BRIGHT IDEAS

Abstract, colourful, and fun, Natalie Bruvels’ paintings are seductive and, when you lean in close, sometimes just a little bit disturbing. You spot an eye here, a tongue there, then begin to see various figures hidden in the greater whole. These paintings also have the most fabulous names: Red Clover Catapult, Sunflower Salute, and Disco Cabbage Odyssey, to name a few. For her most recent series, the Ottawa artist used words spoken by her son that piqued her curiosity, recording them in quick lists. “I assemble my found poetry and make the titles. No over-thinking required,” she explains. Carried by The Sussex Contemporary, her exuberant works have also found their way into a few public spaces, including the walls of Magpie Jewellery and Simons.