KARIN MCLEAN
Karin is a self-taught artist who began painting eleven years ago. Initially working in acrylics, she has expanded her repertoire to include oil, watercolour and mixed-media assemblages. As much as her work documents familiar architecture, it also examines the notion of place, belonging and any sensibility that feels like “home”, finding inspiration in the seemingly mundane. McLean’s paintings resonate with those who feel an immediate connection to the work because they recognize the location yet often because they possess a universal feeling that transcends time and place. Her work can be found in private and public collections across Canada, most recently, the new Ken and Marilyn Thomson wing at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto.
After living all of her life in east end Toronto, Karin now lives in Peterborough Ontario where she is painting full-time.
CV
Women’s Art Association of Canada, “Echoes” group show at the Digham Gallery 2022
Leslie Grove Gallery, Big Holiday Smalls Show, group show 2021
Leslie Grove Gallery, Inspired by the Arts group show 2021
ARTWRX Studio Gallery, Courtenay BC, Square Foot Show 2021
Artspace Untitled Auction, 2021
Leslie Grove Gallery “The View from Here” 2021
Blue Crow Gallery, Summer Group Show 2021
Artspace 50/50 Auction, April 2021
Union Studio, featured artist Feb/March 2021
Tango Palace, featured artist Dec 2019
Hollandaise Diner, featured artist 2019
Studio 888, watercolour show 2019
Danforth East Arts Fair - September 2019
Blue Crow Gallery - Summer Group Show 2019
Neighbourhood Gallery South NNUC - “Finding Solace in a Landscape” Group Show 2019
“Near Strathmore” - Featured on front cover of Beach-East York Community Voice newspaper, Holiday Edition
“Almost Home” - Selected to hang in Legislative Assembly of Ontario from January through December, 2019
Northern Tendencies - Propeller Gallery - Group Show 2018
Studio888 - Holiday Group Show 2018
Artusiasm- group show 2018
Hollandaise Diner, featured Artist, Dec 2018
Luc Sculpture Gallery, Group show 2018
Yellow House Gallery, Canada 151 Group Show 2018
Blue Crow Gallery, Summer group show 2018
Arta Gallery, Spring Exhibition group show 2018
John B. Aird Gallery, “The Views are Different Here, group show 2018
Office of Nathanial Erskine-Smith, several works on display 2018
Studio 888- Holiday Group show 2017
Neighbourhood Gallery South NNUC- “Just Another Roadside Attraction” group show 2017
“Night Snow Alley” featured on Front Page, East York Mirror, Holiday Edition, 2016
Studio888, Holiday group show 2016
Toronto Public Library, S Walter Stewart Branch, solo show “No Place Like Home” 2016
Design Nook, group show 2016
Artist statement
When I was a child, our family moved frequently, never quite finding the one true place to put down roots. My parents never owned a house. We boomeranged between rented bungalows and high-rise apartments, our closets filled with some boxes that never got unpacked.
This likely explains my obsession with houses, especially old ones that have seen the passage of time and neighbourhood changes. Walking my dog at all hours and in all weather, I started noticing things: how shadows lined a laneway, the glint of sunlight on a chimney stack, the details of dated architecture. I felt compelled to capture these images as so many original dwellings are disappearing. A tiny 1930’s cottage can be demolished in hours, replaced several weeks later by a modern box. My work documents familiar architecture but also examines the notion of place, the sense of belonging, what makes us feel home. These paintings reflect an urban landscape but one that is still, without the complication of people, finding beauty in the everyday things around me.
Testimonials
“I contacted Karin because I had seen some of her work and loved her style. We were selling our family home that my grandparents had owned for 57 years and I asked Karin to do two paintings of the house. One for my aunt and one for my mother for Christmas gifts. Karin personally visited the house and studied family photos of the house from earlier days. She captured our memories of the house in her two beautiful works of art. I am eternally grateful to Karin for preserving these memories for us. When I went to pick up the art, I got to see more of Karin’s collection in person and purchased another one of her paintings I had been eyeing. Thank you Karin for your amazing talent and for sharing it with us. I can’t wait to see what you create next.”
