Canadian artist Carol Kavish’s work deals with emotional states and their expression. Rather than trying to communicate a message or scene through her work, she instead uses the canvas as a vessel for channeling how she is feeling when she can’t quite find the proper words. As such, the act of painting for her, similar to the way music functions, becomes a deeply personal therapeutic outlet which transcends language, and the works themselves become an abstract means for connecting with or touching a viewer who may be in a similar state of mind.

Not wanting any constraints when attempting to express emotions in their full capacity, Kavish works at a larger scale, layering heavily and building up the surface in a way that reflects how complicated and interwoven real emotions are. At the same time, she creates exquisite textures on her surfaces that constantly affirm the underlying tactility of a painting as a physical object with a presence and effectively give her communicated emotions that undeniable presence to the viewer.