Carol Wainio: The Book

Additional Information

The Book, a ten-year survey of Carol Wainio's paintings, finds apropos context within the RPL Central Library. The illustrated book, and its use as a tool for educating young children about complex issues of class, race, and social etiquette is rich source material for Wainio's explorations. The artist's meticulously detailed paintings make reference to the two-page spread of the open book and appropriate aesthetics and characters from European folk- and fairy-tales in to tell stories of contemporary tales of loss and disenchantment in a late capitalist era. Depictions of orphans and peasants coming into great fortune or using their wits and wiles to trick the ruling class are juxtaposed with images of a contemporary poverty that is represented not by a lack of goods, but by an overwhelming surplus of cheap, mass-produced shoes, shopping bags, and other detritus.

Carol Wainio has exhibited widely throughout Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, and internationally, in the United States, China, and Europe, including the Stedelijk Museum, the Venice Biennale, and the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna in Bologna. Her paintings can be found in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, including the National Gallery of Canada. Wainio is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. Her work is represented by Wynick/Tuck Gallery (Toronto), Galerie René Blouin (Montreal), and Trépanier Baer Gallery (Calgary).

Carol Wainio, The Book (Installation View), 2013.