The department of Art + Design is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Art +
Design faculty member Russell Leng. Leng’s exhibition Thru u is on view at the SAMC Gallery
November 20-December 21, 2024.

This highly personal body of work represents a new direction in Leng’s practice over the past
four years as he’s transitioned from abstraction to figuration. It was during the first months of the
pandemic that human figures first began to appear in Leng’s usually abstract paintings.
As one gazes at these paintings figures emerge from the highly textural surfaces– a hand, a
head, a boot, a figure within a figure. These indistinct and abstract figures surface and dissolve,
intertwine and merge speaking to our fundamental interconnectedness. Leng explains that the paintings “explore where we begin and end in relation to one another” and invite the viewer to
contemplate “the significance of the many subtle connections we share.”

Less representations of actual bodies and more symbolic messenger figures, Leng’s abstracted
bodies gesture to a more gentle and supportive way of being together. Amidst the tensions of
global conflict, domestic politics and rising inequality, Leng’s figures offer a vision of
interconnection and interdependence that is a balm to our contemporary sense of alienation.

Of the exhibition, Gallery Coordinator and faculty member, Alysha Creighton says “I’ve been
watching this body of work develop for several years. I’m so excited to be able to present this
soulful and visually rich body of work at the SAMC Gallery.”

Thru u runs from November 20-December 21, 2024 at the SAMC Gallery on Trinity Western
University’s Langley Campus. The exhibition and events are free and open to the public.

Opening Reception + Artist Talk: November 21, 7:00-8:30pm
Gallery Coffee Break: December 3, 10:30-11:00am

Exhibition Opening hours:
Monday-Thursday 7:45am-11:00pm
Friday 7:45am-6:00pm
Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday 1:30pm-5:00pm
Holiday hours available HERE