The Horizon in Your Hands

Connor Charlesworth and Rod Charlesworth
July 12th to September 7th, 2025

Opening Reception:
Saturday, July 12th, 1:00pm to 3:00pm

A collaborative exhibition by Connor Charlesworth and Rod Charlesworth. The exhibition brings together old and new work in drawing, painting, and installation to consider themes of landscape, memory, presence, transitivity, poetry, and painting itself.

Artist Demo & Talk:
Wednesday, August 27th, 6:30pm to 8:00pm
​Open to the public and free or by donation

About the Artists: 

Connor was born in Kelowna in 1992. Much of his childhood was spent in his father’s studio making things. His father instilled in him a love for colour, experimenting, and working outdoors. He received his MFA from the University of Victoria in 2018 with a specialization in painting, and his BFA from the University of British Columbia in 2015 majoring in visual arts and minoring in art history and visual culture. He has taught drawing and painting at the University of Victoria, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, and most recently at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus. Connor’s recent exhibitions include Arche-Fossil (ARTSCO, 2023) and The Distance of the Sun (Kelowna Community Theatre, 2023). In 2022 and 2023, with the financial support of the University of British Columbia’s Sessional Conference Fund, Connor took part in a studio mentorship program with the artist Enrique Martinez Celaya out of his Los Angeles studio. He continues to maintain an active studio practice in Kelowna with primary interests in philosophy, language, and land based inquiries.

Rod was born in northern British Columbia in the town of Terrace in 1955. When he was seven, his family moved to the Okanagan where he spent much of his time growing up fishing in Mill Creek, riding horses, and drawing. In the 70s, Rod studied visual art at Okanagan College. During his time there, he learned from the likes of Jack Shadbolt, Molly Lamb Bobak, and Murray Johnson. While the diploma program was small, it opened up his perspective to the diverse possibilities in the visual arts. In the 80s, Rod worked in various different fields including construction and sign painting. In the summer of 1987 while working in Yellowknife as a picture framer, he was immediately drawn into the wild and rugged terrain of the area. While there, he spent much of his time drawing and painting outdoors, on the land. This became his preferred method for gathering reference to make paintings because of its immediacy and proximity to nature. He has traveled and painted outdoors in various places including the maritimes, the Caribbean, and on the Pacific island of Haida Gwaii. Rod has exhibited commercially across Canada and is included in various collections including The Kelowna Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia, and the Fairmont Hotel Group. He continues to maintain an active studio practice in Kelowna.
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On the left: Artist Rod Charlesworth On the right: Artist Connor Charlesworth ​