Caroline Ji

Bio

Caroline Ji (季晨曦)
b. 1988


Caroline Ji is a self-taught artist currently based in Toronto, Canada.

Her current body of work centers around themes of emotional intimacy, self-perception, and how human beings relate to each other. Having been an engineer before painting, she constantly finds herself trying to reconcile the unemotional analyses of image making - spatial depth, geometry, design and composition, reality vs painted reality, and so forth - with the emotional urge to make paintings, so that the images may convey the intended emotions while being rooted in critical thinking. She paints people around her, and her memories and thoughts surrounding immigration, gender equality and its power dynamics, cultural identity, emotional capacity all contribute to the narrative in her work. 

She received her BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2012. Her paintings are collected in private collections across Canada, USA, Asia, and Europe. She has exhibited in Canada, USA, and Australia.



CV


Education

2012 Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Electrical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON


Solo Exhibitions

2024 Everything Still Looks The Same, James Baird Gallery, Pouch Cove NL
2020 Blue Hour, Sivarulrasa Gallery, Almonte ON


Art Fairs and Auctions

2023 Art Toronto with smoke the moon (Santa Fe, USA), Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto ON
2023 Art With Heart Auction for Casey House, The Carlu, Toronto ON
2022 Art With Heart Auction for Casey House, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto ON
2021 Art With Heart Auction for Casey House, Cowley Abbott, Toronto ON


Select Group Exhibitions

2023 Vanguard Invitational Group Exhibition, Outre Gallery, Melbourne Australia
2023 Tondo, Harman Projects, New York City, USA

2022 WOMAN Show, James Baird Gallery, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland
2022 The Moleskine Project, Harman Projects, Mesa Contemporary Arts (MCA) Museum, Arizona, USA
2022 Group Exhibition, Arts Etobicoke, Etobicoke ON 

2021 TONDO, Spoke Art, San Francisco, USA

2020 KITCHEN, Sivarulrasa Gallery in collaboration with Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum, Almonte ON
2020 Power In Numbers 5, Nucleus Portland, Portland, Oregon, USA

2019 FIGURE, Three Person Show, Sivarulrasa Gallery, Almonte ON
2019 Warrior Painters Group Exhibition, Gallery Nucleus LA, Los Angeles, California, USA
2019 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto ON
2019 UNWRITTEN, Project Art Toronto at Kontort Production Space, Toronto ON

2018 Figureworks 2018, St Brigid's Centre for the Arts, Ottawa ON
2018 OSA 2018 Emerging Artist Juried Exhibition, Neilson Park Creative Centre, Etobicoke ON
2018 12x12 Show, Spoke Art @ Vertical Gallery, Chicago IL
2018 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto ON
2018 6th Annual Art Exhibition, Project Art Toronto, Toronto ON
2018 Artist Project 2018: UNTAPPED Emerging Artist, Exhibition Place, Toronto ON

2017 WHO ARE YOU?, Red Head Gallery (401 Richmond), Toronto ON
2017 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto ON
2017 Ontario Society of Artists 144th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto ON
2017 Deep Roots, Living Arts Centre, Mississauga ON


Residency

2024 Pouch Cove Foundation Residency, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada
2023 Pouch Cove Foundation Residency, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada
2021 Pouch Cove Foundation Residency, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada


Awards

2022 Canada Council for the Arts Grant


Commissions

2022 Official Portrait for President William Robins, Victoria University (University of Toronto), Toronto Canada


Teaching Experience

2017-present Teaching (private), Toronto ON
2021 Photoshop for Painters Workshop, Don Valley Art Club, Toronto ON
2021 Portrait Painting in Acrylic Gouache Workshop, Arts Etobicoke, Toronto ON
2020 EDGE: Youth Art Show Jury, Arts Etobicoke, Toronto ON
2020 Composition and Design in Painting Seminar, Don Valley Art Club, Toronto ON
2020 Visual Composition Seminar, Art Guild of Scarborough, Toronto ON
2015-2020 Portraiture and Still-life Painting Instructor, Project: Art Toronto, Toronto ON


Interviews & Press

2020 "CAROLINE JI: BLUE HOUR", The Millstone (link)
2019 "Why Caroline Ji Quit An Engineering Career To Become A Painter", She Does The City (link)

Using Format