May 6 – 24, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 9, 2 – 4 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, May 24, 3 pm
My photo-based mixed-media work explores time, transience, and transformation.
During my childhood in Italy and during repeated visits, fires, ruins and volcanic eruptions sparked my interest. I was born in Southern Italy in the land between the volcanoes of Mt. Etna and Vesuvius. Fire is used in many countries to clear fields, control invasive species and to smoke out your enemies in times of war.
Closer to home, the City of Toronto conducts prescribed burns to regenerate the Oak Savannahs. The urban nature of the Golden Horseshoe has squeezed these rare endangered ecosystems into specially designated areas, including High Park in Toronto. Fire stimulates the germination of Savannah species and controls invasive ones. During the burn events, the Savannahs are transformed into ephemeral places by fire and smoke. I have photographed these landscapes, which transition through states of destruction and recreation, capturing serial and incremental changes. In Hot Spots, I have used elements of the Savannahs, including burnt wood, to create three-dimensional scenes, incorporating orthographic film and gel transfers, from protests and other “hot spots”.
My process violates the classic rules of photography, and I exploit these infringements to create and confirm the transformation process. Blending painting and photography, the work depicts the real world, but also exists in a more fulsome picture of reality.
Frances Patella, born in Italy, resides in Toronto. Her photo-based work explores transformation in the landscapes of prescribed burns. She has received numerous grants for Artists In Education and Mid-Career grants from the Ontario and Toronto Arts Councils. Frances won Best In Show and Purchase Awards for the City of Vaughan juried exhibitions. She holds a BFA from York University, a B.ED. from the University of Toronto and studied Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario with painter Paterson Ewen. Frances also studied drawing and art history in Florence, Italy, through the University of Windsor. Frances’ work has been widely collected in public, private and corporate collections and reproduced on magazine and CD covers.
Frances apprenticed with multimedia artist Noel Harding and was Joyce Wieland’s arts administrator. She is a member of the Ontario Society of Artists and a long-time member of Propeller Art Gallery, where she served as former Chair. Frances has taught visual arts and analogue photography in the Toronto District School Board, conducted Visual Arts and Alternative Cyanotype workshops in numerous school boards throughout Southern Ontario, the Photo Educators Forum in Toronto and the National Gallery of Photography in Ottawa. For many years, she was a Member of the Board and Chair of Jury and Judges for the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. Frances continues to be active in the Toronto arts community, coordinating numerous exhibitions and events.
