Using a unique combination of painting, printmaking and photography to walk a creative line between the figurative and the abstract,
Emily Filler's paintings walk the line between the real and the imaginary. There is a sense of the familiar but also the feeling that you are falling into a dream - flowers act as a departure point to a world that dissolves into abstraction.
She weaves together painting, printmaking and photography in her ‘painterly collages’, bringing together panels of color, meticulous patterning and floral elements. As these processes and elements interlace, they create a hybrid between representation and abstraction, the natural and supernatural.
Living in downtown Toronto, Filler is often influenced by her ritual walk to the studio, where she observes the landscape shift from bustling city life to contemplative residential neighborhoods. Exploring this contrast, the works playfully collate the images and textures from both worlds. Filler’s personal connection to flowers is also at play, as many of the silk-screened images are taken from photographs of blooms and other plant life from her father’s garden, the same garden in which she spent time as a child.
As with all her work, Emily Filler brings these elements together to communicate a sense of joy. Not wishing to present the viewer with a realistic interpretation of the flower, but rather to convey the beauty and the impressions which they leave behind in our memories.
Emily Filler lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), 2005. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Old New Borrowed Blue
October 21 - November 18, 2023 - Newzones Gallery, Calgary, AB
In Season
May 11 - May 23, 2023, Galerie Robertson Ares (at Feheley Fine Arts), Toronto, ON
Wild Flowers
February 18 - March 18, 2022, Lanoue Gallery, Boston, MA
Alternative Arrangements
September 18 - October 10, 2020, Galerie Robertson Ares, Montreal QC
In Bloom
May 9 - June 27, 2020 - Newzones Gallery, Calgary, AB
Garden Party
May 12 - June 23, 2018 - Newzones Gallery, Calgary, AB
Recent Mixed Media Paintings
December 18 - January 28, 2018 - Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Botanica
July 6 - August 1, 2017 - Rebecca Hossack Gallery, New York, NY
Florilegium
February 1-25, 2017 - Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
Flowers From 'A'
April 2 - May 5, 2015 - Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Fresh Blooms
March 5 - March 25, 2015 - Muse Gallery, Toronto, ON
Let Every Flower Bloom
April 2013 – Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Into The Garden
May 4 – May 21, 2012 - Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
A Scattering of Blossoms
May 20 – June 6, 2011 - Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Garden Dream
May 21 – June 9, 2010 - Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
The Garden That you Planted Remains
April 25 – May 6, 2009 – Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Selected Two and Three-Person Exhibitions
Emily Filler and Laura Fayer
February 21 - March 22, 2025, Lanoue Gallery, Boston MA
Managing Flowers
May 13 - June 3, 2022 - Galerie Robertson Ares, Montreal QC Swirl / Press
June 2 - July 5, 2016 - Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Improper Nouns
October 2 - November 4, 2014 - Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Tokens and Mementos
March 6 - April 1, 2014 – Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Selected Group Exhibitions & Art Fairs
San Francisco Art Fair
April 17-20, 2025, Newzones Gallery
Art Toronto
October 24-27, 2024, Galerie Robertson Ares
Plural
April 12-14, 2024, Galerie Robertson Ares
Art Toronto
October 26-29, 2023, Galerie Robertson Ares
Sunscreen - Summer group show
Summer 2023, Newzones Gallery
Plural
April 21-23, 2023, Galerie Robertson Ares
Art Toronto
October 27 - 30, 2022, Galerie Robertson Ares
Foire Papier
August 26 - 28, 2022, Galerie Robertson Ares
Deck The Walls - group show
Nov 27 - Jan 15, 2022, Newzones Gallery
Papier
November 26 - 28, 2021, Galerie Robertson Ares
Art Toronto
October 29 - 31, 2021, Galerie Robertson Ares
Art Toronto
October 28 - Nov 8, 2020, Galerie Robertson Ares
Sunscreen - Summer group show
June 24 - August 28, 2020, Newzones Gallery
LA Art Show
Feb 5-9, 2020, Kahn Gallery
Scope Miami Beach
December 3-8, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Art New York
May 2-5, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Art Market San Francisco
April 25-28, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Scope New York
March 7-10, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Art Palm Springs
Feb 13-17, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Sofa Chicago
October 31-Nov 3, 2019, Kahn Gallery
