The Crossing

About The Crossing

This contemporary oil painting by Toni Hamel explores the theme of gender in our society.

Highly regarded on the international stage for her provocative paintings, Canadian artist Toni Hamel’s masterfully rendered artwork often explores challenging topics. In this piece, a young man, dressed only in shorts, straddles a horse bareback, led by someone whose arm is visible on the edge of the frame. The horse stands knee deep in calm waters beside a rocky shore; the young man’s head is turned towards the viewer, and his arms dangle beside his slouched body. His facial expression is serious. The colour palette is a serene blend of gray-blues, deep green, and earth tones—the only pop of colour is the rider’s golden yellow shorts.

“When asked about the meaning of this painting, I always answer that it speaks about 'coming out". I often think about the tremendous emotional hardship that young boys (or girls) must experience prior to acknowledging and affirming their true inner gender. I tried to evoke that fear and apprehension through the boy's facial expression.” Toni Hamel

Toni Hamel was born in Italy in 1961. In the early 1980s, she acquired a BFA from the Accademia di Belle Arti of Lecce in Italy. Upon arriving in Canada, she furthered her studies and attained a post-graduate Certificate in Computer Graphics from Sheridan College (Canada, 1991).
The recipient of several awards, among others, she received the Golden Key National Honour Society Award from the University of Toronto (Specialist Programme in Psychology, 1997) and the Lubiam Prize (Milan, 1983).
Her work has been exhibited in public and commercial galleries in Canada, the USA, and Europe. It is included in the public collections of Mr. J.J. Abrams, Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, Ms. Julia Roberts, the Archives of Ontario/Government of Ontario, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, the Omer DeSerres Corporation, as well as many private international collections. Toni Hamel lives and works in Kingston, Ontario.