Explore freedom through contrast and colour in new art exhibition at Amelia Douglas Gallery

Exhibition dates: May 12–July 6, 2026 
Exhibition location: Amelia Douglas Gallery, fourth floor north, Douglas College, 700 Royal Ave., New Westminster 
Opening reception: May 12, 2026, 4:30–6pm 

A new exhibition opening next week at the Amelia Douglas Gallery explores the balance between control and release through colour and texture in oil paintings. 

Echoes in Open Color by Vancouver-based painter Xixi Yang showcases paintings that invite curiosity through contrast: Natural hues are juxtaposed by bursts of colour, with surfaces blending density and lightness. The notions of control and release are explored through diffused edges and fluid movement. 

These works create an atmosphere of quiet movement, emulating natural processes of growth, erosion, weather and time, Yang said. 

“At its core, the exhibition is about freedom – freedom in mark-making, in colour and in interpretation. Viewers are invited to move through the work without expectation, to pause, to wander and to find their own connections within these shifting fields.” 

Classically trained at the Academy of Art University, Yang has lived and worked in Florence, Turin, New York and Vancouver. Her style has evolved throughout her career from still lifes to a more expressionist language.  

The community is invited to the opening reception of Echoes in Open Color at 4:30pm May 12, at Douglas College’s Amelia Douglas Gallery. The exhibit runs until July 6. Admission is free.  

-30-   

Contact    

Maryam Labani  
Communications Advisor 
labanimotlaghm@douglascollege.ca  

About Douglas College    

Douglas College is the largest college in B.C., combining the academic foundations of a university and the employer-ready skills of a college to graduate resilient global citizens who adapt, innovate and lead in a changing world.  

Douglas College respectfully acknowledges that our campuses are located on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), scəw̓aθən (Tsawwassen) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples.