Abstract chalk pastel landscape with layered rock-like forms and flowing teal shapes intertwined with bright orange root-like lines beneath a moody blue sky.
Estimated Read Time:
2 minutes
Teaching and learning

Reflecting on land through mark-making

Ma(r)king Space, an exhibition of recent work by artist and Art Librarian Liv Valmestad.

Estimated Read Time:
2 minutes

This winter, the Dr. Paul H.T. Thorlakson Gallery in the Icelandic Reading Room at Dafoe Library presents Ma(r)king Space, an exhibition of recent work by University of Manitoba Art Librarian and artist Liv Valmestad. On view from January 6 to March 27, 2026, the exhibition brings together paintings developed during Valmestad’s recent sabbatical and a September 2024 residency at Bareneed Studios in Newfoundland. An Artist Talk will take place on Thursday, March 12 at 3:30 PM in the gallery, offering visitors an opportunity to hear directly from the artist about the evolution of the work and its underlying themes.

Created between Treaty One Territory and the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, the paintings reflect layered relationships to land, memory, and movement. Valmestad situates her practice within an awareness of settlement histories and the responsibilities of working as a settler artist committed to decolonizing approaches. Her studio is located on Treaty One Territory — the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, and Dene peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis — and her artistic formation was shaped by growing up on Treaty Six Territory. These geographic and historical contexts inform the exhibition’s sustained attention to space, water, and atmosphere.

East coast inspiration 

During her residency at Bareneed Studios, located on the traditional territories of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit, Valmestad returned to longstanding interests in wind, ocean, and shifting light. The stark beauty of Newfoundland’s coastline echoes earlier experiences working in Iceland, where sketches and photographs made in situ later evolved into the paintings now on view. Across these sites, the works move beyond specific description to evoke expansive environments — ocean, prairie, and sky — that feel both immense and intimate.

Ma(r)king Space

January 6 – March 27, 2026
Dr. Paul H.T. Thorlakson Gallery
Icelandic Reading Room, 3rd Floor, Dafoe Library

Artist Talk
Thursday, March 12
3:30 p.m.
In the gallery

Abstract landscape painting in blues and pinks with mirrored horizon lines and layered geometric marks, installed on a white gallery wall.
Talking Heads, acrylic/canvas, 2025, 30 x 40 inches
Blue and gold abstract sky and water scene with horizontal bands and subtle dripping paint marks.
Facets (detail), acrylic, chalk pastel/canvas, 2025, 36 x 48 inches

At the heart of Ma(r)king Space is an intensified focus on mark-making. Working primarily in chalk pastel, Valmestad embraces the medium’s immediacy and tactile presence, allowing gesture and surface to shape how the works occupy space and how viewers perceive depth and movement. Drawing on the philosophical framework of Deep Ecology and the Nordic concept of stemning — loosely translated as mood or atmosphere — the paintings reflect a search for stillness within vast natural environments.

“I am drawn to the Sublime as an affective experience—one that heightens our sense of scale and emotion,”  

Earlier works are included to highlight resonances between prairie openness and maritime breadth, inviting viewers to consider how distinct landscapes can share emotional and spatial qualities. Throughout the exhibition, the paintings offer moments of quiet reflection, encouraging viewers to slow down and attend to subtle shifts in light, tone, and form.

Art is all around us

Ma(r)king Space is supported by the University of Manitoba Creative Works Grant. Valmestad also shares that Nets Monumental, a recent work, will soon join the Province of Manitoba Art Collection.

Liv Valmestad holds a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan, graduate degrees from Queen’s University and Western University, and a postgraduate diploma in art from Ringebu College in Norway. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Canada, the United States, and Italy, and is included in public collections such as the University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba, Millennium Library, the Buhler Collection, the Province of Manitoba Art Bank, and the Imago Mundi Luciano Benetton Collection in Venice.

Abstract chalk pastel landscape with layered rock-like forms and flowing teal shapes intertwined with bright orange root-like lines beneath a moody blue sky.
Nets Monumental (detail), acrylic, chalk pastel/canvas, 2025, 36 x 48, inches.
Gallery installation view featuring large colourful abstract paintings on white walls under track lighting.
Dyptych, 2 panels, acrylic on canvas, 2025, 40 x 30 inches each
Poster for Ma(r)king Space by Liv Valmestad with abstract coastal imagery and exhibition dates January 6 to March 27.

Boilerplate: reconciliation

At UM, we are working together to advance reconciliation for transformative change, which is among the commitments you’ll find in MomentUM: Leading change together, the University of Manitoba’s 2024–2029 strategic plan.