September 22 – October 1, 2023
The Art Incubator Gallery
Presented for 2023 Alberta Culture Days + 2023 Design Week @ Harcourt House
Opening Reception: Friday September 22nd, 7-10 pm
Closing Reception: Sunday, October 1st, 2-5 pm. Closing reception to be held in conjunction with the International Day of Older Persons.
The galleries will be open Sunday, September 24th from 10 am to 5 pm for your viewing convenience!
Free admission
Please note: Harcourt’s galleries and office will be closed to the public Saturday, September 30th for the Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
People as subject matter are of particular interest to Mary Whale, a well-recognized and accomplished Edmonton-based visual artist, educator, and a community activist. The complexity of combining the physical and psychological elements of characters has infinite possibilities for Whale’s artistic expression.
Presented in conjunction with the International Day of Older Persons on October 1st (declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1990), this evocative exhibition project showcases the suite of expressive portraits of older adults, celebrates the beauty of ageing, and highlights the ageing aesthetic in the body of Whale’s compelling and elegantly executed watercolours. Mary Whale has been engaging older adults for portrait sittings for over 20 years as both a visual artist and a gerontologic nurse. What began as an extension of her intertest in watercolour portraits evolved into an exploration of a unique process that is a mode of reminiscence and – in the essence – a positive experience for the model. According to an ancient adage: “it is natural to see the beauty of youth, but one must learn to appreciate the beauty in ageing.”
As Mary Whale says: “… watercolour is the perfect medium to capture the many dichotomies of ageing: the frailty and resilience, the fleetingness firmly entrenched in time, the strength of character existing within the weakness of flesh, a lifetime faced with the imminence of death. It is the sitter’s story I pursue in the spirit of collaboration. I believe that the opportunity to focus on the phenomenology of the sitting (i.e., the exploration of the experience) is central to my practice.”
In the process, Mary Whale’s conceptually compelling works have altered the mediality (the perceived reality influenced through media that one is exposed to) of ageing in our society by presenting more realistic and positive images of what it really means to grow older.
Artist’s Biography
Mary Whale is a seasoned Edmonton-based visual artist, educator, and community activist. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Arts (Fine Arts Major) in 1978 and Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1983, both from the University of Alberta. Her work has been showcased in many solo and group exhibitions – most recently in the exhibition “Matri-Art-Key: Resilient & Persevering” at the Women’s Art Museum of Canada in Edmonton – and is held in several private and public collections (including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts’ permanent collection).
Mary has been both a practicing artist and nurse for most of her adult life. She has found them to be mutually rewarding professions with intersecting and permeable boundaries – informing each other in subtle ways. Mary expresses herself through the direct and personal connection of commission pieces, which helps build her studio portfolio.
Most recently, she has been exploring the therapeutic potential of the portraiture process, specifically as it applies to the latter part of life and the ageing aesthetic. She has participated in the “Artists on the Wards” program at the University of Alberta Hospital. Mary has been active in the senior sector since leaving nursing in 2019. She was a Board Director (including Chair) of the Edmonton Seniors Coordinating Council for six years ending in 2023. Mary has had a blog since 2016 where she uses her visual art to engage people in conversation about ageing and ageism: beautyinageing.weeby.com. Mary Whale is a current member in the Alberta Society of Artists (Past President and Membership Chair), the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, and the Federation of Canadian Artists.
Between the Lines is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton.
Top Image: Mufty and Bill (detail), watercolour
Image courtesy of the artist
Presenting Partner:
