintings.
Matthew Hildebrandt
May 29- June 17
Opening Reception: May 29, 5 - 7pm

Matthew Hildebrandt:

I wasn't trying to paint a hundred paintings in a year. It just happened that way.

Truthfully, I just really, really, really like painting and making art. There is really nothing else that I would rather spend my time and energy on.

When I begin a new piece, I often think to myself, “Let's make the most kick-ass beautiful art the whole damn world has ever seen!” For me, in that creative moment, it is. The letting go into this great stream of creativity, the outpouring of love and heart. The endless combinations of colour and form. The infinite space on an empty canvas. All the little deaths and births and hiccups and stumblings and overcomings and joys. This is the most beautiful thing, and I love it.

So last year, I painted 100 paintings. I painted anything that came to mind. I painted people, landscapes, animals, old buildings, erotic dreams, nude figures, renditions of old historic photos of cool-looking people, memories, and a bunch of modern portraits of some of the many beautiful people in my life.

There was a great freedom in painting like this. I felt like I could paint anything and everything; there was nothing out of bounds, nothing I could not do or try. There is so much joy in this. Just letting myself wander and try, without any thought of what the end goal might be.

Like swimming in the ocean with infinite lung capacity.

I painted 100 paintings in the past year, not because I was trying to. I just really love to paint.

Garry Kaye
OBSERVATION
-Paintings-
May 8 - May 27
Reception: May 8: 5-7pm

Garry Kaye:
All of my images are of places within sight of my house. They reflect my aesthetic response to nature. I am interested in creating depth through colour and texture. My work usually focuses on the unruly aspects of nature that we often overlook. I am drawn to subjects shaped by the human hand, one step removed from the dense woods: the fences I have built, the fruit trees I have planted and the ponds I have dug.

Cheryl Painter
Exploring The Elements Of Nature
Fire, Water, Air & Earth
April 17 - May 6
Reception: April 17, 5-7pm


Cheryl Painter was born and raised in the beautiful Cowichan Valley. From an early age and perhaps due to artistic genes, a career as an artist always seemed to be in the cards for Cheryl. Her post secondary schooling included an introduction to Fine Arts at the University of Victoria followed by a year at the Victoria College of Art. She moved to North Vancouver to attend Capilano University, culminating with a diploma in Graphic design. After a successful career in that field, Cheryl left the graphic design field to focus on raising a family. During that endeavour, she found windows of time to resume what would ultimately be her career calling - painting. Living on the North Shore began to wear thin and so in 2013, she and her family heeded the call to return to their roots on Vancouver Island, specifically in the Cowichan Valley. Here, amidst the area’s pristine beauty, she is constantly inspired by her surroundings.

Cheryl’s most recent works are an exploration of the basic elements. Fire: a series of campfire paintings, full of warmth and West Coast camping memories. Water: works featuring both salt and fresh water, the quintessential West Coast. Air: Cheryl’s brushwork brings alive mist, clouds and windswept fields. Earth: numerous local landscapes

Monuments
Dina González Mascaró
March 27- April 15, 2026
Opening Reception: March 27, 5-7pm

Join us to welcome Dina at Salt Spring Gallery for a much anticipated exhibition of her unique work. 

Dina was born in Argentina where she received her Master of Fine Arts (Sculpture Major) at Universidad Nacional de La Plata and taught Sculpture and Metalwork. In 2000, she won Argentina’s National Art Prize, the Premio Antorchas, and was awarded a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

 In the fall of 2001, Dina came to Vancouver as an artist in residence for one year at the Western Front artist-run-center. Since that time, González Mascaró made Vancouver her home. In 2004, she opened her studio and gallery on Main Street, JewellerBau, which she had for 9 years. 

 From 2020 to 2023 she built her studio on Salt Spring Island, where she now lives and works. Dina González Mascaró is known for her small-scale wearable sculpture art jewelry and as a multimedia artist. 

Remnants
13th Annual She Said Show
March 6- 25, 2026
Opening Reception: March 6, 5-7pm

This is the 13th year that a group of women have come together to create an art show inspired by various subjects, quotes, poetry, and music. Each artist creates her own response to the theme utilizing materials that she chooses to work with. Some of the artists have participated since the very beginning while others have joined at different times.  

