July 24 - August 29, 2025
Opening Reception
Thurs. July 24 7 - 9 pm | Meet the Artists
Earls Court Gallery is pleased to present Chroma Echo, a vibrant two-person exhibition showcasing the work of Canadian painters Cynthia Chapman and Anne Barkley. Opening on Thursday, July 24 from 7 to 9 PM, the public is warmly invited to meet the artists and experience the compelling synergy between two distinct voices in abstraction.
Chroma Echo explores the intuitive and emotional power of colour as language. Cynthia Chapman’s energetic brushwork and gestural layers meet Anne Barkley’s contemplative surfaces and textured compositions in a dynamic interplay of form, rhythm, and resonance. Together, their works pulse with movement and memory, inviting viewers to engage both viscerally and reflectively.
“Chroma Echo” exhibition can be viewed in person at 215 Ottawa Street North, Hamilton. Earls Court Gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. The artworks will be featured in the main gallery. All artworks will be featured online upon installation.
Please join us Thursday, July 24, from 7-9 pm to meet the artists: Cynthia Chapman & Anne Barkley.
Opening Reception also celebrating Women's Arts Association of Hamilton juried exhibit "Resilience"
Entry is free | Family Friendly | Fully Accessible | Groups Welcomed
Words from the Artists
Anne Barkley
My subject matter is eclectic, often abstracted; my process, intuitive. The paintings lead my continuing quest through exciting new forms of expression. I endeavour to capture the spirit of the beauty of our Canadian landscape. I am so fortunate to live on a working farm in Eastern Ontario, where I am surrounded by beautiful and ever changing landscapes. I have been painting since the 1980s, and full time since 1999. I studied art at St. Lawrence College in Brockville Ontario, and also through many teachers and workshops through the years. I also have a large collection of art books of many kinds. I have taught several workshops, often exploring portrait work. I am an elected member of the Ontario Society of Artists, the Society of Canadian Artists, and a fellow of the Ottawa Watercolour Society. I have four times been invited to exhibit at the Bienalle in Florence Italy, and I did exhibit there in 2009. I have won awards for my work, including with Ottawa Watercolour Society, Cornwall Regional Art Gallery, Ottawa Mixed Media Artists, and at The Artist Project in Toronto. I co-founded and participated in the South Dundas Artists Guild. Since that time I have actively participated in many other groups: St Lawrence College Alumni Association, Thousand Islands Fine Arts Association, Brockville Artists Studio, Cornwall Regional Art Gallery, Ottawa Art Association, Ottawa Water Colour Society, Ottawa Mixed Media Association, Art Association of the Visual Arts Eastern Ontario, and Eastern and Central Ontario Artists Association. I was also a member of the Ottawa Artists Cooperative, GalleriArt, for its lifetime.
Cynthia Chapman
Cynthia Chapman (born 1977) - Toronto, Canada - Canadian abstract painter. Chapman works in series, fully engaging the viewer in the experience and emotional journey. According to art historian, author, and curator Joan Murray, Chapman “offers certainties about color, emphasizing intuition over concept to snap into sharp focus her importance as an innovative colorist making some of the most riveting paintings of her career." In 2003, she joined the prestigious Moore Gallery, owned and operated by Ron Moore for over 30 years in Toronto, Ontario, exhibiting painters from historical art movements. Moore introduced a group of talented emerging artists with whom Chapman was associated. She was influenced by Jean-Paul Riopelle, a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec who had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the Refus Global. Recognized for her talent early in her career, she received the Solomon Painting Award in 2000 and the Mrs. W.O. Forsyth Award in 2003, her graduation year. In 2011, Chapman went on to work for her mentor and former instructor, senior abstract painter Ron Martin. She assisted him in producing three exhibitions held at the Christopher Cutts Gallery between 2012 and 2014. She continued to work for him until 2017. In 2017, Chapman joined the Hatch Gallery in Bloomfield PEC, Ontario, and completed five solo exhibitions: Don’t Tread On Me in 2017, That Way, My Way in 2018, When Push Comes to Shove in 2019, Impact in 2021, and Restless Attraction in 2022. "Let It Bleed leaps off the wall, with the blocks of blues and yellows seeming to float on the scabby surface of a ‘bloody’ plane, with marks and strokes that suggest we’re looking down upon a river, or flowing current, of ‘blood.’ It’s both rich and a bit revulsive (in an enticing way, for me, at least)," Bart Gazzola explains in his 2020 article Painting Physically: Evolving Legacies. In 2020, Chapman joined the John Mann Gallery in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, and completed three solo exhibitions: Evolving Legacies in 2020, Recovery in 2021, and Restless Attraction in 2022. The John Mann Gallery currently represents Chapman.