Kathleen Dawson

Kathleen Dawson studied Fine Arts at Queen’s University in Kingston followed by a Master of Fine Arts at Parsons School of Design in New York City. 

Kathleen established her first professional studio in Brooklyn where she created large scale, Expressionistic oil paintings. Her early successes included selection in a juried show at Ecole de Beaux Art in Paris, and a solo show at The National Arts Club, New York. Her painting practice continued after she moved to Toronto where she has maintained studios in Parkdale’s Liberty Village and now, for over 10 years, in the Junction neighbourhood. Her work has evolved to the creation of more conceptual and contemplative paintings, drawings and mixed media works exploring her love of nature and experiences as a daughter and mother. 

Her work has been widely exhibited in both New York and Toronto and is held in numerous corporate and private collections.

Observation of natural specimens, inspired by Kathleen’s long career in museum education and her passion for gardening, provides the subject matter for her mixed media artwork. This theme is joined with a strong sense of time and place through landscape images and objects holding personal memories. The visual language of her work communicates ideas through the contrast between quiet, meditative drawing and painterly, gestural brushwork. Compositions combine layers of floating imagery, appearing in and out of focus , together with large areas of silent, haunting negative space.

Kathleen Dawson’s work is on permanent display at the gallery. To see more of her work go to our online SHOP.