
Until November 15, 2025
Earls Court Gallery is pleased to present When The Lights Come On, a solo exhibition featuring urban oil pastel works by Aleda O’Connor.
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On view from October 9 – November 15, 2025, these paintings by Aleda O'Connor explore the effects of light and shadow on urban structures. This series examines the Hamilton urban landscape using the mark-making capacity of oil pastels to express how light and atmosphere alter the environment in the evening and before dawn, when lights are turned on.
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She uses every imaginable mark-making technique—from layering to cross hatching, to blending and scratching— to depict the buildings in a glowing array of colours. This method creates atmospheric urban landscapes that transform multi-dwelling units and structures of industry into ethereal observations of the city and its industry in twilight.
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When The Lights Come On will be on view in the main gallery at 215 Ottawa Street North, Hamilton. Earls Court Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. All artworks will also be available to view and purchase online upon installation.
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Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, October 9 from 7–9 pm, to meet and celebrate Aleda O’Connor’s latest art series.
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Entry is free | Family Friendly | Fully Accessible | Groups Welcomed
About the Artist




Aleda O'Connor
Aleda O’Connor is Hamilton resident who grew up in Toronto and graduated in Fine Art from the University of Guelph. For many years, Aleda spent her summers on a farm at Bond Head north of Toronto Ontario. She was inspired by renowned Canadian artists Charles Comfort and Carl Schaefer, who were family friends and regular visitors to the farm. At Bond Head she acquired a permanent affection for Southern Ontario’s rural agricultural landscape and remains inspired by the geometry of open fields, drumlins and woodlots. In recent years she has added urban landscapes, particularly the industrial city of Hamilton Ontario to her repertoire of subjects affected by the weather conditions that continuously transform familiar landscapes. Her travels have taken her across Canada, to the United States, Mexico, Ireland, England, Iceland, France, Italy and Portugal and the Caribbean. While hunting for places that are shaped by weather, she discovered sheep, a subject she has returned to many times. Every summer she spends several weeks on New Brunswick’s Grand Manan Island contemplating the ocean, wind and mists of the Bay of Fundy. Her work has been shown in galleries in Canada and South Korea and is represented in private collections in Canada, the United States and Ireland. Her paintings are featured on sets for such television programs as Orphan Black, Rookie Blue, Saving Hope, Mary Kills People and Workin’ Moms.



















