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Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Meet the Artist

Rehana

Yesmin

Multidisciplinary Art

“Through observing and translating natural beauty, I engage with painting as a way of responding to fleeting moments and their emotional resonance. My process primarily begins with the brush, allowing imagery to unfold organically rather than through predetermined structure. I work intuitively, building layers of acrylic paint to develop depth, light, and atmosphere. I am drawn to the subtle relationships between light and shadow, and I use layered colour to capture shifting tones found in nature. My work reflects a sense of awe toward natural environments, translating observed and remembered landscapes into visual forms that hold movement, stillness, and emotional intensity.Besides my painting practice, I work with sculpture and installation to expand my engagement with material and space. This allows me to consider how atmosphere and narrative can exist beyond the canvas through three dimensional forms, extending painting into immersive and tactile experiences. In addition, I develop research driven work that examines the cultural and historical impacts of colonialism on Bangladesh. Through this practice, I reflect on themes of memory, loss, and resilience, connecting personal experience with broader historical narratives and exploring how colonial histories continue to shape identity, land, and cultural memory.

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RehanaYesmin
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Rehana Yesmin is a Bangladeshi Canadian artist based in Toronto whose practice focuses on painting and explores the beauty of the natural world she witnesses. She weaves moments of lived experience with natural beauty, capturing the emotional atmosphere of these fleeting sensations through acrylic painting, where forms emerge intuitively from memory, imagination, and observation. While her minor in sculpture and installation informs her engagement with material and dimensional approaches. Beside her nature based practice, Yesmin engages in research-driven work that examines the cultural and historical impacts of colonialism on Bangladesh, reflecting on themes of memory, loss, and resilience. She has participated in several group exhibitions in Toronto and is the recipient of the Venus Award of the Fassie Award (2022), completed a Fine Arts Studio diploma at Centennial College. She is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at OCAD University in April 2026.
OCAD U - Faculty of Art
Drawing and Painting
Major In progress, 2026
OCAD U - Faculty of Art
Sculpture/Installation
Minor In progress, 2026
Centennial College
Advanced Diploma, in Fine Arts Studio
Major Completed, 2023

Painting

2025, Hang With Us
OCAD University, Second floor
2025, Pentimento
OCAD University, Forth Floor- Student Hub
2024, Come Hang With Us
OCAD University, Forth Floor.
2024, It’s Not Easy Being Green
Northern Contemporary Gallery, Mississauga, ON
2024, Rejunction
Beaver Hall Gallery, Toronto, On
2023, Iceberg
Leslie Grove Gallery
2023, Summer Small Festival
Leslie Grove Gallery, Toronto, On.
2023, Ministry of Transport Ontario’s Maple Leaf Mural Project
Progress Ave and Hwy 401, Toronto, ON
2022, UHN Innovation Gallery
Toronto, On.
2022, Emergence
Leslie Grove Gallery
2022, Vasa Arts Festival
Brampton, On.
2022, Riverdale Artwalk
Jimmie Simpson Park
2022, Venus of Fassie Award
Centennial College
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