Artist Reception: Saturday, November 29th, from 3:00 - 5:00pm, the show is on until December 20th.

Monday - Friday, 3pm - 5pm & Saturday, 12pm - 5pm

Hours may be subject to change, and gallery is not available while classes are in session

Dead Quiet is a series of 10 paintings depicting an imagined video game from the early 2000’s, with each panel displaying a “screenshot” while in gameplay. The paintings are set from a first-person perspective, allowing the viewer to enter the player’s shoes as they explore empty rooms, look at everyday objects, and are prompted to complete ambiguous objectives. These scenes don’t seem to articulate a clear narrative of a linear game, rather, each moment stands alone as an individual interaction with an object, placing these works within the tradition of still life painting.

The spaces and objects in this series come from the popular sandbox game Garry’s mod from 2006, which has no set objectives or story, but only contains a world and objects to manipulate. This allows the player to construct tableaus, as well as their own games.

The translation of this digital landscape into paint expands upon Godley’s prior explorations into the merging of photography and oil paint, as well as hinting at the need to physically record information and culture that only exists online. As we continue to lose the record of this kind of media over the years, be it through deletion, data corruption or AI dilution, this show asks if it is time to start rethinking our relationship with the internet and seek out new ways to archive digital creations and histories on platforms that are more tangible and directly in our control.

Website: https://ashgodley.com/

Instagram: @godleyart

Ash Godley (b.2001) is a Canadian painter based in Toronto, Ontario. They graduated from the University of Guelph in 2024 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art History.

Godley specializes in oil and acrylic painting, using a unique command of light and shadow to turn everyday spaces into cinematic snapshots of an ambiguous, unknowable narrative. In these paintings the viewer is transformed into an active participant, as they look through the eyes of an observer; one who creeps along walls, peers into house windows, and searches through bushes. These scenes contain open possibilities for the viewer to consider, containing objects to interact with, or exits for the story to continue. However, these paintings’ narratives are wielded by each viewer differently, thus, Godley’s paintings highlight the viewer’s act of looking, as well as their role in building meaning.

Please contact a_godley@outlook.com for purchase inquiries

No Hit Run (Failed)

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
8" x 14"
$520

New Objective

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
8" x 14"
$520

Family Room (Inspect Lamp)

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
16" x 28"
$1,130

Hack Terminal

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
16" x 28"
$1,130

Hold Breath

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
16" x 28"
$1,130

The Answer is the Book

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
16" x 28"
$1,130

Inspect Mysterious Birds

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
24" x 42"
$1,750

Read Newspaper

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
24" x 42"
$1,750

Crypt (Find them)

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
24" x 42"
$1,750

Dig Grave

2025
Acrylic on wood panel
24" x 42"
$1,750