Centretown artist Mary McIninch brings her collages to Santini Gallery

By Samantha Goodman

Local artist Mary McIninch’s unique mixed-media work is on display at Little Italy’s Santini Gallery for the artist’s first solo exhibition, on until March 31.

As a Centretown resident, McIninch said she has always participated in some form of art production. Recently, her focus has been on using a variety of media.

“Twelve years ago, I took a mixed-media art course and I just really fell in love with it,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

McIninch calls her work abstract. She uses other materials, such as paper, wire and postcards paired with paint, which create a collage effect.

“I really love lots of texture in art and layers,” she said, noting how layering can be achieved using paper with paint and other materials.

McIninch is a member of the Ottawa Mixed Media Artists and the Foyer Gallery in Nepean. She said some of her work has also been displayed at Santini Gallery on Preston Street for about two years, but that she has never had a solo exhibit until now.

Lauryn Santini, owner of Santini Gallery, said a McIninch-focused event was overdue.

“It was time for her first show,” said Santini.

Santini earned a Master’s in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. Through her gallery, she represents more than 20 local and national artists.

“Mary is my only collage artist, which really sets her apart from everyone else,” said Santini.

McIninch’s exhibit is called Coming into View, and displays about a dozen of her pieces.

“The show has various forms of abstraction…when you look at it for a period of time, you start to see different forms taking shape,” said Santini.

Malika Welsh, development and fundraising coordinator for the Ottawa School of Art, said she likes the way McIninch takes something like a cityscape and uses various materials to bring meaning to her pieces.

“I find the way in which she layers her work with different colours and non-colours, a lot of her work has blacks, silvers and whites with little speckles of colours, evokes different ways of seeing those cityscapes, seascapes and forest-works.”

McIninch said the exhibit is unique for her because it will have more of a unifying theme, something she has not done before. “The collages are about watching and waiting with a city theme and view of skylines,” she said. “Other works of mixed media, such as trees, are featured.”

“One of the things I admire about her work is there is a large variety in subjects,” Santini said. The variety, she added, is important because it makes for a more compelling show.

Santini said one of the interesting things about McIninch’s collages is the sense of history illustrated through some of the pieces she uses, such as vintage postcards and old books.

Welsh said history has shown the use of collage is a good way to express ideas. “We take things from the natural world and create something entirely different,” she said.

Welsh said a common thread in McIninch’s work is the use of vistas — “a pleasing view, especially one seen through a long, narrow opening.”

She said this is part of a greater theme in abstract art, where there is a stronger relationship between the viewer and the painting, rather than with the artist.

“It’s because we’re in a time in society where we’re trying to be a lot more inclusive. Abstract art is a great means to that inclusivity,” she said.

Welsh said there is a freedom to abstract art that isn’t always found in other art movements.

“I think it’s a very exciting time to be an abstract artist here in Ottawa,” she said, “and there is an audience for it.”