There’s a certain magic in seeing the ordinary with fresh eyes. Sean Yelland is just such a magician, who captures the quiet poetry of Toronto’s urban landscape with a precision that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
As a celebrated and sought-after artist, Yelland’s works can be found in private homes and corporate collections around the globe – and closer to home, at his upcoming solo exhibition “End of the Rainbow”, which runs at Ingram Gallery in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood from March 1–29, 2025.
The show signals the next chapter in Yelland’s distinguished career, and builds on the beauty and success of his most recent collections The Long Way Home at Madrona Gallery in 2024 and What’s the Point? at Ingram Gallery in 2022. As he prepares for the exhibition, he connected with Sesaya Arts to reflect on the city that has shaped his work, the evolution of his artistic journey, and the deeply introspective nature of his paintings.
From earliest childhood, Yelland knew that he was meant to create. “I remember in Kindergarten colouring the sky down to the horizon, and the teacher making a big deal of it. Then all the other kids started copying me, and it made me mad”, he laughs. That almost fierce sense of artistic identity has never faded: “I was always drawing, and I knew it was what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t sure about any one particular medium, but I was always creative. There wasn’t anything else I wanted to do.” Ultimately, drawing and painting became his way of seeing the world, and after graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1989, he fully embraced his path as a painter.
For Yelland, Toronto is a source of bottomless inspiration. “The city is my muse. I’m constantly looking as I traverse the city with my camera, finding things that catch my eye: good light… decrepit buildings, old cars—things that have already lived a life and have stories to tell.” His paintings reflect his deep fascination with overlooked moments, urban relics, and vibrant scenes whose stillness is imbued with a melancholic depth he describes as “Yelland-choly”. They mirror – and offer a fascinating window into – his personal experience and feelings.
His signature style is marked by striking light, deep shadows, and a hyper-realistic sensibility which draw viewers into a world that feels at once familiar and strangely dreamlike. Every reflection in a shop window, every worn-out building, and every lone figure in his compositions speaks of time passing and stories untold. Of his work, he says simply “It’s quiet and sombre, but left open for interpretation.”
Though Yelland’s passion for Toronto endures, he’s sensitive to the city’s changing landscape, and how it is affecting both its residents and its artists. “I grew up here. I’ve never lived anywhere else, so I’ve loved this city my whole life. I’ve always used the city to convey my own moods and emotions, so I never thought I was commenting on the city per se.” But recently, he senses a change in his work: “I feel some commentary may be creeping in. It’s not the same place I grew up in, and I feel myself, like other artists, being pushed out.” That being said, this is not a seismic shift: “I view most of my paintings as self-portraits, in some sense.”
Yelland’s experience parallels that of many creatives in Toronto, who are struggling with rising rents and disappearing studio spaces: “I’ve seen galleries and artists come and go as they just try to survive in this costly city. I’ve had two amazing studios that I lost to reno-victions. And now I have to paint in a small room.” This dilemma is causing him to contemplate leaving the city that has so long been his muse—an irony which is not lost on him.
With his latest body of work set to be unveiled at Ingram Gallery, Yelland is as eager as any fan to see how his pieces come together. “I don’t have the space that I used to, so I don’t get to see the paintings all together, myself until they’re hanging in the gallery. It’s always exciting seeing how everything relates,” he enthuses. “I work on one painting at a time throughout the year, so in that sense, I see each painting as sort of a journal page. When I see them all hanging on the wall, it’s like looking back at the whole year.”
And while his works and his process often evoke solitude and contemplation, the experience of exhibiting them is anything but lonely. “The best thing is sharing it with my friends and patrons – and hopefully getting a high-five!” he laughs.
Yelland’s upcoming exhibition offers a welcome – and perhaps fleeting – chance to step into his world, see Toronto through his eyes, and sit inside the quiet moments he captures so exquisitely. He extends a warm invitation: “I hope everyone can come out and join me at the opening on Saturday, March 1st, 1:00 – 3:00 pm. And if not, the show will be up until March 29th. I’ll be in and out of the gallery throughout the month, so I hope to see you there!”
For those who appreciate art that finds depth in the everyday, this opportunity to view Yelland’s work – and feel Yelland-choly in person – should not be missed. For details and to request an exhibition catalogue, visit ingramgallery.com.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
