Bio

Born on a tiny island the locals dub the “heart of the Philippines”, Grace Marquez’s island birth imprinted on her even when her family moved to Toronto where she grew up. Always living within a walk to the water - be it ocean or lake, this later surfaced as the subject of exploration in her career as an artist. Trained in the fine arts at Queen’s University, her passion for painting truly flourished when she was certified as a scubadiver.

Grace began translating her magical experiences as a diver into her joyfully colourful or at times atmospheric and moody paintings. She explores three primary underwater environments in her work - reefs and the abundance and movement of life found on them, shipwrecks and their often haunting histories, and caves and the evidence of how the planet was formed found in their walls. 

Grace has exhibited in the U.S. and Canada and her work is found in private collections around the world. 

 

Features:

Shows and Awards:

April 29 - July 22, 2022.
Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre, 247 Ricardo Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
"A Celebration of Gardens" Group Show

 

December 1, 2021.
Certificate of Merit, Luxembourg Art Prize and Museum.
Awarded for distinction from a qualitative perspective based on her work.

 

October 8 - 14, 2020.
North Dakota Museum of Art, 261 Centennial Drive Stop 7305, Grand Forks North Dakota, USA.
Two of her paintings from her "Look Up" series were included in the experimental exhibition called Art In Isolation.

 

March 5 - 8, 2020. 
Remote Gallery, 568B Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario.
“Waterlust” is an introduction to the reefs, wrecks and caves that inspire her work. Get a glimpse into these sacred places below the water line.

 

December 2 - 8, 2019
Eduardo Lira Art Gallery, Wynwood Walls District, Miami, Florida.
As a participant in the ArtBox Project, Miami, Grace exhibited one of her soft pastel on paper drawings entitled “Coral Containment”.

 

Education:

1996 - Sheridan College, Computer Graphics

1994 - Queen's University, B.F.A.

 

Residencies:

2022 - upcoming: September at Studio Faire in Nérac France. 

 

Organizations: