Marie Finkelstein / Recent Works

Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present new paintings by Marie Finkelstein. We were first introduced to Marie’s work by Sadko Hadzihasanovic, an artist with our gallery and a mentor of Marie’s. During the years that we were programming thesis exhibitions and a broad range of invited artists in our Special Projects Space at 962 Queen St West (2005 – 2010) Marie exhibited there on three past occasions. In the spirit of our past Project Space ventures and in conjunction with a memorial exhibition of paintings by Toronto artist Charlie Katz, we are pleased to present Marie’s new work.

The paintings on exhibition are from two recent series of works, Pool and On Display. In both series, she continues her interest in observing people in public spaces as she explores two iconic leisure pastimes, swimming and viewing art.

“The Pool series explores the relationship of people to their surroundings. Here, I am interested in the ways in which people experience the familiar but foreign element of water, whether treading, swimming laps, staying afloat, or holding onto the side of the pool. The flattened surfaces of the pool deck are juxtaposed against the variegated surface of the water, providing both a visual and metaphorical anchor.
“The paintings in the On Display series depict how visitors in museums and galleries relate to art, as well as the surrounding spaces. The flattened backgrounds create the sense that the figures are also part of the art on display. The act of viewing art, like the making of it, is a uniquely human experience – an attempt to make sense of our world. The “real life” figures gaze intently at the art as they try to understand and appreciate it. Like the people in the Pool series, they are experiencing the sensations of a different environment.” Marie Finkelstein, June 2012

Marie Finkelstein is a Toronto-based artist who has had several solo exhibitions in Toronto and Ottawa, and has participated in numerous juried group exhibitions. She was a finalist in the 2005 Kingston Portrait Prize Competition, and appeared as one of the selected artists in the 2009 BRAVO! television series, Star Portraits. She recently completed a major commission of four paintings for Osgoode Hall Law School at York University which were presented in October 2011. Marie studied art in Montreal where she was born and raised, and in Banff, Boston and Toronto.