Sunday, August 21, 2016

Colleen Heslin

Colleen Heslin, Havana Affair, 2015

I'm really excited about the work of Colleen Heslin, whose show Needles and Pins is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the McMichael Collection. Heslin graduated from Concordia University's MFA program in 2014 and won the RBC Painting Competition in 2013.


Colleen Heslin, Bending Moment, dye on linen, 64 x 86", 2016

Heslin hand-dyes linen and cotton, sometimes using ink as dye. She assembles pieces of cloth together in a style reminiscent of colour field painting. Her use of cloth and stitch pushes the boundaries of painting and raises questions about the craft/art interface.


Colleen Heslin, White Lie, dye on linen, 64 x 86", 2016

I hope to see the show at the McMichael Collection, north of Toronto, in the fall. You can read about it in this article from the Globe and Mail.


1 comment:

Margaret said...

I too was intrigued by Ms. Heslin's work when I saw it at the Esker Gallery in April.
(http://www.margaretblank.com/2016/04/the-esker.html). She was paired with a painter known for his colour block work. While the juxtaposition was interesting, I thought the addition of stitch (seams) in her work created more interesting pieces.