New solo show offers a time for contemplation

By Lindsey Turnbull

Created by veteran artist Randy Chollette, Conversations in the 7th Dimension is a solo show on display at the National Gallery that offers viewers some quiet contemplation amid this high speed world in which we live in today.

The idea of the seventh dimension is used as a simple way to describe a space where creativity becomes creation, Randy explained.

“It is imagined as the point where inspiration moves from the unseen into the visible—where an idea becomes a work of art,” he furthered. “In this sense, the seventh dimension reflects the relationship between the artist and the ultimate Creator.”

A deeply spiritual individual, Randy said that the artist creates with their hands, but the deeper spark of creativity is seen as something shared with the divine.

‘When the artist is fully present and open, creation can feel like a kind of conversation—an exchange of inspiration, intuition, and expression,” he said. “In that moment, the creator and the created move together in harmony. The artwork begins to take shape almost naturally, as if it already exists and is simply being revealed. In this space, the artist becomes THE Creator.”

Conversations in the 7th Dimension invites viewers to reflect on this quiet meeting place—where love for humanity, imagination, and artistic expression come together, and where creativity becomes creation.

The exhibition runs until 10th June, so viewers have plenty of time to take in this exceptional exhibition.

“I hope viewers allow themselves to really enter the work,” Randy stated. “Everyone arrives with their own life experiences, their own memories, beliefs, and stories—and that is important. I don’t expect anyone to leave those things at the door. But I do hope that, for a moment, people allow themselves to see the subjects in the work with empathy.”

Randy said he hoped that viewers try to stand in these created spaces, to imagine their lives, their struggles, their dignity, and their humanity.

“When we do that, something shifts. We move away from quick judgments and inherited prejudices, and toward understanding,” he confirmed. “If the exhibition does anything, I hope it creates that small moment of change in the viewer. Not necessarily a dramatic transformation, but a quiet opening—where we look at one another with more compassion, more love, and a deeper sense of our shared humanity.”

The exhibition seamlessly blends Randy’s previous work with new creations.

“In the process of preparing for this exhibition, I reflected on how my earlier works connect to the pieces I am creating today. While the styles and materials may have evolved over time, the central questions behind the work remain the same. My older pieces explored identity, faith, and the human condition, often focusing on the dignity and inner lives of my subjects,” he advised.

In the new works, those ideas continue, but with a deeper sense of reflection and dialogue. The figures, colours, and compositions build on themes that he has been developing for years, while also responding to the present moment in the world around him.

This exhibition is not a break from the past but a continuation of an ongoing conversation. The earlier works laid the foundation, and the newest pieces grow from that same creative and spiritual inquiry—expanding the story while remaining rooted in his long-standing search for meaning, empathy, and connection, he said.

“I could not have done this without the support of my wife, Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, my family who gave me encouragement to even begin the first step of this artists journey, and Curator Ms Kerrianne Chisholm. An artist is really blessed when he gets to work with a curator who really sees him and really understands the work,” Randy said. “I’d also like to thank the National Gallery and the team there for all of their hard work, and my artist assistants that helped me bring a lot of these works to existence: Brad Singh, Tamoy Phillips, Dushun Wilson, Scott Swing, and Al Ebanks,” he concluded.

Conversations in the 7th Dimension by Randy Chollette runs at the National Gallery until 10th June.