Casey McGlynn: My Northern Life

For his new solo exhibition Life in a Northern Town, Casey McGlynn provides his own poignant descriptions of each work, distilling a deeply personal meditation on life, memory, and artistic voice beyond major art centres, and drawing from everyday experience in Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding northern Canadian area. 

Life in a Northern Town officially opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver's Upper Gallery on April 11 and runs through April 28, 2026.

SUDBURY SATURDAY NIGHT

“Well the girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin’ stinko
We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night”
– Stompin’ Tom Connors

Sudbury is kind of the halfway point between my home in 
the ‘Sault’ and Toronto which I called home for 27 years
Sudbury is also a symbol of resilience
 It grew back its green spaces after having a nickel factory and the mining industry taking priority over the land for many years
My parents both worked in factories
My dad made steel nails at Sivaco
My mother worked at Hoover universal making foam car seats
This was my future
An art teacher I had 
in secondary school in Woodstock, Ontario
even asked me if my parents could get me into the factory to work because he didn’t believe in my ‘messy’ style
I never learned to ski or skate
but I drew every day of my life
How much more Canadian can you get than Stompin’ Tom

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG

This piece has my father and mother depicted
when they were in their early 40s,
my mother’s house and a big house that’s across the street
from my kids’ house in the “Sault”
The large horse represents me
It’s about the past and how it relates to the future
Joey Ramone sits in the corner amongst various people
from my past
It also has a sandcrawler from Star Wars which is basically
an upside-down Noah’s Ark
I went to Catholic school and was heavily influenced by
biblical imagery

Casey McGlynn, School Bus Years. Mixed Media on Canvas, 40 x 30 inches.

SCHOOL BUS YEARS

This piece is about the time that passes so quickly,
different periods of being a parent
Also it’s a reference to the BUS gallery and Katherine Mulherin
Spaceships and horses
A reference to Clint Griffin, the genius artist and friend
Colonial ships in the distance

-Casey McGlynn, 2026

Casey McGlynn, Tribute to Basquiat. Mixed Media on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches.

TRIBUTE TO BASQUIAT

This piece contains many personal and vulnerable elements
in the text…
When I was a few years into my career, I saw the film Basquiat
by Julian Schnabel
I remember the ticket-taker smirking at me
with my paint-covered clothes and
fishing tackle box full of art supplies as I walked
into the theatre
I was completely unaware of his work before this moment, although I did see
the Warhol-Basquiat collaborations in NYC when I was 16…
not realizing they weren’t done by
Warhol alone
Needless to say, I related to JMB immensely
and my love for his work was immediate (although what I was seeing was Schnabel’s Basquiat-style paintings he had done
for the film - the estate did not give Schnabel permission to use
any pieces so he had to make his own)
At the time my girlfriend had kicked me out of our apartment
and started dating my best friend and lead singer of my band…
I was a mess
And I would walk around with my Basquiat book and art supplies working constantly everywhere I went
I remember one very desperate evening
when I actually prayed to Basquiat

Casey McGlynn, Horse for Joey. Mixed Media on Canvas, 48 x 48 inches.

HORSE FOR JOEY

Joey is of course Joey Ramone
I saw the Ramones in concert 9 times (a point of great pride)
The painting has ghosts with Pac Man chasing them
lots of pop culture
bright coloured areas punchy like punk rock
It also has me depicted as a cowboy
my favourite part is the paint spill
that looks like the mane of the horse

ELEPHANT STANDING ON ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

This piece includes a roughly painted Robert Motherwell piece
‘Elegy to the Spanish Republic’
With an elephant sort of dancing across the top of it
I’m plying with the notions of high and low art
Folk art and academic art meet
and have a little wrestling match

Casey McGlynn, 5 Birds Suspiciously Await the Arrival of 24 Ships. Mixed Media on Canvas, 48 x 60 inches.

5 BIRDS SUSPICIOUSLY AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF 24 SHIPS

Pinks, sloops and brigantines make their way across the ocean
Reaching for the new shores
The stoic birds sit nervously awaiting the change about to come
The dense forest quivering in the wind

-Casey McGlynn, 2026