Opening January 15 in the new Members’ Gallery space is local artist Yuliya McMahon with a series of colourful, fantastical pieces titled Beyond the Sea.
Throughout her career, McMahon has been involved with a variety of artistic endeavours, most notably, her career as an animator for various studios such as Disney and DreamWorks. Inspired by her time working in animation for over 15 years, McMahon takes on a playful, illustrative approach towards her artistic practice. In Beyond the Sea, McMahon depicts a series of characters inspired by tropical plants, animals, and colours. She creates an underwater dream world, populated by pin-up mermaids, ultra-hip, hat-wearing octopuses and a wild assortment of their blowfish friends, each depicted with unique and individual personalities.
This ongoing series is influenced by the colours of nature and the rich, unique sub-sea world. McMahon is fascinated by the myriad shades of blue of the undersea world and imagines what lies beneath the ocean, allowing this curiosity to fuel her imaginative world. With Beyond the Sea, McMahon aims to explore her interest in the fantastical and bring a smile to someone's face.
Beyond the Sea will be on view in the Members’ Gallery from January 15 to February 5, 2022.
You can view more of Yuliya’s work by visiting her Instagram, Facebook, and website.
Yuliya McMahon has been drawing and sculpting since she was very little. Throughout her career, she has been involved with a variety of artistic endeavours including painting portraits and caricatures, decorating store window displays, theatre set design and having an over a decade-long career in animation. In 1999 Yuliya graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kiev, Ukraine and after moving to Canada in 2004, graduated from the Toronto Film School in 3D Animation. Since then, she has been working in animation on movies and TV shows. In 2018, between work and family, Yuliya decided to find the time to pursue her passion of creating tropical fantasy paintings and sculptures. Since 2020 Yuliya's work has been displayed in galleries and shops in the United States as well as in Canada.
Beyond the Sea in the Members’ Gallery, 2022.