Bittersweet, 30" x 30"

Acrylic on Wood Panel + Resin Coat. 

30" x 30" x 1.5"

"TS Eliot said that April is the cruellest month breeding lilacs out of a dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Can we talk about August? For me August is the bittersweet month, holding on to summer as the days slowly get shorter and the mornings grow crisp. I feel the anticipation of scheduling and school starts and the quickening rush of days and productivity. I want to hit pause and listen to the cicadas in the trees and not let it come. Not just yet. I painted this during the height of August and feeling the ache of the sweetness of summer coming to a close. Inspired by warm summer nights walking to the pond near my home, listening to sounds of the city and feeling alive.

My work is a reflection of how I live and look at the world. I am drawn to beauty and put myself in its path. I look for beauty everyday because through this recognition of beauty I feel my connection to the divine. I see beauty as a language that everyone understands and responds to. While creating, I am asking questions: Does the world embody beautiful ideas, can we be soothed by the cycle of the seasons? Being aware of this cycle can we come into rhythm in our own lives? My work is an invitation to ponder the question of the value of beauty in this present time with all the conflicts and division and yet, love and possibility. 

Dynamic movement, luscious paint application and delicate line work are recognizable elements my work. I have always found possibilities slightly more interesting than facts. The mystery of being alive never leaves me and the wonder of being on the edge of all that I don’t know leaves me dazzled and curious. All the beauty and all the suffering we live through, all the sunsets and starry skies are contained within. These pieces are portals into wonder and possibility, maybe puzzles that are slightly unsolved. Moving back and forth across the continent pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to grapple with my identity as a mother, an artist and a lover of beauty."

Synnöve Seidman is Canadian mixed media artist, born in Toronto. In the past decade she has lived in Ontario, British Columbia and currently lives in Montreal, Quebec. She is known for embracing colour, femininity and maximalism in her compositions that mesh abstraction and illustration. Synnöve studied art history and philosophy at the University of Toronto but considers her current work to be self taught. Synnöve has exhibited in public and commercial settings in BC and Ontario. She has participated in group shows and art fairs in Canada and the US. Her work has sold to collectors worldwide.