Katherine McLean
John Ramsay
Gallery,
Vancouver
Jun 16, 2001 - Jul 14,
2001
 Katherine McLean, an idea (2001), ceramic sculpture |
Katherine McLean is a Vancouver artist who has been delighting Vancouver audiences since graduating from Emily Carr in 1985 with her whimsical still life ceramic sculptures. Moving easily between realism and fantasy, McLean pulls off a plethora of artifacts that fill the gallery with colour and light.
The two dozen objects and wall pieces in this show come with a twist. Visitors will find ceramic flowers - even a red sunflower - and fruit arranged in lop-sided vases and bowls that resemble artichokes. An eight-foot wide ceramic "feast" entitled California Dreamin' comes with its own 3D bottles of Zinfandel and banjo. Carnal Summer is a set of four ceramic rose-covered wall panels - a cool play on early minimalist painting - whose weight I shudder to guess. Painterly qualities of transparent glazes achieve richer and more saturated colours in the ceramics, while her drawings and paintings take the still life motif into more complicated patterns and compositions.
In the last few years, McLean has branched out to the States, where she shows with Foster/White in Kirkland and Seattle.
© Mia Johnson