Where We Meet: A Collaboration in Colour, Texture and Form
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Ocean Mussack and Deb Chaney celebrating the inaugural opening of their collaborative exhibit, Where We Meet
Collaborative exhibition by Deb Chaney and Ocean Mussack
Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre | September 4–5, 2026
On September 4 and 5, 2026, artist Ocean Mussack and I welcomed visitors into Where We Meet at the Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre—a collaborative exhibition bringing together my contemporary abstract paintings and Ocean’s expressive wood sculptures.
For those who weren’t able to join us in person, I wanted to share the exhibition here—the finished work first and foremost, followed by a closer look at the textures and details, the story of our collaboration, and a little of what happened behind the scenes.
The Where We Meet Paintings
Each of the five paintings in the Where We Meet series measures 48 x 48 x 1.5 inches and was created with acrylic and mixed media on canvas.
Where We Meet—I
48 x 48 x 1.5 inches | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
© Deb Chaney
Where We Meet—II
48 x 48 x 1.5 inches | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
© Deb Chaney
Where We Meet—III
48 x 48 x 1.5 inches | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
© Deb Chaney
Where We Meet—IV
48 x 48 x 1.5 inches | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
© Deb Chaney
Where We Meet—V
48 x 48 x 1.5 inches | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
© Deb Chaney
All five paintings are currently available for purchase. To inquire, please send an email or text 604-736-5111.
A Closer Look
One of the pleasures of seeing these paintings in person is being able to walk toward them and experience their surfaces up close. Each painting is made up of many individual squares—small worlds of colour, marks, lines and texture held within the larger composition.
Throughout the exhibition, people were drawn to different squares. They pointed out the ones they loved, noticed unexpected details, and shared what they saw and felt within them. These close-up photographs offer a glimpse of that intimate experience: an invitation to come nearer and discover the many moments living inside each painting.
How the Collaboration Began
Ocean and I have admired each other’s work for years. We had traded artwork and first began talking a couple of years ago about the possibility of working together. Eventually, that conversation became a real commitment: to create an exhibition in which our work would influence, respond to and speak with one another.
Ocean took some of my paintings back to her studio, while I spent time with several of her sculptures and with wood shavings from her process. The marks, lines, colours and textures of the wood began to influence the new paintings I was making.
This became a collaboration on a deeper scale. We met regularly, shared what was unfolding, and supported one another throughout the creative process. Although our materials and artistic voices are distinct, the finished paintings and sculptures came together in a dialogue shaped by friendship, curiosity and creative connection.
Words for Where We Meet
Ocean wrote a poem on behalf of both of us, speaking to our individual work and the spirit of this collaboration. Its presence on the gallery wall became a beautiful part of the exhibition.
Where We Meet
Silent figures
posturing a neutrality
absent of gender and face
expressing through energy
a humble strength
observing without judgment
Written by Ocean Mussack
We are deeply grateful to Colin McCue of Sure Signs here on Gabriola Island, who installed the words so beautifully and helped give the poem a physical presence within the space.
Behind the Scenes
The night before installation, Ocean brought her work to my studio. For a brief moment, the sculptures and paintings were all gathered there together—ready and waiting for the morning. It was a quiet, exciting threshold between months of creating and the moment the exhibition would finally become real.
The following morning we began the adventure of transporting and installing everything. A huge and heartfelt thank-you to Maureen “Mo” Hill, who arrived early and helped us move the work and set up the exhibition. Mo brought the most positive, uplifting, and wonderful attitude to every part of the process. She was an absolute joy to have with us.
Thank You for Meeting Us There
To everyone who came to see Where We Meet: thank you.
Many of you arrived with flowers, cards, food and beautiful handmade gifts. Every offering was deeply appreciated. Most of all, we are grateful for your presence—for the time you took to look closely, speak with us and share your responses to the work.
We heard such generous reflections about the exhibition and felt profoundly seen, received, acknowledged and appreciated. Thank you to each and every person who stopped by, said hello and became part of this experience with us.
Collecting the Work
The five paintings in my Where We Meet series are available for purchase. If one speaks to you, please email or text 604-736-5111.
Smaller paintings from this series are also available. I would be happy to send you a private link to view them, wherever you live. If you are visiting Gabriola Island, you are warmly invited to arrange a private studio visit.
To inquire about collecting one of Ocean Mussack’s sculptures, please contact Ocean directly via email or through @oceanmussack.
Thank you for sharing in Where We Meet—in person or here, from wherever you are.
Review by TJ Radcliffe
Where We Meet, September 2026
Deb Chaney, painter
Ocean Mussack, sculptor
This show is a fascinating juxtaposition of strong, linear, two-dimensional abstracts and evocative, gently curving three-dimensional figures.
Deb Chaney's abstracts have a Rothko-like energy in miniature, which shouldn't be possible. Each richly-textured square stands in contrast to the adjacent ones, abutting each other on the canvas, challenging and enhancing each other's energy.
Ocean Mussack's figures, each carved from a single log, range from a tall, ethereal form that looms curiously over the viewer to a little yellow cedar Eloi that I immediately felt protective of, which is quite a feat for something that barely has a form. But that's the power of abstraction: it creates an armature on which we can hang our own response to it.
These works, on their own and in contrast to each other, give the viewer a great deal to respond to. They are powerful and moving.
—TJ Radcliffe, Breakthrough Prize Laureate (tj@tjradcliffe.com)