Oeno Gallery Welcomes Mike Rachlis as a Represented Artist
Oeno Gallery is pleased to announce the representation of Toronto-based artist Mike Rachlis, whose energetic painting practice brings a compelling voice to contemporary Canadian painting.
Rachlis’ work exists in a tension between representation and abstraction. Centred on the figure, portraiture, and still life, his paintings do not simply depict subjects but instead fragment, disrupt, and reassemble them through vigorous mark-making and layered surfaces. In doing so, he references art history while challenging its conventions, balancing admiration with a deliberate sense of resistance.
One Through Twelves, 60 x 54 in, Oil and Pastel on Canvas 2026
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Working exclusively in oil on canvas or linen, Rachlis constructs his paintings through processes of intense activity, revision, and reworking. His practice often unfolds in bursts of concentrated studio work, separated by periods of reflection, and he frequently develops multiple paintings simultaneously, sometimes discarding or restarting works that do not resolve.
These works emphasize both a command of oil painting and a willingness to surrender to the medium’s unpredictability. The resulting surfaces carry a tension between construction and dissolution, where images are continually built up, disrupted, and reassembled through process.
Since graduating from OCAD University in 2013, Rachlis has lived and worked in Toronto. He has exhibited throughout Canada and the United States, and his work is held in private collections internationally.
Oeno Gallery is pleased to welcome Mike Rachlis as a represented artist and looks forward to presenting his work in upcoming exhibitions, including Scenic Detours, on view June 13 to September 7, 2026.
Explore Available Works
View available paintings by Mike Rachlis and learn more about the artist.