Casey McGlynn (b.1970)

A prominent Canadian painter and draftsman, Casey McGlynn was born in Tillsonburg, Ontario (about 100 miles southwest of Toronto) and currently (2020) lives in Toronto, Ontario. His paintings and collages have been exhibited widely in Canada and the U.S.A.

His mediums include oils, watercolors, pencil, found objects, collage and mixed mediums. His subjects include self-portrait, figures, faces, animals, popular culture, history, genre, humor, satire, allegory, social commentary, fantasy, symbolism and autobiography. His styles could be described as Art Brut*, Caricature*, Cartoon*, Folk Art*, Graffiti Art*, Lettrism*, Outsider Art*, Pop Art*, Primitivism* or Surrealism*. The askART auction results have some excellent illustrations of his oeuvre.

Quote: “A short list of the subjects McGlynn draws, paints, cuts and pastes and otherwise enlivens includes robots, angels, towers and pyramids and saltbox houses, self-portraits, bearded toughs and famous faces, spaceships, solar flares, and a vast, hilarious menagerie comprised of elephants, bears, wolves, lots of cats, and birds both common and rare.” (1)

McGlynn is a self taught artist. He did graduate from the Ontario College of Art and Design* (1997) and taught there briefly (1997 – 1998); however, his major was in “Interdisciplinary Studies” and he did not take instruction in the creation of visual art.

His works were featured in the group exhibition “Miniature Show: An Instant Coffee Project” at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto in 2001. (2)

His works have also been featured in solo and group exhibitions at numerous prominent commercial galleries in Canada and the U.S.A., such as the Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto and Vancouver; Michael Gibson Gallery, Toronto; Reactor Gallery, Toronto; Bus Gallery, Toronto; Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto; Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary; Bugera Matheson Gallery, Edmonton; Modern Primitive Gallery, Atlanta; TAG Art Gallery, Nashville; Judy A. Saslow Gallery, Chicago; Galerie Penumbra, Indianapolis; Artistic Spirit Gallery, Indianapolis; Yard Dog Gallery, Austin; Visions West Contemporary, Denver and Bozeman; Foster/White Gallery, Seattle; and Garde Rail Gallery, Seattle.

Two of McGlynn’s works are in the HBC Global Art Collection in New York and are currently (2020) on display there. (3)

Footnotes:

(1) Quote source: “Casey McGlynn at Bau-Xi Gallery” by R.M. Vaughan, Globe and Mail, Toronto, June 10, 2011.

(2) Researchers please note: McGlynn’s CV and biography on the websites of the Bau-Xi Gallery and the Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art both say his work was featured in a solo exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, Colorado in 2005; however, while we do not dispute it, we unfortunately could not confirm any exhibition that included McGlynn’s works on the BMoCA website, which has online exhibition records that go back to 2001. – M.D. Silverbrooke

(3) Please note: ‘Since its founding in 1670, Hudson’s Bay Company has been collecting art. Presently the art collection consists of more than 3,200 artworks and are present in our Corporate Headquarters in Canada, the United States, Germany and Belgium. The New York collection is focused on contemporary art and new generations of artists.’ Source: HBC Global Art Collection website. – M.D. Silverbrooke

Sources:

Canadian Heritage Information Network*

Art Gallery of Ontario (website)

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (website)

Foster/White Gallery (website)

Bau-Xi Gallery (website)

Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art (website)

HBC Global Art Collection (website) https://hbcglobalartcollection.com/?s=mcglynn

“Casey McGlynn at Bau-Xi Gallery” by R.M. Vaughan, Globe and Mail, Toronto June 10, 2011

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com. Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx

Written and contributed to askART by M.D. Silverbrooke.