This bulletin was published in 1987 by the Contemporary Art Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition Mina Totino: *PAINTINGS* at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver from November 24 – December 19, 1987.

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PAINTINGS

Mina Totino

Through her choice of subject matter and her use of brushstrokes and colour, Mina Totino’s paintings evoke agitation and unrest. These isolated figures on ambiguous grounds do not, however, cause panic or crisis, but rather a sense of disturbed agitation.

Her treatment of the surface, especially the frenetic, crossed brushstrokes, mirror the positions of subjects caught at some point in a newsworthy narrative. The overall feeling of decay, the graffiti of simultaneous layering and peeling away addresses the effects of mediation where conflicts become merely news — front page items one day and the next day, forgotten. Such disposable images take on a new longevity when instated in paint.

As a woman artist operating in the domain of large-scale figure painting and addressing marginalized or oppressed subjects, Totino’s choice of media and content reflect her own position and take it forward in a new direction.

Totino’s paintings describe issues and subjects which are continuously sensationalized and then dismissed in the media. Her work offers us the opportunity to reassess our attitudes towards such images and their meanings.

Essay: "Waiting for the Angelus," Miriam Nichols

A painting of a person in a pink skirt, walking with their gaze low, with a large red stripe on their right. In the background, there is a faint silhouette of an upside-down toyota truck. 

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A gestural painting showing a dark figure in a blue jacket and flared black pants running with their arms raised in front of them. The background is made of yellow and white brush strokes.

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A dark painting with expressive brushstrokes showing a person laying down on their side. Their white shirt and blue pants have large red splotches on them, and the background is mostly black.

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A gesticulative painting shows a person with pale skin in a pink dress, in a dynamic pose. The background is split into black and yellow, and large red letters in the background are partially visible.

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A square, abstract painting made with short gestural brush strokes, and scratches. The colours present in the painting are black, yellow, orange, white, and blue.

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A layered, abstract painting, showing a round orange form with a black oval at its centre. The form is asymmetrical with frayed edges and is in front of a pale blue background. 

Mina Totino

Related Exhibitions