Mary Adam, painter and printmaker
About
Mary Adam was born and grew up in Ireland. She studied Medicine and worked two years in England before marrying and moving to the Caribbean. Despite turning to painting relatively late in life she has been actively exhibiting her work for several decades. Her first solo show took place at Horizons Gallery in Trinidad in 2004, since then she has had several solo shows and participated in a number of group exhibitions.
In 2011, she completed the BA (Hons) Painting at the Open College of the Arts and currently is working from her London-based studio. Painting, collage and printmaking are her core areas of interest, as she continues to explore the properties of light, contrast, and colour.
In addition to oils on canvas, she makes watercolours, drawings, and prints. She also enjoys experimenting with assemblage and collage as they enable her to find new forms for the ideas that attract her attention.
Her recent works, a series called Couplets, are based on the differences and oppositions of everyday life, how no two things are ever identical (like snowflakes, or the veins on our two arms). Inspired by a Robert Rauschenberg show at the Tate Modern in 2017 she is just beginning to explore this idea further in the language of line, colour and tone, which resulted in the current series of images. As of June 2020, the series* is in its earliest stages.
[*The first three are on show at Rochester Contemporary 6 x 6 2020 fundraising exhibition, roco6x6.org, # 1381, 1382 and 1383.]
Mary Adam was born and grew up in Ireland. She studied Medicine and worked two years in England before marrying and moving to the Caribbean. Despite turning to painting relatively late in life she has been actively exhibiting her work for several decades. Her first solo show took place at Horizons Gallery in Trinidad in 2004, since then she has had several solo shows and participated in a number of group exhibitions.
In 2011, she completed the BA (Hons) Painting at the Open College of the Arts and currently is working from her London-based studio. Painting, collage and printmaking are her core areas of interest, as she continues to explore the properties of light, contrast, and colour.
In addition to oils on canvas, she makes watercolours, drawings, and prints. She also enjoys experimenting with assemblage and collage as they enable her to find new forms for the ideas that attract her attention.
Her recent works, a series called Couplets, are based on the differences and oppositions of everyday life, how no two things are ever identical (like snowflakes, or the veins on our two arms). Inspired by a Robert Rauschenberg show at the Tate Modern in 2017 she is just beginning to explore this idea further in the language of line, colour and tone, which resulted in the current series of images. As of June 2020, the series* is in its earliest stages.
[*The first three are on show at Rochester Contemporary 6 x 6 2020 fundraising exhibition, roco6x6.org, # 1381, 1382 and 1383.]
“Every aspect of life is created from a balanced interaction of opposite and competing forces. Yet these forces are not just opposites; they are complementary. They do not cancel out each other, they merely balance each other like the wings of a bird.” – Scott Trettenero, www.psychreg.org
CV
Education:
2011: BA (Hons) Painting, Open College of the Arts, UK/Bucks New University.
1965: MB, BCh, BAO, National University of Ireland.
Exhibitions:
2020: Rochester Contemporary Art Centre, Rochester, New York, 6x6x2020, an annual group fundraising show, # 1381, 1382 and 1383 at roco6x6.org
2017: Kingston Artists Open Studios, June 2017.
2017: Parallax Art Fair, London, February 2017.
2016: Kingston Artists Open Studios, London, June 11-12 and 18-19, 2016. Hawks Rd Artists Studios, 47-51 Hawks Road, Kingston KT1 3DS (catalogue)
2015: Open Studio, Port of Spain, Trinidad, September 1 -- 30, 2015.
2015: Solo exhibition, March 2-7, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Federation Park, Port of Spain.
2014: Light, Space, Time, Annual Open Online Exhibition, Special Recognition award in the Painting category.
2014: November Group Exhibition, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Nov 7--22, 2014. "Sno-Cone Cart" awarded Best In Show
2014: Carnival 2014 group show, 101 Art Gallery, Woodford St., Port of Spain;
February 20 to March 13, 2014
2013: Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago,
70th Anniversary Exhibition, 15-30 November 2013.
2013: The Shelter & The Crossroads Organization Silent Auction, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, 29 October 2013.
2013: Light Space & Time Annual Open Online Exhibition November 2013, Special Recognition Award,
2012: Group Christmas show at 101 Art Gallery, Woodford Street, Port of Spain.
2012: September -- October, group show, annual Women in Art exhibition, Fine Art Ltd, Roberts St., Woodbrook.
2012: June. Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Federation Park, Port of Spain -- Nostalgia, group show. Touring Trinidad and Tobago September-December 2012.
2011: November, Trinidad and Tobago Art Society annual exhibition, Federation Park, Port of Spain (group show).
2011: October, Group show, annual Women in Art exhibition, at Fine Art Ltd, Roberts St, Woodbrook.
2011: May-June. National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago, "Women and Art".
2006: Solo show, 101 Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
2005: Spence Gallery, Toronto, with Shastri Maharaj and Rosslyn Berot-Burns
2004: Solo show, Horizons Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
2002: Joint show, Horizons Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Education:
2011: BA (Hons) Painting, Open College of the Arts, UK/Bucks New University.
1965: MB, BCh, BAO, National University of Ireland.
Exhibitions:
2020: Rochester Contemporary Art Centre, Rochester, New York, 6x6x2020, an annual group fundraising show, # 1381, 1382 and 1383 at roco6x6.org
2017: Kingston Artists Open Studios, June 2017.
2017: Parallax Art Fair, London, February 2017.
2016: Kingston Artists Open Studios, London, June 11-12 and 18-19, 2016. Hawks Rd Artists Studios, 47-51 Hawks Road, Kingston KT1 3DS (catalogue)
2015: Open Studio, Port of Spain, Trinidad, September 1 -- 30, 2015.
2015: Solo exhibition, March 2-7, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Federation Park, Port of Spain.
2014: Light, Space, Time, Annual Open Online Exhibition, Special Recognition award in the Painting category.
2014: November Group Exhibition, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Nov 7--22, 2014. "Sno-Cone Cart" awarded Best In Show
2014: Carnival 2014 group show, 101 Art Gallery, Woodford St., Port of Spain;
February 20 to March 13, 2014
2013: Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago,
70th Anniversary Exhibition, 15-30 November 2013.
2013: The Shelter & The Crossroads Organization Silent Auction, Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, 29 October 2013.
2013: Light Space & Time Annual Open Online Exhibition November 2013, Special Recognition Award,
2012: Group Christmas show at 101 Art Gallery, Woodford Street, Port of Spain.
2012: September -- October, group show, annual Women in Art exhibition, Fine Art Ltd, Roberts St., Woodbrook.
2012: June. Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Federation Park, Port of Spain -- Nostalgia, group show. Touring Trinidad and Tobago September-December 2012.
2011: November, Trinidad and Tobago Art Society annual exhibition, Federation Park, Port of Spain (group show).
2011: October, Group show, annual Women in Art exhibition, at Fine Art Ltd, Roberts St, Woodbrook.
2011: May-June. National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago, "Women and Art".
2006: Solo show, 101 Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
2005: Spence Gallery, Toronto, with Shastri Maharaj and Rosslyn Berot-Burns
2004: Solo show, Horizons Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
2002: Joint show, Horizons Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad
