Silke Otto Knapp’s Stage (north and south), 2012. Photo: Camden Arts Centre

Exhibition of 29 paintings to include portraits of pioneering female artists Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Carr and Florine Stettheimer, as well as landscapes, seascapes and scenes of avant-garde set designs

TORONTO — The emotive and unconventional watercolours of Los Angeles–based, German-born painter Silke Otto-Knapp (b. 1970) come to Toronto this spring with Land lies in water , an exhibition of 29 paintings. Renowned for her complex and delicate landscapes, Otto-Knapp has never had a major solo show in Toronto until now. Opening at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on Feb.14, 2015 , Land lies in water explores the diversity of Otto-Knapp’s current subject matter, featuring works that portray pioneering women artists, modern dancers, interiors, landscapes, seascapes and avant-garde stage designs.

Working mostly in shades of black, grey and silver, Otto-Knapp’s largely monochrome works are studies in the use of light and translucency. Unlike traditional watercolourists, Otto-Knapp paints on canvas and linen, which allows her to repeatedly wash away layers of paint and rebuild them, lending her delicate images a distinctive flatness and luminosity. Every image is carefully choreographed, and Otto-Knapp’s subjects range from barren ocean seascapes to sharply defined silhouettes of modern dancers.

Otto-Knapp will give a free public talk at the AGO on March 18, 2015, in Jackman Hall at 5:30 p.m. This will be followed by a free public reception from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in Walker Court to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. Performing at the opening reception will be artist Ei Arakawa’s collaboration with New York based Hawaiian dance team Hālau Hula O Na Mele ‘Āina O Hawai’i (led by the native Hawaiian Luana Haraguchi). They will perform traditional hula (Kahiko) in Walker Court beginning at 7 p.m., telling stories of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, Pele. Otto-Knapp and Arakawa are frequent collaborators.