Casey McGlynn | Shipwrights and Magpies
Casey McGlynn | Shipwrights and Magpies
340 Dundas Street West, Toronto
October 2 - 16, 2021
In "Shipwrights and Magpies", acclaimed painter Casey McGlynn explores the joys and pains of human connection. Since moving to an airport hangar where he spends his time repairing a ship, McGlynn has met many interesting characters who inspired him to create this bold series of colourful mixed media paintings and collages. Recognizable forms blend with abstraction, breathing life into a chaotic scene filled with emotion. The collection is completed by two calmer images depicting single ships on the water, with McGlynn’s signature vivid pop of colour.
Casey McGlynn’s paintings are visual composites of autobiography and collective memory, at once literal and endlessly symbolic. Highly referential images—animals, people, popular media, textual documents—narrate scenes from the artist’s life while also prompting the viewer’s imagination through allegory and archetype. Working with a combination of techniques, McGlynn imbues this timeless visual repertoire with contemporary life: adventurous explorations of colour, humour, and satire are delivered with what Gary Michael Dault, writing for the Globe and Mail, called “a warm and somehow compassionate abandon.” Indeed, McGlynn’s compositions capture life’s chaos while also allowing his viewer the contemplative space to insert his or her own story.
McGlynn’s works can be found in a number of private and public collections in both Canada and the US. Most recently his work was acquired for the HBC Global Art Collection, New York.