Winter-Purple Tree

About Winter-Purple Tree

Shayne Dark’s contemporary sculptural work reflects the timeless beauty of nature. Celebrated for his inspired use of colour and organic form, the elegant shape of this tabletop sculpture is a classic example of the Canadian artist’s visual language. Stripped of leaves, a single tree stands coated in a glossy deep purple finish. Dark is especially known for his bold use of colour in new and imaginative ways. His inspiration remains the natural world that surrounds his Ontario studio.


“Experiencing the natural world will often give me a germ of an idea and then I run with it.” Shayne Dark

“The synthetic looking colours add a certain mystical resonance, but this quality never reaches the level of eco-kitsch. Instead, the natural and the unnatural remain in balance. Dark's work is rooted in a regional cultural experience, drawing on the environment where he lives.” John K. Grande, author/arts writer

Shayne Dark was the artist in residence at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2016 following a successful residency at the Albright Knox and Buffalo Botanical Garden in 2015 and a feature article on his work in Sculpture magazine. At Art Basel in Toronto, Dark was named one of the top ten artists to watch. In 2017, Dark had a solo exhibition at New York’s Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the following year he was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2022, Dark exhibited at the Cloud 9 Eco-Art Festival at No. 9 Gardens in the Rideau Lakes, Ontario. His work can be found in numerous private, corporate, and public collections.