This year the women of She Said were inspired by the words of Jack Ravi, a collage and assemblage artist who lives in Scotland:

”The title "Remnants” carries a dual meaning... it refers not only to the materials used but also to the people whose stories are being told.  The old ephemera, found objects, and photographs gets excavated by such a word as someone's life and story. Remnants is an ode to the art of preservation,  both of memories and materials and a testament to the ever evolving nature of art and visual storytelling." 

The theme of this show leaves each artist open to so many possibilities.   We hope that you will come and enjoy the remnants the collective has brought back to life.

Impressions 10
Salt Spring Island Printmakers
Nov 7-26, 2025
Opening Reception: Nov 7, 5 to 7pm

Salt Spring Island Printmakers:

Salt Spring Island Printmakers began printmaking as a small group of Painters Guild members in 2013. While learning and creating over a few years, we gained a few more interested members, created many interesting prints, and thought: “What do we do with all of the prints we have made?”  In 2016 we decided to have our First Impressions show at Salt Spring Island Public Library. It was a great success!

From humble beginnings we have grown to become a society with over 50 members and a fully equipped, professional printmaking studio in the SIMS building in Ganges, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.

Continuing the tradition and being proud to have reached our tenth year of Impressions shows, what better way to celebrate than to have a theme centred on the number 10.

We invite you to come see our members’ prints showcasing the variety of printmaking techniques and ideas that make up our printmaking world.

Cheryl Painter was born and raised in the beautiful Cowichan Valley. From an early age and perhaps due to artistic genes, a career as an artist always seemed to be in the cards for her. Post secondary schooling included an introduction to Fine Arts at the University of Victoria, followed by a year at the Victoria College of Art, then at the Capilano University, with a diploma in Graphic design.

After a successful career, Cheryl left the graphic design industry to raise a family, while also resuming her career as a painter. In 2013 she and her family heeded the call to return to the Cowichan Valley. Amidst the area’s pristine beauty, she is constantly inspired by her surroundings.

Cheryl Painter, on The Sky’s the Limit:

This show is a collection of landscapes based on real places, but exploring a sense of calm and solace. As we deal with the zany politics and turbulence of our times, a retreat to peaceful joy in these paintings can feed the soul.

The title of the show implies that anything is possible, if we can take the glimmer of quiet moments to carry us on.

In celebration of local artists, and in the grand tradition established by the 1863 Salon rejecting the juried process, Salt Spring Gallery of Fine Art in collaboration with SSNAP is proud to present works by Southern Gulf Island artists whose works were not included in the finalist groups of SSNAP in a completely non-juried show.  

This Salon des Refusés will take place at Salt Spring Gallery from September 26 - October 15, running concurrently with the PAS and SSNAP exhibitions.  There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 26, 5-7pm.

Participants: Southern Gulf Island artists not included in the PAS and SSNAP shows will automatically be offered participation in the Salon de Refusés, and will be accepted on a first come, first served basis, until the exhibition space is at capacity.  Salt Spring Gallery, in its sole discretion, determines when capacity has been achieved. Snapp participants have received the invitation via e-mail to indicate their desire to participate in the Salon des Refusés. 

In 1863, artwork rejected by jury of the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris was showcased in the first Salon des Refusés.  This groundbreaking event introduced the public to the emerging avant-garde in painting and created a new line of thinking about what deserved to be seen, and not seen, in the public sphere.  Notable works by Eduard Manet, James Whistler, and Gustave Courbet were included in the exhibition.  “Salon des Refusés” is now used to denote any art exhibition devoted to the display of works rejected by a juried art show.

Although much has changed in the art world since the 19th century, the norms according to which artists are selected for exhibits are still largely defined by curators and juries.

Prize: One prize of a 3-week solo show at Salt Spring Gallery - at a date to be established in 2026 -
will be awarded to one participating artist.  The recipient of this prize will be determined by a representative of SSNAP and the members of Salt Spring Gallery and will be announced on the closing date of the Salon des Refusés.

Stay tune for more info..

Stay tune for more info

Staytuned for more info..

Stay tune for more info..

Sisters Carrying Water
Patricia Rose Williams and Sherry Leigh Williams
March 21 - April 9, 2025
Opening Reception: March 21, 5-7pm

Sherry Leigh Williams and Patricia Rose Williams  are not only sisters but also storytellers embodying a shared journey. This guest artist show delves into themes of translating and remembering, while deeply honoring ancestral history and blood memory.

Sherry's name, “She Who Carries Water for The Brown Bear Clan,” is a gift reflecting her Métis heritage—a lineage woven with French, Irish, Welsh, and profound Indigenous ties. 

The sisters' ancestral journey speaks of resilience in the face of shifting landscapes and relentless displacement. The Williams sisters reflect on these trials, accentuating the struggle for identity and belonging amidst disenfranchisement and the forced assimilation endured by their ancestors in residential schools.

Amidst such trials, beauty endured. Their cultural legacy flourished in the intricate floral art now emblematic of their people.

In conveying these stories, "Sisters Carrying Water" becomes more than an exhibit; it's an ongoing dialogue. The artists assert that true "Truth and Reconciliation" transcends acknowledgment alone—it demands the telling of untold stories, the recording of histories, and the reclamation of both rights and lands. This exhibition invites reflection on ancestry and the ongoing struggle for agency while celebrating the beauty that persists through shared histories.

I Have Been a Thousand Different Women
By the She Said Collective
Feb 28 - March 19, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday Feb 28, 5-7pm

This is the twelfth year that a group of women have come together to exhibit a show based on a theme. Each year the women choose a theme to work from in the medium of their choice, each expressing their own vision of that theme. Past shows by She Said Collective have included: This Is Who I Am, Unwritten Unspoken Unheard, This is A Love Story, and the theme that started it all:  Pieces of Her Story.

Over the years, members from the original group have continued participating but others have moved on, either physically or finding a different focus such as school. Each year another woman asks if they can be part of the next show, and the Collective continues.

This year the theme is from a piece of poetry by Emory Hall entitled: I Have Been A Thousand Different Women. The members of the She Said Collective always hope that their work inspires others to perhaps pick up that paint brush, marker or pencil crayon and explore their own creativity. We hope that you will enjoy the 2025 show.

Small Works
By the Members of Salt Spring Gallery
Nov 29 - Dec 21, 2024
Opening Reception Friday Dec 6, 5- 8pm

Throughout each year, the members of Salt Spring Gallery co-create and maintain a vibrant environment where new works are regularly featured by members and guest artists. The gallery is a valued gathering place where the local community and island visitors can always look forward to finding inspiration and meaningful artwork that enhances the quality of life.

In the spirit of the season upon us, and with holidays around the corner, the gallery will host a collection of small works by the members. This will be the final show before the gallery’s annual winter hibernation. 

Small works often invite the viewer to draw nearer, making this exhibit a perfect way to step into an intimate and reflective time of year in the Northwest.

A special reception will be held in participation with the downtown Ganges Winter Wander.

Impressions 9
Annual Exhibit of Works by SSI Printmakers
Nov 8 - 27, 2024
Opening Reception Sat Nov 9, 5-7pm

Salt Spring Island Printmakers began in 2012 as a small group of dedicated printmakers who planned to meet together once a month to “play” with printmaking.

The Printmakers held their first exhibit “First Impressions” at the SSI Public Library in 2016. Since then, annual “Impressions” exhibits have been held on Salt Spring.

In 2022 the group officially became SSI Printmakers Society, which includes over 60 members. The same year, they also opened up a new studio in the SIMS building where the members share studio space, network with one another, and host workshops.

As with previous exhibits, “Impressions 9” showcases the wide variety of printmaking techniques employed by members, including their traditional mini prints category and 3D works.

Artifacts
Michael Gooblar
Sept 27 - Oct 16
Opening Reception: Friday Sept 27, 5-7pm

After a lengthy hiatus from exhibiting, artist Michael Gooblar re-emerges with photographic documents resulting from a seven year archaeological exploration of contemporary artifacts of the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Artifacts
Nothing is discarded in the Universe, it transforms. Michael Gooblar invites us tthrough photographic archeological explorations to witness and feel the obsolete and its journey normally hidden from the human eye.

In a world where fast speed and endless search for more and more, this exhibit offers a space to slow down and get aquainted with the life that continues its journey without us; enjoy the textures, the edgy  compositions emulating the seemingly random.