MARC ADORNATO’S ARTIST STATEMENT
100 years ago Tom Thompson and artists in ‘The Group of Seven’ made a name for themselves painting the pristine Canadian landscape. 100 years later, I’ve created contemporary artworks that reflects the new Canadian landscape, and embody Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s phrase ‘the medium is the message” by actually ruining other people’s landscape paintings with toxic accidents.
‘Ruined Landscapes’ is a painting series whereby I ‘hijack’ vintage, mass-produced, Bob Ross-style landscape paintings found in thrift stores and antique shops, and I paint in hazmat cleanup crews and man-made environmental disasters. Many of the painting titles are appropriated from actual news headlines from real accidents that have occurred throughout the Canadian landscape. Train derailments, fuel truck rollovers, oil tankers running aground and illegal chemical dumping are just some of the toxic accidents reflected in these truly Canadian landscape paintings.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Marc Adornato (1977 – present)
Adornato (BFA, NSCAD) is a Canadian contemporary artist, satirist, reformed antique hoarder, and provocateur. His provocative art practice usually consists of sharp sociopolitical critique, themes of wealth inequality, terrorism, state surveillance, pollution, plagiarism, with a hint of sarcasm or dark humor. Adornato explores a wide range of mediums and disciplines including painting, sculpture, assemblage, performance, ready-mades, video, and sound.
“I don’t have stylistic loyalty. That’s why people perceive me changing all the time. But there is a real continuity in my subject matter.” – Adornato
He received a degree in Fine Arts from NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bragging rights over the past decade include exhibits in The Canadian War Museum, The Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum, The Ottawa Art Gallery, Canada Science and Technology Museum, and The Diefenbunker Museum. His work resides in the permanent art collection of the City of Ottawa, The Diefenbunker Museum, as well as several private & celebrity collections in Canada and the United States of America.
Read more about Marc Adornato on his website.
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