SMALL GALLERY

October 10 – November 8, 2025

Eldon Underhill
Unseen Forces

Artist Talk + Reception: Friday October 10th @ 5pm

Many of us humans are becoming keenly aware of the unseen forces that contribute to our condition as we struggle to reconcile anxiety and comfort in a way that works for us. Animals likely understand this struggle instinctively on their quest for food and shelter. To Eldon Underhill, making art can be a human way of connecting with our own instinct and awareness. He feels and responds to an instinctive pull to make marks, gestures, and to assemble materials as a way of expressing emotion or making sense of the events in the world. Unseen forces may lead us to believe that we have no control over some aspects of our lives, but they can also uncover truths if we make space for them to reveal themselves. Underhill explains:

I often work during a period of reflection on such forces, but they are in the background as I immerse myself in the making process. Sometimes shapes or figures emerge and color preferences reflect an emotional tone. When images take shape, I go with it. I like to use found or non-traditional materials in art making to explore the question of ‘what happens if…’ — which is a question often born of anxiety — but can also offer a way forward. Perhaps I am growing aware that traditional art making practices are less and less sustainable. How might we create in such a way that allows the work to gently recede back into earth or become something else?

Underhill is a multidisciplinary artist who works in the abstract. His paintings often feature figurative marks, saturated tones and watercolor-like results on paper or canvas. Assemblages often take shape with non-traditional art materials like burlap, netting or builder’s paper.

Born in Winnipeg, Eldon Underhill grew up in various rural and urban settings in Canada, finally landing in British Columbia. Underhill’s art studies began in the early 1970’s at the Kootenay School of Art and continued at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University) and UBC. Capping off a twenty-five year career in the graphic arts, he completed an eight-year side project in 2020 developing avant-garde illustrations for a medical handbook with Dr. Clifford Chan-Yan. Currently, Underhill lives with his partner in Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast.