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2026 exhibitions in Alberta galleries and museums upcoming, and past 

Held in Balance:
A Symmetry Between Structure and Narrative

Steve's latest exhibition, Held in Balance, explores how structure and narrative intertwine, inviting curiosity, reflection, and wonder.

 

Each piece carries a subtle story, creating a quiet dialogue between visual form and underlying meaning.

 

The work re-imagines prairie structures; buildings shaped by time, weather, and change. What was once obsolete becomes resonant through deliberate acts of material and conceptual renewal.

A mixed media collage painting by Alberta painter Steve Mitts.

Displacement & Balance

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Displacement guides this Series. These paintings are constructed with century-old wood, serving as both physical structure and emotional vessel, holding memory, time, and experience. They appear as weathered windows or form reminiscent of the Middle Ages: shapes that have endured through time, remaining constant and unwavering.  Each fragment is re-contextualized through its relationship to the whole, allowing past and present to coexist within a renewed framework.

Balance is achieved through restraint and counterweight. The segmented wood carries visual weight through texture and history, while negative space actively shapes and defines the forms. Gaps and pauses allow the compositions to breathe, creating rhythm between solidity and hollowness. Equilibrium emerges not from symmetry, but from tension, where density is offset by openness and quiet.

 

Together, these elements create a state of suspension between instability and permanence. Each component retains its history while contributing to a narrative shaped by resilience and care. The work exists between what has endured and what is still becoming.

See It In Person

Steve’s latest exhibition begins November 20, 2026, at Bay 1 Gallery, as part of the gallery’s annual Box and Bowl Show. This exhibition offers another opportunity to experience Steve’s distinctive approach to painting and shallow-relief sculpture, where craftsmanship, reclaimed materials, and narrative come together.

Earlier in 2026, Steve’s exhibition Held in Balance — A Symmetry Between Structure and Narrative was presented across two locations: the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery in the spring and the Red Brick Common Art Gallery in Stony Plain through the fall. Together, these exhibitions offered an extended opportunity to experience the breadth of this evolving body of work.

In addition, a selection of Steve’s paintings remain on display at The Marrow Restaurant & Lounge in Camrose, Alberta, as part of an ongoing exhibition.

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Visit The Marrow

Bay 1 gallery

Visit the Bay 1 Gallery in Edmonton from November 20th - January 4th, 2026.

Join Steve at one of the opening receptions:

Friday, November 20th 7-9 pm.

Saturday, November 21st 1-3 pm.

Red Brick Common
Art Gallery

Visit the Red Brick Common in Stony Plain from August 6 – October 28, 2026.

Exhibition is now completed

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Red Deer Museum
& Art Gallery

Visit the Red Deer Museum & Art Gallery from May 2 – July 30, 2026. This Exhibition is now completed 

 

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A Celebration of the Quiet, Contemplative Moments

This series continues Steve’s long-standing focus on quiet, contemplative moments. Subject matter and structure remain in delicate harmony, emphasizing essential aspects of each painted story without isolating them.

 

These works hold stories within stories; curious, playful, and detailed, inviting viewers to look closely and consider the delicate balance between what they are seeing and how they are seeing it.

Make it Your Own

See something you like?

Steve Mitts does custom collage paintings on commission.

Bring these unique Alberta Renaissance paintings home

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