Working Proof

Leslie J. Fawkes (b. January 29, 1963, Vancouver), an artist hailing from North Vancouver, embarked on her artistic journey in the early 1980s at Emily Carr College of Art and Design on Granville Island. Fawkes' portfolio is distinguished by its bold and bright aesthetic, characterized by a striking use of screen printing, acrylic painting on paper, and oil stick drawings on paper. Her art prominently features nude singular figures, couples, and male/female forms, presented with a compelling combination of sensitivity and boldness. Previously, Fawkes' art has been exhibited and represented by galleries such as Crown Galleries and Onley Gallery in Vancouver, as well as Marianne Partlow Gallery in Washington state.

Susan Gransby (b. 1947, London, England) is a Canadian printmaker based in Burnaby, British Columbia. She immigrated to Canada with her family as a child and later earned a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of British Columbia in 1969, followed by an Honours Diploma in Printmaking from the Vancouver School of Art in 1979. Before dedicating herself fully to her art practice, Gransby worked as a reporter, copy editor, and assistant art editor at the Vancouver Sun. In 1983 she began working at the Malaspina Printmakers Studio, where she has also served on the board, and she has been a trustee of the Burnaby Art Gallery. Gransby works primarily in etching, reduction linocut, monotype, and mixed media. Her practice centres on urban and industrial architecture, filtering observed structures through memory and imagination. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is held in numerous public and corporate collections, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada Council Art Bank, Burnaby Art Gallery, and Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC).

Libby Hague (b. 1950, St. Thomas, Ontario) is a Canadian visual artist based in Toronto, known for her innovative work in printmaking and immersive installations. She holds a BFA (Honours) from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) and is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA). Hague is also affiliated with Open Studio, a Toronto-based printmaking cooperative. Hague has exhibited extensively across Canada and internationally. Notable exhibitions include The Past is Never Over, a retrospective at the Art Gallery of Mississauga; Every Heart Can Grow Bigger: Make Room at O.D.D. Gallery in Dawson City, Yukon; and On This Wondrous Sea at the Karachi Biennale in Pakistan. In addition to her artistic endeavors, Hague has contributed to the academic community as a printmaking instructor at Sheridan College from 1988 to 2002. Her work is represented in several public collections, including the Donovan Collection at the University of Toronto.

Anna Wong (1930-2013) was born and raised in Chinatown in Vancouver, BC. In her early twenties, Wong worked at her family’s business, Modernize Tailors. After studying Chinese brush painting in Hong Kong and graduating from the Vancouver School of Art with a degree in creative printmaking, she continued on to study and teach at the Pratt Graphics Center in New York City. In the 1960’s her original prints received several international prizes. She has represented Canada in a number of international print biennials, and was featured in a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery of China in Beijing in 1979.

Joshua Segun-Lean is a writer, curator, and editor. His writing has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Frieze, C Magazine, and elsewhere. He is the author of Do Not Send Me Out Among Strangers. Segun-Lean holds a MA in Contemporary Arts from Simon Fraser University.