To see the exhibition click here or on the image above. Please contact the Gallery at info@smithersart.org or 1250 847 3898 if you would like to purchase a piece.

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Show Dates: Oct 16 – Nov 7, 2026 
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm, Saturday 10:00am - 2:00pm 
Opening Reception: Friday, Oct 16 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Smithers Art Gallery

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New paintings of the Bulkley Valley, the Babines, and the mountains beyond

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The Smithers Art Gallery is pleased to present local painter Mark Tworow and his exhibition Songs for the North.

SMITHERS, B.C. – Mark Tworow has painted the Bulkley Valley for 35 years, and his new exhibition, Songs for the North, shows how his style has evolved over that time. The show brings together his most recent paintings of the place he calls home.

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The paintings draw on the Bulkley Valley, the Babines, the creeks, the aspen and the mountains behind them. Tworow begins with photographs he has taken on the ground, then pushes the colour until it matches what the place felt like rather than what the camera recorded. A forest grove over still water turns burnt orange. Trees become magenta and gold, and dark outlines hold the shapes together.

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The title reflects the way Tworow now thinks about the Valley. "After this long, I don't think I'm describing a place anymore. I'm singing about it," he says. "A song isn't a map; it carries a feeling, and it repeats and changes as it goes. These paintings work the same way. This is where I live, and these paintings are my way of being thankful for this beautiful place."

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About the Artist
Mark Tworow graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary in 1991 and moved to Smithers the same year. He spent 2009 painting in New Zealand and returned home to Smithers in 2010.

Tworow works mainly in landscape, with a contemporary influence from abstract expressionism. His paintings are known for their strong formal structure and lush painterly colours. He is represented in Switzerland by Victor Art Gallery.

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He has held several major solo exhibitions in Smithers, Terrace, Prince George, Prince Rupert and New Zealand. His work is held in private collections in Canada, the U.S., England, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand.

An opening reception will be held at the Smithers Art Gallery on Friday, October 16, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The public is welcome, and the artist will be in attendance.
 

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