Market Art + Design Hamptons
July 5-8, 2018, Kahn Gallery
Context New York
May 3-6, 2018, Kahn Gallery
Deck The Walls - group show
Nov 30 - Jan 13, 2018, Newzones Gallery
Holiday Hoopla - group show
Dec 7 - Jan 30, 2018, Sopa Fine Arts
Art Toronto
October 27-30, 2017, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Sunscreen - Summer group show
July 8 - August 26, 2017, Newzones Gallery
Art Market Hamptons
July 6-9, 2017, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art Market San Francisco
April 26-29, 2017, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art On Paper New York
March 2-5, 2017, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art Palm Springs
February 16-19, 2017, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Miami Project
December 1-4, 2016, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art Toronto
October 28-31, 2016, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
The Seattle Art Fair
August 4-7, 2016, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art On Paper New York
March 3-6, 2016, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
SCOPE Miami Beach
December 1-6, 2015, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Miami Project
December 1-6, 2015, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Art Toronto
October 23 - October 26, 2015, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
The Seattle Art Fair
July 30 - August 2, 2015, Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Contemporary Art at Large
June 1 - August 7, 2015 - First Canadian Place Gallery (with Muse Gallery), Toronto, ON
Wrapped in Colour - 10th Anniversary Exhibition
December 4 - January 30, 2014/15, Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Lines of Contradiction
April 3 – April 29, 2014, Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
U8 – 8th Annual Group Show
April 4 – April 14, 2013, Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Newfangled – Group Show
December 2012, Elevation Gallery, Canmore, AB
Fresh Faces – Newzones
July 7 – Aug 25, 2012, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB
U8 – 7th Annual Group Show
April 5 – April 15, 2012, Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, BC
Terence Robert Gallery – Summer Group Show
July 2011-Aug 2011 – Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Toronto International Art Fair
October 28 – 31, 2010 – Toronto ON (with Galerie St-Dizier)
Galerie Saint-Dizier – 15 Year Anniversary Show
October 2010, Montreal QC
Galerie Saint-Dizier - Holiday Show
December 2009, Galerie Saint-Dizier, Montreal, QC
Galerie L’Harmattan - New Works
June 2009-July 2009, Galerie L’Harmattan, Baie St-Paul, QC
Square Foot 2009
August 12 - September 6, 2009, AWOL Gallery, Toronto, ON
Group Show – 7: Sweet Art Gallery
Nov 1 – Dec 28, 2008, Sweet Art Gallery, The Distillery District, Toronto, ON
Terence Robert Gallery (half gallery show) – Emily Filler New Works
April 2008 – Terence Robert Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
July 2008, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, ON
Square Foot 2008
August 8 - September 3, 2008, AWOL Gallery, Toronto, ON
Parts Gallery - Holiday Show
November 29 – December 23, 2007, Parts Gallery, Toronto, ON
New York Art Expo
March 2007, Jacob Javits Center, New York, NY
Artscape Open Studio – 96 Spadina
December 2007, The Darling Building, Toronto, ON
Square Foot 2007
August 10 - September 2, 2007, AWOL Gallery, Toronto, ON
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
July 2007, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, ON
Artscape Open Studio – 96 Spadina
December 2006, The Darling Building, Toronto, ON
Interior Design Show (Canvas Gallery)
February 2006, National Trade Centre, Toronto, ON
BFA On View
May-June 2005, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Languages of Life Art Exhibition
May 2005, Nepean Pointe-Centre, Ottawa, ON
Art! Art! Revolution!
April 2005, Ontario Hall, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Hello My Name is Art
22 March 2005, Tango, Kingston ON
Exposure
March 2005, JDUC, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Building Formation (three-person show)
12 October- 4 November 2004, Union Gallery, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
64 Square Feet
March 2003, JDUC, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Cezanne’s Closet 2003
February 2003, Biosciences Complex, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
EL1061
April 2002, Union Gallery, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
Selected Collections
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi
The Danish Embassy, Ottawa, ON
Xerox Canada
Ms. Sarah Richardson, Toronto, ON
Mr. Alex Lifeson, Toronto, ON
Queen’s University Print Archives, Kingston, ON