Celia Meade’s recent paintings depict dream-like landscapes with cotton candy shaped trees. Her colour palette is a serene and meditative combination of aqua greens, teal blues and soft purples. Her work is at once playful and contemplative and evokes a quiet mood and memories of soft winds rustling new spring leaves and the scent of pine.
Celia states that these paintings are her connection to the spirit world, that “they express a desire to be one with the Infinite in a Buddhist sense, to lose one’s self identity and feel a part of the greater physical world. In this sense, these trees are self-portraits.”
Celia sees the portrayal of the landscape by artists as a tradition in which the artist is really depicting their inner emotions and spirit. She lists William Turner, Vincent Van Gogh, Arthur Dove and Canadians, Paterson Ewan and Wanda Koop as artists she admires for these reasons. In this way, Celia Meade’s trees are archetypes representing the meaning of life and experience of being alive.
Celia studied at the Royal College of Art in London, England, the Groningen University in Holland and received her Masters degree in painting from the University of Calgary. She has exhibited her work in western Canada, Australia, Chile and the Netherlands.
Education:
1998 - Royal College of Art, London, England, Exchange student.
1998 - Masters of Fine Arts, University of Calgary, Canada
1992 - Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Calgary, Canada
Selected Exhibitions:
2004 - Undiscovered Country, The Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Alberta (Solo)
2004 - Taking Liberties, The Gallery, Red Deer, Canada, July 2004 (group).
2004 - Understory, the Bowman Arts Centre, Lethbridge , Canada, May 2004 (group)
2002 - Welcome to My House, The Red Deer Allied Arts Council Gallery, September 2002 (Duo).
2000 - Parallel Lines, The Leighton Centre, Alberta, November 2000 (group).
2000 - Some at Seas, Seas Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia, August 2000 (group).
2000 - May, Art Images Gallery, Adelaide Australia, May 2000 (group)
2000 - cc, Suncor Building, Calgary, Canada, May-September 2000 (two person show, along with Cecilia Gossen).
1999 - Shadowland, SEAS Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia, July, 1999 (Solo).
1999 - Exhibit A, FestWest, Adelaide, Australia, April 1999 (Group; invitation)
1998 - TransAlta Building, Calgary, Canada, June-September 1998.
1998, The Nickle Arts Museum, August-September 1998 (MFA Graduating Exhibit) Calgary, Canada.
1998 - Prelude, The New Gallery, Calgary, Canada, July 1998.
1998 - Poles Apart, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile, May, 1998.
1998 - Silence and Space, Devonian Art Gallery, Calgary Canada, April 1998.
1998 - Absolutely Fabulous: The RCA Exchange Show, The Little Gallery, Calgary, Canada, March 1998.
1997 - Enigma Variations, The Little Gallery, Calgary, Canada, November, 1997.
1997 - Reading Rilke, The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada, Feb-March '97 (Group; invitation).
1996 - The Netherlands, The Auburn, Calgary, March '96.
1995 - Wilhelmina Ziekenhius, Assen, The Netherlands, Nov-Jan '95 (Juried).
1992 - BFA Graduating Show, Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, April '92.
Publications:
David Kelly, interview on The Breakfast Show, A Channel (Calgary: May 25, 2004).
Jill Sawyer, “Artist Portraits”, Galleries West Magazine, (Calgary, Spring 2004 Issue)
David Kelly, Art in the Garden, A Channel News at Night (Calgary: April 1998).
Christine Hart, Grad Students Strut Their Plumage, The Gauntlet (Calgary: March 20, 1997).
Channel 10, Art is Vital (Calgary, March 1996).
Awards:
Royal College of Art Exchange Award (98).
Thesis Research Award (98).
Alberta Art Foundation Graduate Scholarship (97).
Faculty of Fine Arts Graduate Research Award (97).
Graduate Research Assistantship (96).
Dean of Graduate Studies Award (96).
Official Provincial artist, Drenthe, The Netherlands (92-94).
Collections:
Fairmont Hotels
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Scurfield Hall, University of Calgary
Fekete Australia Pty Ltd.
The Auburn Saloon
Wild Birds Unlimited
Crop Duster Films
Sceptre Engineering
Various private collectors
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"Evergreens" |
"Trees" |
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"Kangaroo Island" |
"Galiano" |
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"Tree Triptych" |
"Georgian Green" |
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"Channel Ridge" |
"Chocolate Island" |
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"Islands 2" |
"Islands 4" |
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"Islands 6" |
"Wind Break" |
