MEDRIE MACPHEE | 'WHAT IT IS' Opening Photos

ArtDaily: Exhibition of New Paintings by Medrie MacPhee at Von Lintel Gallery

Medrie MacPhee

Big Bang, 2010

Oil on canvas, 64 x 84 inches

"Von Lintel presents an exhibition of new paintings by Medrie MacPhee. This exhibition marks the artist’s first solo show with Von Lintel Gallery and her seventh one-person show in New York.

Over the years MacPhee’s subject matter has taken various forms—industrial sites, floating synthetic worlds, darkly humorous future hybrid species, abandoned survivors' encampments. These landscapes explored notions of physical and psychological dislocation.

In these new large-scale paintings, the forms float, collide and hover free of gravity and devoid of place. Parts of the canvas are left unpainted, elements of underdrawing visible. The use of vivid color, rather than the expected palette of ruin, complicates any attempt to sum up the situation.

Yet these places coalesce into something readable. The densely packed elements in the paintings appear stacked, resembling something largely architectural in nature. They play on the cusp of both collapse and renewal. It is this moment that MacPhee offers, in which all context is removed, somewhere between the tangible and imaginary, where meaning itself might be reconstructed.

Medrie MacPhee has exhibited nationally and internationally for over two decades. Her paintings and drawings appear in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Edmonton Art Gallery, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and the Gallery of Greater Victoria. A recipient of a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, MacPhee is the Sherri Burt Hennessey Artist-in-Residence at Bard College. The artist lives and works in New York." 

View review @ ArtDaily 

MEDRIE MACPHEE | WHAT IT IS, May 27—July 2, 2010

Medrie MacPhee 

Float, 2009

Oil on canvas

60 x 78"

MEDRIE MACPHEE | WHAT IT IS

May 27—July 2, 2010

OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, MAY 27

6—8 PM

Von Lintel is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Medrie MacPhee. This exhibition marks the artist’s first solo show with Von Lintel Gallery and her seventh one-person show in New York.

Over the years MacPhee's subject matter has taken various forms—industrial sites, floating synthetic worlds, darkly humorous future hybrid species, abandoned survivors’ encampments. These landscapes explored notions of physical and psychological dislocation.

In these new large-scale paintings, the forms float, collide and hover free of gravity and devoid of place. Parts of the canvas are left unpainted, elements of underdrawing visible. The use of vivid color, rather than the expected palette of ruin, complicates any attempt to sum up the situation.

Yet these places coalesce into something readable. The densely packed elements in the paintings appear stacked, resembling something largely architectural in nature. They play on the cusp of both collapse and renewal. It is this moment that MacPhee offers, in which all context is removed, somewhere between the tangible and imaginary, where meaning itself might be reconstructed.

Medrie MacPhee has exhibited nationally and internationally for over two decades. Her paintings and drawings appear in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Edmonton Art Gallery, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and the Gallery of Greater Victoria. A recipient of a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, MacPhee is the Sherri Burt Hennessey Artist-in-Residence at Bard College. The artist lives and works in New York.

MEDRIE MACPHEE | BIOGRAPHY

"Medrie MacPhee was born in Edmonton, Alberta and has resided in New York City since 1978. She received a B.F.A. from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Her work has been exhibited in over twenty solo exhibitions, including shows at Keith Talent, London; Michael Steinberg, New York; ArtCore, Toronto; Paolo Baldacci Gallery, New York; Baldacci-Daverio Gallery, New York; Phillipe Daverio Gallery, New York; Stadtische Galerie Haus, Siegen, Germany; the Pari Nadimi Gallery, Toronto; Espace 502, Montreal; Linda Generaux Gallery, Toronto; Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto; Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, B.C; and the Concordia University Art Gallery, Montreal.

Her work has also been included in more than forty group exhibitions, including Sadler Wells, London; Concordia University Art Gallery, Montreal; Claire Oliver Gallery, New York; Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York ArtCore, Toronto; Plus Ultra, Williamsburg; Collaborative Concepts, Beacon, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Edmonton Art Gallery; Winnipeg Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria; Edmonton Art Gallery; Joseph Helman Gallery, New York; Pari Nadimi Gallery, Toronto; Nicole Klagsburn Gallery, New York; Campo, Antwerp Belgium; Marcel Sitcoske Gallery, San Francisco, Nielsen Gallery, Boston; Musée d' Art Contemporain de Montréal; Paolo Baldacci Gallery, New York; MIART, Italy; Katonah Museum, New York; Power Plant, Toronto; and Phillipe Daverio Gallery, New York.

