Three painters - three visions - one captivating exhibit. September 18th marks the official opening of Art Works Gallery’s third annual Trio exhibition featuring works from Jill Charuk, Paul Nickless and Riyadh Hashim. In Trio III, the gallery selects three distinctive artists with contrasting styles and sets them loose upon a unifying theme. This year they explore familiar places in their exhibit titled Stomping Ground. 

“Stomping Grounds means my places” explains Jill Charuk – “the trees and landscapes that I paint – the ones I have seen from my studio window or during car drives and walks.” Charuk was born and raised in Richmond, BC, a suburb of Vancouver. Paul Nickless views his stomping ground as Vancouver City proper through his experiences cultivated over a decade living in this glorious city. Born and raised in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Nickless says he finds the environment in Vancouver highly inspirational. Riyadh Hashim, on the other hand, views Stomping Ground as an opportunity to define his cultural identity, stating that “employing iconography of mixed cultural sources such as Sumerian, Chadian and Arabian addresses culture, juxtaposition, and the definition of one identity in the context of a new home.” Hashim can personally attest to this, having immigrated to Canada from Iraq. 

All three artists have a long journey behind them; the final destination for their art is yet to be seen. 



Jill Charuk started in fashion design earning a degree before opening her own clothing manufacturing business. She later developed careers in the clothing retail industry and in interior decorating where her love of colour came to the forefront. After two decades of creative work she gave into her urge to paint and never looked back. Oil paint has proven to be her favourite medium, lending itself to her bold, impressionistic style. And bold it is. Her love of colour is what pushed her into painting; she decided very early on that she would saturate her canvases with pure brilliant pigment making them a contrast to the grey skies of the West Coast. She says that she is constantly striving to take bigger colour risks while still maintaining a ‘readable’ landscape. 

Paul Nickless also has a creative background having studied Visual Communication in Edmonton Alberta, graduating with a Major in Graphic Design. He has had years of experience with Graphic Design, Art Direction as well as Fine Art. Using traditional paint brushes, as well as pallet knives, Nickless paints in a vigorous abstract style which can be a physical workout as well as a mental one, he explains - “Sometimes the paint has another idea of how it's going to work than I do. Sometimes, we cooperate - Other times it's a challenge.”

Riyadh Hashim feels like he has been a painter as long as he can remember. He graduated from the Fine Art Academy in Baghdad with a BA, majoring in painting. Since his arrival to Canada, Riyadh has been involved as a founding member in the Animatic Art Movement and is currently undertaking the translation of the Animatic Manifesto and other documents in Arabic. He is deeply rooted in his past cultural experiences. This is visible in his use of Arabic text and other patterning indicative of the Middle East. He feels that he can never truly complete his paintings because he doesn’t see any boundary that separates reality from art. 

Every piece exhibited in Stomping Ground works harmoniously together even if different from one another; much like anyone’s stomping ground, it is made up of different elements, each unique and contributing something special. Trio III: Stomping Ground will be exhibited at Art Works Gallery from Sept 15th – Oct 25th. Opening Reception Sept. 18th 5-8pm.