BRATSA BONIFACHO

Internationally recognized, Vancouver-based artist Bratsa Bonifacho explores tensions in contemporary digital society, politics, memory and art. He states, "I communicate and express essentially non-verbal thoughts and emotions abstractly, within the discipline of formalism - through colour and shape, gesture and surface."
Bonifacho’s abstract works are heavily textured and deep with layers of vivid colour. His paintings can be found in private, corporate, and public collections across Canada and around the world.The first paintings to gain Bonifacho critical acclaim in Canada were the Blackboards series produced between 1978 and 1982. The series features racing greyhounds, targets, pop culture symbols (e.g. Marilyn Monroe) and/or American flags in sometimes unexpected juxtapositions.

Always fascinated with language, Bonifacho’s painting titles from the earliest days feature word play. He also mischievously embeds words from various languages in his paintings.

LILIAN BROCA

Vancouver artistLilian Broca received a BFA, (Concordia University, Montreal) and a MFA degree, (Pratt Institute, New York). In a career spanning over thirty years, her work has been featured in more than sixty exhibitions in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Celebrated for her spirited exploration of contemporary societal issues in a variety of media, Broca draws on historical iconography, legends, and popular myths. Among many distinctions, Broca was the subject of a retrospective exhibitionat the Frye Art Museum in Seattle in 2001 and was invited to exhibit at the 2003 Florence Biennale International Exhibition, where her mosaics won the covetedLorenzo il Magnifico Gold Medalin the mixed media category. 

Two art publications on contemporary mosaics in which Broca is featured were released in 2010: Tiffany Studios' Techniques Inspiration for Today's Artists and Mosaic Fine Art Portraits. A one hour made for TV documentary on Broca’s art and life The Revealed: The Queen Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca, aired on CBC.  Selected in 5 international film festivals, it won Best Documentary Award in San Pedro International Film Festival, LA. Two solo mosaic exhibitions are scheduled, one in Vancouver in 2015, another in Toronto in 2016.

JANICE ROBERTSON, SFCA

Janice Robertson launched her professional artist career in 1989. She has received many awards including the Foreign Award in the Houston Watercolor Society’s Exhibition in Texas in 2004, the William and Margaret Foley Award in the Adirondacks National Exhibition of Watercolors in 2008, and she has won the Bronze Medal three times in the Federation of Canadian Artists Annual Signature Members exhibition. Robertson is a Signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Landscape Artists International, the Northwest Watercolor Society and Artists for Conservation. She was elected as an Artist in Residence at the annual Painters at Painters event in Campbell River BC in 2004. Robertson served as President of the Federation of Canadian Artists from 1999 to 2001. She is listed in Who’s Who in Canada and her paintings are in collections through the world. Robertson’s work is largely a reflection of her abiding love for the beauty of the west coast forests and beaches that she has known all her life. Her attachment to her home and garden are represented in her still-life paintings. She works in acrylic, watercolor and oil, and her work is represented by galleries in Vancouver, Whistler, Sidney, Fort Langley, Kelowna and Mexico.