Ms. MacPhee has been a  recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Grants, Elizabeth Greenshields Award and established artist grants from the Canada Council. She was also a resident at the MacDowell Colony, the American Academy in Rome, and Flying Horse Editions, which produced a limited edition of her work.

The Charles H. Scott Gallery in Vancouver and the Art Gallery of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montreal, organized Flight in the Variable Zone, a solo traveling exhibition of her work, which toured Canada in 1999-2000.

Ms. MacPhee is represented in various private and public collections in the U.S., Canada and Europe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The National Gallery of Canada; the Musee de Contemporain, Montreal; the Asheville Art Museum, NC; the Art Gallery of Ontario; the Edmonton Art Gallery; the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria; the Confederation Center Art Gallery, Charlottetown; and the Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary.

Medrie MacPhee has taught at Columbia University, Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design, and Sarah Lawrence College, and is currently the Sherri Burt Hennessey Artist-In-Residence at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York."

Medrie MacPhee was a recipient of the John Simon Memorial Guggenheim Award 2009

Read more @ Von Lintel Gallery

MEDRIE MACPHEE | 2009 JOHN SIMON GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP

Medrie MacPhee is a recipient of a 2009 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship

About the Fellowship

"Often characterized as "midcareer" awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.

Fellowships are awarded through two annual competitions: one open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada, and the other open to citizens and permanent residents of Latin America and the Caribbean.  Candidates must apply to the Guggenheim Foundation in order to be considered in either of these competitions.

The Foundation receives between 3,500 and 4,000 applications each year.  Although no one who applies is guaranteed success in the competition, there is no prescreening:  all applications are reviewed.  Approximately 220 Fellowships are awarded each year."

Read more

MEDRIE MACPHEE | SELECTED WORKS

Medrie MacPhee

Un Settled, 2009

Oil on Canvas

43" X 52"

Medrie MacPhee

Berlin, 2009

Oil on Canvas

36" X 50"

Medrie MacPhee

Getting the Picture, 2008

Oil on Canvas

64" X 84"

Medrie MacPhee

Maissoneuve, 2006

Oil on Canvas

64" X 84"

Medrie MacPhee

The Red Pool, 2006

Oil on Canvas
54" X 80"

Medrie MacPhee

Breakout, 2005

Vinyl Polymer on Canvas
38" X 50"

Medrie MacPhee

The State of Things, 2003

Vinyl Polymer on Canvas

65" X 98"

Medrie MacPhee

Pop Goes the Weasel, 1998

Vinyl Polymer on Canvas
65" X 98"

 

MEDRIE MACPHEE | DRAWINGS & COLLAGES

Medrie MacPhee

Figure on a Bridge 2009

Mixed Media on Paper

18" X 29"

Medrie MacPhee

Black and White, 2007

Oil on Wood Collage

16" X 20"

Medrie MacPhee

Black and White 2, 2007

Oil on Wood Collage

16" X 20"

Medrie MacPhee

Black and White With Color, 2007

Oil on Wood Collage

16" X 20"

MEDRIE MACPHEE | SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and The Magenta Foundation Present:

Carte Blanche | Vol. 2: Painting

November 15 - December 28, 2008

"The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is pleased to present the exhibition Carte Blanche | Vol. 2: Painting, one of the most comprehensive surveys of contemporary Canadian painting undertaken in recent years. Beginning November 15 and continuing through December 28, 2008, the exhibition is organized to celebrate the Magenta Foundation’s comprehensive publication Carte Blanche: volume 2. 

The impressive scope of the volume follows Carte Blanche: volume 1, which has been widely recognized as one of the most significant books ever published on Canadian photography. Following the format of the book, Carte Blanche: volume 2, the exhibition has been organized into three categories – emerging, mid-career and established – and curators Clint Roenisch and David Liss have selected 10 artists from each category, from the 192 painters included in the book.

