Rick McCarthy
(1941–)
Rick McCarthy
1941–
Rick McCarthy (1941– ) is a painter, printmaker, and sculptor who was born in Montreal, Quebec, and he currently lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. His work is focused on exploring the line between abstraction and realism to make expressionistic statements about the human condition.
McCarthy graduated from the Ontario College of Art, Toronto, in 1963, and he then pursued additional post-graduate studies in printmaking. McCarthy’s early works attempt to capture the spirit of humankind. His semi-abstract works featured a figure that McCarthy called “the shape” which functioned as a self-portrait and a general expression of man.
In 1979, his creative process came to focus on representations of architectural arches and the female nude. Working with more figurative subject matter, McCarthy sought to create balanced and symmetrical images through the clash of contradictory forms, such as the contrast between the profane and the sacred. His work is never what it seems, sitting between reality and the abstract. McCarthy’s work also incorporated ideas of the void and Zen Buddhism, inspired by his Shotokan Karate practice.
McCarthy’s work has been exhibited in over twenty-five solo exhibitions, and it is held in public and private collections at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Museum London, London, Ontario, the Art Gallery of Guelph, and the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, among many others.