Criss Canning
Born in Melbourne in 1947, Criss Canning has had many successful solo art exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Her career, so far, has included over 15 solo exhibitions and representation in the prestigious A.M.E Bale and Doug Moran prizes. Her work is represented in collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank and private collections in London, Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, U.S.A., U.K. & Australia.
Canning has a passion for capturing colour, texture and design, which comes from her background studying Graphic Art, Drawing and Painting. Her still life paintings of flowers, fabrics and ceramics are exercises in composition and colour, conducted with a respect for the humble and the everyday. Her paintings set everyday objects against a background of vibrant patterns and colour. As an exercise in pictorial placement they are soothing and serene, always alive and moving.
Working with rich textures and viscosity of oils, she builds her images with the same meticulous craftsmanship as a weaver or a quilt maker: tracing each object's outline and securing it firmly to the pictorial plane with deft black lines and powerful blocks of pure colour. She is considered one of Australia's foremost contemporary still life painters following in the tradition of Margaret Olley and Margaret Preston.
Exhibitions
2008 Metro 5 Gallery, Armadale
2007 'Kalianthi: the art of Criss Canning', Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington
2006 Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
2005 'Favourites: Selections of Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart', S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2002 Gould Galleries, Melbourne
2001 Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
1999 'Recent Works', Gould Galleries, Sydney
1998 'Reflecting on Still Life', Gould Galleries, Melbourne
1996 'The Blooming Exhibition', Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
1995 In and Around Burnside, Gould Galleries, Melbourne
1995 'Theres Still Life', Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
1993 'Australian Women Artists', Melbourne Fine Art Gallery
1992-97 Gould Galleries, Hong Kong
1992 'Australian Women Artists', Capricorn Gallery, Melbourne
1992 Melbourne Fine Art Gallery
1991 'Views and Vision', Greenhill Galleries, South Australia
1991 Melbourne Fine Art Gallery
1990 'Australian Flower Paintings 1890-1900', Trevor Bussell Gallery, Sydney
Collections
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Artbank
Private collections in London, Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, U.S.A., U.K. & Australia.
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