Philiz Goh (she/her) is a certified oncology registered nurse who cares for breast cancer patients. She is a patient advocate for integrated care and accessible spaces and is currently on the organizing committee of the first North American Conference on Integrated Care by the International Foundation for Integrated Care in Toronto on October 4-6, 2021.

Philiz is presently completing a self-help Acquired Brain Injury book while also volunteering in her community to assist the homeless. In her spare time, she enjoys painting with acrylics on canvas and uses art as therapy for her disability. Scroll down to view her art, and read her artist statement. 

Website: https://msha.ke/philizg

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/philizgoh

High quality prints of ‘Streetcar Named 504’ are available for $100 each. Contact artist via social media or BIST at info@bist.ca OR 416-830-1485.

Philiz’s art is on display at Rehab Lab, 163 Dupont Street, for the month of June. 

Philiz Goh Art

Painting by Philiz Goh

Title: Night at the Six

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Artist Description: Welcome to scenes of Toronto in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, when lockdowns are in effect, and streets are desolate. This is the third painting in the series of five. This set of five paintings is titled Tranquility in the City. The scene is at night during the winter in front of Nathan Philip’s Square in downtown Toronto. The curved twin buildings surrounding the saucer shaped council chamber is City Hall, which in this painting has all its lights on. There are various hotel and business buildings on the right side of City Hall with some of their lights on as well. The Toronto and Maple Leaf signage is lit up in white and red respectively. There is some reflection of the night’s light on the cold wet concrete plaza ground. The skating rink that would normally be busy in the evening is now empty as we stay in our homes to keep each other safe. And there are two birds showing how nature is returning during the lockdowns.

Image Description: A painting of Nathan Philips Square in Toronto at night, with the Toronto sign in front of it. Two orange birds are painted in front of the scene. The sky is full of stars.

Painting by Philiz Goh

Title: A Streetcar Named 504

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Artist Description: 

Welcome to scenes of Toronto in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, when lockdowns are in effect, and streets are desolate. This is the forth painting in the series of five. This set of five paintings is titled Tranquility in the City. The title of this piece is a word play from the stage play titled “A Streetcar Named Desire”. This scene is of the back of the 504 streetcar at night on one of its routes in downtown Toronto just after it rained. The emptiness of the streetcar is to show the effects of the lockdowns, especially the 504 streetcar in the evening when it is usually filled with people. And if you look closely, you will see two pigeons on either side of the streetcar.

Image Description: A painting of a 504 TTC streetcar going down the street at night.

Philiz Goh painting

Title: Red Brick District

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Artist Description: 

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Welcome to scenes of Toronto in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, when lockdowns are in effect, and streets are desolate. The emptiness of the image is to show the effects of the lockdowns. This is the first painting in the series of five. This set of five paintings is titled Tranquility in the City. This is a scene of the Distillary District in downtown Toronto. On the right side of the canvas there are tall red bricked buildings, and on the left, shorter red ones. Down the left center of the canvas is the red cobbled street, while on the right center is the stark empty cement sidewalk which is normally bustling with people,  This scene has birds in it to illustrate how nature is returning during the pandemic. Closer to the viewer at the center is a black and metal chair with four brown birds resting and enjoying the beautiful weather and blue sky. The birds also illustrates the freedom that we still have; personal freedom, democracy, free healthcare, because there are places around the world that do not have the freedom we do, and we should be grateful.

Image Description: A street scene of the Distillery District in Toronto. In the background we can see the Godderham & Worts overpass.  In the foreground we see four sparrows peacefully perched on a railing.

Painting by Philiz Goh

Title: A Night At The Museum

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Artist Description: 

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Welcome to scenes of Toronto in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, when lockdowns are in effect, and streets are desolate. This is the fifth painting in the series of five. This set of five paintings is titled Tranquility in the City. The title of this painting is a word play on the movie “Night at the Museum”. This is a night scene in front of the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) extension named the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal which is reminiscent of five crystals designed as interlocking self-supported structures. The emptiness and the passing of cars in front of the ROM COMPARED TO THE Friday Night Live events where people gathered to dance and party in the museum is now quieter as we are asked to stay in our homes. The flying bird represents the hope and the reminder of the freedoms that we still have and should be grateful for.

Image Description: A painting of the Royal Ontario Museum at night, with the Michael Lee Chin Crystal in front of the building on Spadina Street.

Painting by Philip Goh

Title: Flying Out Of Darkness

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Artist Description: 

Acrylic on Black Canvas. 

Welcome to scenes of Toronto in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, when lockdowns are in effect, and streets are desolate. This is the second painting in the series of five. This set of five paintings is titled Tranquility in the City. The scene is part of Harbourfront in downtown Toronto at night. In the background there are condominiums with various lights on. Across the center of the canvas is The Harbourfront Wave walkway illustrating the emotions that some people are experiencing during the pandemic. Emotions of anxiety, fear, uncertainty, depression, darkness, and isolation. The emptiness of the images are to show the effects of the lockdowns. This scene has birds in it to illustrate how nature is returning during the pandemic. At the lower center of the canvas, two birds are flying above the Lake Ontario water illustrating the freedoms that we have in our first world society. The light from the road lamps illustrates hope; hope for a cure for COVID-19, hope to end the lockdowns, hope that things will return to some type of normalcy, and hope that we can one day see our family and friends to give them a hug soon.

Image Description: A night scene of the wave-shaped pedestrian bridge at the promenade at Harbourfront in Toronto. We see the shimmering reflections of the skyline in the water, and two gulls in the foreground. The windows of high rise buildings glowing in the background.

Artist Statement

I used art as therapy for my brain injury and used a familiar medium of acrylic paint on canvas to express what I was witnessing during the pandemic.