Viewers of the exhibition will be sure to recognize some of this country's most important living painters and will also have the opportunity to become familiar with the next generation of rising young artists. As is evident from the exhibition and publication, the current state of painting in Canada is buoyant and rich with innovation and supported by strong personal visions and internationally engaged discourse. Reflective of the pluralistic, post-modern era, there is an explosive diversity and plethora of approaches to painting that repudiates any notions of doubt towards the vitality of the medium and its unique relationship to the human experience, now extending into the 21st Century."

Read more

For more background information on Carte Blanche | Vol. 2: Painting, read more @ blogTO:

"Last night the MOCCA was a buzz at the launch of Carte Blanche, Volume 2: Painting - an exhibit organized to compliment the unveiling of the Magenta Foundation's publication of the same name.

 

For those not familiar, this art book is the highly anticipated follow up to the first volume that showcased some of Canada's most accomplished and up and coming photographers. Now, two years later we get to explore the painting side of things..."

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McMichael Canadian Art Collection

"Drawing Conclusions", 2008

 

"For many Canadian artists drawing is an important component of their creativity. Drawing Conclusions presents 25 pieces by the nation’s most prominent contemporary artists and approximately 70 drawings by members of the Group of Seven. The McMichael show demonstrates the importance of “freehand drawing” in the training of artists throughout of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The selection of works hanging in the exhibition range from Globe and Mail editorial cartoons to sketches drawn on the battlefield.
 

This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to view drawings that are seldom exhibited due to their sensitivity to light. Included are drawings that not only served as visual diaries and preparatory drawings for future large canvases, but also were often finished works in themselves. Collectively these drawings allow the viewer to explore the place and role of this medium in the artistic practice dating back to the turn of the last century and moving forward to today. 

Thematically selected works – portraits, figure studies, design and calligraphy, war studies, caricatures, urban scenes, and landscapes – provide insight into the Group’s influences and the range of their drawing skills as a means of artistic expression. 

Today, the Group's influence may still be seen in some of the works of many of Canada's contemporary artists (others simply share a link to the discipline of drawing). To illustrate this link and the renewed interest in the importance of this artistic medium, Drawing Conclusions gives the McMichael the rare opportunity to look at the work of living artists in context to the gallery’s permanent collection holdings. This adjunct exhibition of contemporary works, curated by McMichael’s Senior Curator Shelley Falconer and Assistant Curator Chris Finn, spotlights the works of Sheila Butler, Brian Gable, Ann Kipling, Nobuo Kubota, Allan Harding MacKay, Medrie MacPhee, Charles Pachter, Tony Scherman, and John Ward.

The Group of Seven Drawing Conclusions exhibition has been curated by Terrence Heath. Mr. Heath is one of Canada’s most distinguished curators and art historians. He is also the award-winning author of numerous books, including the recently published biography of Canadian sculptor Joe Fafard"

Link

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d.u.m.b.o. arts center 

Indepth Arts News:
"Future Species: An Exhibition in Association with the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art" 
 
2003-06-21 until 2003-08-10 
 

Brooklyn, NY, USA 

 

'Future Species' is a spirited speculation on how the human physical form may appear several steps ahead in the evolutionary process. Given our increasingly intimate relationship with technology – a relationship characterized by accelerating developments in biotechnology including genetic and surgical modification, our exposure to radiation, and the control exercised by the pharmaceutical industry over our food supply - it seems clear that for our species to survive, it will find it necessary to take on radically different physical characteristics. Artists include Jubal Brown, Matthew Callinan, Istvan Cantor, Eduardo Cervantes, Karma Clark-Davis, Fred Fleisher, Michelle Handelman, David Krepfle, Medrie MacPhee, and Brad Phillips.


