Nicole DeBrabandere: In Beautiful Disguise – emerging ceramic artist DeBrabandere's first show at the Alison Smith Gallery.
Using a variety of materials, from majolica to constructed paper, DeBrabandere examines the human impulse to collect and fetishize objects, playfully subverting aesthetic conventions that include kitschy salt shakers, high-end designer goods, and the fine-art trope of the sculptural bust. The works, as quirky and humorous as they are, are executed with sophistication and élan – worthy collectibles in their own right.

Sylvia Tait: Allegories. Fascinated by music and time notations, Sylvia Tait creates unique, moody abstract compositions that are a delight for the senses. Tait's paintings have been exhibited since the 1950's, and are represented in corporate and public collections in Europe, North and South America, and Hong Kong.
Eszter Burghardt: The Wooly Sagas. Eszter Burhgardt is a BC-based artist originally from Budapest, Hungary. Burghardt's method includes immersing herself into any location she travels to, paying close attention to the effects of light, colour, sound and emotion. This method helps her develop wonderfully inspired painted stories about land, sea and sky.

Eamon Mac Mahon: Landlocked. Since 2004, Eamon Mac Mahon has ventured on extended journeys via bush plane deep into the northern Canadian back country, producing stunning aerial photographs depicting the captivating wilderness between lonely settlements. Mac Mahon shows that the north is not an endless expanse of homogenous forest, lakes and tundra, but a breathtaking variety of complex landscapes. Mac Mahon's work has appeared in several publications, and has been exhibited internationally.

Will Gorlitz: new / old / new.
Just as the title indicates, this exhibition at Birch Libralato includes an installation of new works, some revisiting older imagery and others very new.
Do not miss Will Gorlitz's survey exhibition, nowhere if not here, Feb 4-Mar 28, 2010, at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (952 Queen Street West, Toronto). The exhibition, with accompanying catalogue, includes paintings from the past 20 years of Gorlitz's career, as well as an installation of new animal-themed paintings, Always Ready, in the MOCCA Project Room. Organized by the Kitchener | Waterloo Art Gallery, and in partnership with the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, nowhere if not here is a nationally touring exhibition. For more info: www.mocca.ca.

Ed Pien: Vanishing.
Vanishing plays out Ed Pien's fascination with light and shadow, presence and ephemerality. Vanishing celebrates enchantment and imagination while exploring the potentials of paper-cut-based art. The gestures in each piece enact ambiguous narratives, inviting viewers to participate in formulating their own interpretations of the inexplicable while variations of depth of field and movement hint at a cinematic experience, touching on the realm of the uncanny. Continually innovative, Pien combines drawing, digital image manipulation, and diverse materials to his cutouts, evoking dreamlike states and visions.

Denyse Thomasos.

Collector's Special: Historical – Important collection of fine art from historical Canadian artists: Group of Seven, J. W. Beatty, Beaulieu, Brigden, Coburn, Franck, Johnston, Lismer, Mount, Vickers, and more. Original paintings, works on paper, & rare drawings.

Gallery Gevik presents a special exhibition of new works by Sandra Hawkins.

Face Value – Shoot With This collective in collaboration with Andrea Marcus. The Al Green Gallery presents an exhibition of portrait photography by the artists from Shoot With This, an arts-based film mentorship collective in the Jane / Finch community.
Mike Adoma, Jessica Agnew, Marshan Beals, Sarah Bertie, Alex Brazeau, Shelby Brown, Jade Clarke, Cordell Farmer, Jancy Dong, Tanisha Evans, Naura Fathi, Noterlee Johnson, Sean Kanhai, Jade Khiev, Justine Khiev, Marie Kim, Curtis McCleary, Jayson N., Jessica Nguyen, Kim Nguyen, Emmanuel Obuobi Jr., Daniella Palmer-Mark, Danielle Scott, Luxshanaa Sebarajah, Jenny Thich, Ricky Tran, Kevin Williams, Jenny Wu.

Judith Livingston: Compilations. A passion for trees, an obsession with chairs, and a love of collage, all come together in Compilations by Judith Livingston. Images simultaneously appear and disappear into intricate patterns and textural layers, while the familiar, but forgotten, re-emerge for us to reconsider and examine with fresh eyes.

Latow: Burlington Photographers Guild Annual Juried Exhibition. F R Perry Gallery. Coordinator: Brad Isaacs.

Studio 30. The long-standing Cambridge-area artists' group, Studio 30, returns with their annual group exhibition. From landscapes to abstraction, in watercolour, oil and acrylics, the exhibition features new paintings by long-time studio members: Elizabeth Ackford, Maureen Brissett, June Bulmer, Margaret Grapes, Ann Harvey, Dorothy Harvey, Marnie Kelly, Lily Sumiye Lummiss, Lillian MacKenzie, Christine MacLeod, Connie Meyer, Mary Mitchell, Josephine Murphy, Daphne Nicholls, Marion Pearson, Tiina Price, Jill Summerhayes, Elizabeth Wiegand, and Jane Wright.

Ambiguous Geographies: Unearthing the Works of Tony Urquhart.
In the Project Room, François Xavier Saint-Pierre: A Distant Order.