MEET THE ARTIST

Mary Plouffe is a dual Canadian and American citizen.  She grew up in Northern Ontario, Canada and currently resides in Northwestern Ohio. She obtained her B.F.A. from York University in Toronto and worked as a graphic and exhibition designer at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada's largest cultural institution, for nine years before accepting the position of Manager of Exhibitions at the Toledo Museum of Art in the late 90's. Mary is also a graduate of the New York Institute of Art and Design with a major in Interior Design. Currently, she is the owner of her own interior design business, works from her home studio on interior design projects and continues to produce predominantly large scale artwork.  

The illusion of control is our safety net.  It is very difficult for society to accept an inability to fully manage its human and environmental condition, but in creating a work of art, you can embrace and fully explore that discord. It is the polarization between control and chaos, retention and release, light and dark, planned and random that drives me as an artist. Recently, I have been experimenting with these relationships through the use of dynamic color acrylics and mixed media. My process usually begins with a figurative form combined with graphic and patterned elements. My focus is mainly on the female form reflecting autonomy and presence. The art historical study of the female gaze has always fascinated me, and my subjects' gazes always exude a quiet power.  They confront, withdraw, tease and exist on their own terms.  I draw inspiration from a broad range of art movements from Early Renaissance Madonna imagery to the art of the Cubists and Abstraction Expressionists.