While there is fierce debate surrounding the social, political cultural and ethical implications of the human relationship to technology, 'Future Species' is undaunted in its embrace of both uncertainty and inevitability. It examines what the body of the future may look like, and the conclusions aren’t always pretty. Irreverent, witty, grotesque, bleak, futuristic and surrealistic, the work in 'Future Species' reflects the bold imaginings of artists who dare to speculate. 'Future Species' is a multimedia, post-figurative exhibition that optimistically celebrates human survival, in whatever shape, into the future and beyond! ‘Future Species’ includes emerging and established artists from Brooklyn, Manhattan and Toronto, and is supported in part by Toronto Culture.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Sponsored by Harvey S. Shipley Miller, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Peter Norton Family Foundation, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., David and Jane Walentas, The Independence Community Foundation and The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Inc. This organization has received funding from the 2003 JPMorgan Chase Regrant Program, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC).

IMAGE:
Matthew Callinan
White Angel
from White Columns, Jan. 2003

View original review @ absolutearts.com

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Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

DOUBLE VISION:

Medrie MacPhee & Landon Mackenzie

Medrie MacPhee, In the Pink, 2000
vinyl polymer on canvas

March 22, 2002 to June 30, 2002

DOUBLE VISION pairs the work of Medrie MacPhee and Landon Mackenzie, exhibiting together for the first time at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. DOUBLE VISION explores internal and external landscapes, often surreal hybrids of fused and layered imagery which reflect on science, history and new technologies.

MacPhee’s paintings fuse the cybernetic ideas of the body with images spliced from the urban landscape. Landon Mackenzie's expansive works embrace layers of knowledge, from the subterranean to the celestial, melding patterns formed by constellations, electromagnetic fields, mining surveys and geographical maps. In the work of both artists, there is an impression of myriad worlds coalescing to suggest the immediacy of embodied experience.

The work in DOUBLE VISION sidetracks the structures of language and cultural meaning to approach automatism's ideals at the beginning of the last century. Time and memory, fiction and imagination unravel and unsettle meaning, the painting process and academic conventions. 

Artists
MacPhee, Medrie; Mackenzie, Landon

Link

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Musée d'art Contemporain, Montreal

"L'Oiel du collectionneur", 1996 

Link

MEDRIE MACPHEE | SELECTED PRESS

Art:Review Jan/Feb 2009 archive here

ART REVIEW; A Backup Plan With Refined Results

By BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO

Published: May 30, 2004

"The painters Calvin Siebert, Jennifer Coates and Medrie MacPhee cover the walls with fantastic, brightly colored landscapes and architectural mazes. Surrealism, again, is an obvious inspiration, as those with even a cursory knowledge of art history will quickly determine. Lest you have forgotten your college art history classes, the paintings of Salvador Dali and Yves Tanguy come to mind. There is also a little Max Ernst mixed in as well." Read more

Gallery exhibit boasts rarely seen drawings

Never-seen-before Group of Seven sketches and pieces from contemporary artists make latest McMichael installment unique, curators say

By Charlene Callaghan
Posted:  2008-03-03

"Curators at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection hope their new exhibit will draw visitors into the world of Canadian art.

"Drawing Conclusions", which debuted Feb. 23, displays freehand drawings by the Group of Seven and well-known Canadian contemporary artists.

Freehand drawing — one of the oldest and most primal of art techniques — depends heavily on an artist’s own skill to draw and sketch something, says curator and art historian Terrence Heath.

Never-before-seen freehand drawings by the Group of Seven are what make this particular exhibit unique, he says.

"The Group of Seven were more highly trained in the human figure than they were in drawing trees, lakes, and mountains," Heath said at the gallery last week. "Drawing was their skill before anything else." 

Having examined the more than 70 selected pieces of freehand artwork from the Group on display, Heath says the artists’ skill was a natural quality.

"(Drawing) was almost a reflex action for them," Heath said. "In the same way we have a tendency to take a photograph of something, if they saw something, they drew it."

In an adjoining room, 25 pieces of artwork by nine Canadian contemporary artists hang on display. These artists — Allan Mackay, Sheila Butler, Nobuo Kubota, John Ward, Brian Gable, Ann Kipling, Charles Pachter, Tony Scherman and Medrie MacPhee — represent a new range of drawing, says director and senior curator Shelley Falconer.

"The idea was to extend the practice of drawing (and look at) how and where it's gone today," she said.

Read full article 

"Images of a Displaced Past", 1996

By: Johanna Drucker

Link to Jstor