About Artist:
Audrey Mabee's work is designed to make you smile. It focuses on people - dancing, making music and generally enjoying life in a whimsical world. Audrey uses bright colours and plays with negative shapes and "light channels" to create unusual shapes and patterns on the canvas. Her work has been exhibited in San Fransisco, Vancouver and Calgary.

Shows & Exhibitions:
   Life Drawings - several group shows, Muttart Gallery, Calgary Alberta
   Revealing Figures 1992 - Group Show, Kensington Fine Art Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
   ACAD Alumni Show 1992 - Group Show, Devonian Gardens, Calgary, Alberta
   December Salon 1993 - Featured Artist, Virginia Christopher Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
   Glenbow Art Lotto 1994 - Contributing Artist, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
   Women in the Arts 1994 - Harrington Fine Art, Vancouver, BC
   Gallery Artists 1995 - Group Show, Gallery 44, San Fransisco
   People Paintings 1995 - The Croft, Calgary, Alberta
   New Works 1996 - Solo Exhibition, Wallace Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
   Pre-Christmas Show 1998 - Seewall Galery, Vancouver, BC
   Naked 1999 - Harrison Galleries, Vancouver, BC
   New Artists 1999 - Harrison Galleries, Vancouver, BC
   People I Know, Places I Go 2000 - solo show, Harrison Galleries, Calgary, Alberta
   Inscapes & Landscapes I Have Known 2002 - solo show, Harrison Galleries, Calgary, Alberta

Statement:
"After numerous years of experimentation with colour and space, my work has developed a distinctive style. The experiments go on, the learning continues, the style evolves. Presently, I am playing with bright colours, interior rhythms and patterns, negative space and often, obvious channels of light. The ordinary subjects of people making music, dancing, eating, drinking, biking and swimming are transformed from the mundane to the fanciful. Birds, fish, cats and fruit invariably creep into most paintings. The paintings are all oil on canvas, and each one generally takes about four months to complete. I especially enjoy the process of painting and the multiple changes each canvas is subjected to during that process. I have been influenced primarily by artists who have a unique style of drawing, like Modigliani and the strong colours of Hundertwasser and Matisse, as well as the fantasies of Chagall and the exquisite patterns of Klimt. The subjects and colours I use are chosen to make you feel good and smile when you look at my work ... if you find something in them that also makes you think and wonder, all the better."

History:
Audrey Mabee is an alumni of the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary and the former Acting President of the institution. She was founder and co-owner of The Croft in Calgary for 24 years. Audrey has illustrated several books, created artwork for instructional videos for the University of Calgary and the Holy Cross Hospital and has done significant commissions for commercial corporations including A & W and Starbucks.