Russell J Leng, MFA

Sessional Assistant Professor of Art + Design
I develop and facilitate inclusive learning spaces to explore the generative potential of Contemporary Art. As an Art + Design instructor at TWU, I have the privilege of coming alongside students to develop skills, concepts, and personal voice through making.

Russell Leng is an artist making and working in the Fraser Valley, on the traditional ancestral unceded territory of the Stó:lō people. His art practice materializes at the boundaries of a wide range of practices, often exploring the complexities of longing and loss. His work has been collected and exhibited at galleries worldwide. In 2015 he was shortlisted for the RBC Painting Prize, the same year he joined Trinity Western University’s School of the Arts Media + Culture as a Sessional Instructor of Art + Design.

www.russellleng.com

  • MFA Contemporary Art Practice (Edinburgh College of Art; 2013)
  • BA Art (Trinity Western University; 2009)

Expertise

Contemporary Painting

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

  • Trade Off [in collaboration w/ Alysha Creighton], SAMC Gallery, Langley BC (2020)
  • Temporary Tunnels, Field Contemporary, Vancouver, BC (2017)
  • Too Many Maps, Field Contemporary, Vancouver, BC (2015)
  • Peach Beach, Dynamo Arts Association, Vancouver, BC (2015)
  • Sudden Death, Avalanche! Institute of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (2014)
  • New Work, Parts Gallery, Toronto, ON (2014)
  • Fragments, Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR (2013)
  • Minty Oboes, C02 Project Space, Edinburgh, UK (2012)
  • Ruins, Hungryman Gallery, Chicago, IL (2011)
  • Future Findings, Hungryman Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2011)
  • Mountains and Mountains, Catalog Gallery, Vancouver, BC (2011)
  • Two Person show with Judith Geher, Parts Gallery, Toronto, ON (2011)
  • It's Almost a Double Rainbow, The Crying Room Mural Projects, Vancouver, BC (2011)

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • The Newsroom, Hotam Press Gallery, Vancouver, BC (2022)
  • A Painting Show, Peanuts Gallery, Vancouver, BC (2021)
  • Fraser Valley Biennial, The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford, BC (2021)
  • Particle + Wave, Ranger Station, Harrison, BC (2020)
  • Chromatic Pass w/ Russell Leng [screening], Taipei Contemporary Art Center, Taipei, TW (2020)
  • Opal Eyes, Se Rum, Aarhus, Denmark (2019)
  • Walking Phoenix, Avalanche Institute of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (2016)
  • RBC Painting Competition, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC (2015)
  • Art Toronto, Toronto, ON (2015)
  • Selected Works, Field Contemporary, Vancouver, BC (2014)
  • Paint Like You Mean It, Interview Room 11, Edinburgh, UK (2014)
  • Leave the Capitol, Fleming Collection, London, UK (2013)
  • M.F.A. Degree Show, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, UK (2013)
  • Iceberg Exchange, The Old Ambulance Depot, Edinburgh, UK (2013)
  • The Diamond Sea, FFDG, San Francisco, CA (2012)
  • BYOB, Platoon Space, Berlin, Germany (2012)
  • Doctrine of Signatures, West Barns Studio, Edinburgh, UK (2012)
  • Marble Download, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2012)
  • Continuous Intermittence, C02 Project Space, Edinburgh, UK (2012)
  • Salon Neu, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2011)
  • 11.11.11, FFDG, San Francisco, CA (2011)
  • Systems Beyond Certainty, Beers.Lambert Contemporary Art, London, UK (2011)
  • Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, ON (2011)
  • Monomania, Trench Contemporary, Vancouver, BC (2011)

Awards & Honours

  • Canada Council for the Arts - Travel Grant (2019)
  • RBC Painting Competition - Finalist (2015)
  • Bloomberg New Contemporaries - Shortlist (2014)
  • Paint Like You Mean It Painting Prize- Shortlist (2014)
  • Andrew Grant Bequest (2013)
  • Surrey Art Gallery Painting Prize ARTS2009- 1st place (2009)
     

Recent Publications

Selected Publications/Press:

  • Peripheral Review Exhibition text
  • Looking at Painting, Vol.2
  • Kolaj Magazine, Summer 2015 issue
  • Akimbo Review
  • Canadian Art Magazine, Spring 2014 issue
  • Vice Magazine
  • Ruby:Otherworldliness (published by Gestalten)

  • ART 181 Visual Foundations
  • ART 182 Visual Foundations II
  • ART 221 Painting I
  • ART 307 Art Practicum
  • ART 321 Abstract Painting
  • ART 421 Advanced Painting
  • ART 495 Mentoring Tutorial (Honours Project)