Open Studio

💥Hot off the press💥 Visit us at 401 Richmond St. West, Suite 104, to get your FREE copy!

We are delighted to be featured in the Summer 2026 issue of 401 Update, a quarterly printed newsletter documenting the people and spaces that make 401 Richmond a unique artistic hub.

The tenant profile highlights Open Studio’s mission to promote contemporary printmaking, along with interviews with our current staff who are keeping things up and running! 🏃‍♀️

Big thanks to 401 Richmond Street West! Read the online copy here: https://401richmond.com/newsletters/

MAIN GALLERY
Defiant Memory
Sylvat Aziz

Sylvat Aziz’s work engages with the political, social, and cultural forces that shape contemporary life and social interactions. It explores how structures of illegitimate power influence cultural memory and identity, and lay waste to the continuity of ways of life. Rather than presenting singular or dogmatic images, the work remains open to multiple interpretations, holding ambiguity and nuance at its center.

Through layered visual strategies, fragmentation, and narrative allusion, the images reflect on the fragile spaces where generational memory persists despite deliberate and systemic oppression. The work concerns itself with the erosion of cultural capital and the destabilization of traditions and knowledge systems under conditions of domination, extraction, and displacement.

By foregrounding vulnerability, resilience, and shared humanity, ‘Defiant Memory’ invites reflection on the ethical and human consequences of unchecked power and its absence of accountability.

The exhibition is on display at Open Studio, Suite 104 at 401 Richmond Street West until August 1, 2026.

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Dan Olsen. Dan Olsen, born Dan Bogh Olsen (22 March, 1955 – 29 May, 2026), was a printmaker and a longstanding presence in Toronto’s print community. He earned his BFA (Spec. Hons.) from York University’s Visual Arts Department in 1979 and spent many years there as a Studio Technician, supporting generations of students in their practice. He was also an exhibiting artist in his own right, contributing work to group exhibitions alongside fellow York alumni as recently as 2010. He was known as a gentle soul who lived a full and fruitful life, and is survived by his sister Penny.

We recently received some of his tools, and one in particular stands out: the mezzotint rocker featured here, engraved with his name. It is a quiet testament to a dedicated career and a genuine love of the craft.

We will be passing this tool on to the Artist Studio, which held its inaugural opening on June 4th in the very space where Dan worked. His memory lives on in the press that remains there, and we are glad to see the Artist Studio carry forward the spirit of supporting artists in that place.

Dan is in our thoughts 🫶. If you would like to share a message or memory, please visit: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/thornhill-on/dan-olsen-12908675

What a wonderful night! Thank you to everyone who came out to our opening reception yesterday, May 29. It was a pleasure to experience such insightful artwork and share many meaningful conversations. The exhibitions will remain on view until August 1, 2026. 🎉 Congrats to the artists!

MAIN GALLERY
Defiant Memory
Sylvat Aziz

PROJECT SPACE
Refraction: Translations of Japanese Landscape
Fumiko Goto, Fuki Hamada, and Yoshie Uchida
Guest Curated by Derek Michael Besant

PROOFS & PROCESS VITRINES
Jenn Law
Mohammad Tabesh

📍Open Studio, Suite 104 at 401 Richmond Street West