Spotlighting forgotten women’s pasts
Painter puts contemporary twists on Baroque and Renaissance portraiture
Keight MacLean puts a contemporary twist on historical portraits. Her paintings shine the spotlight on women whose pasts are often forgotten or rewritten.
“While I was attending university at OCAD U, I did a year abroad in Florence, Italy. I’ve always been a fan of Old Masters paintings, but it really struck me while I was there, how neglected women’s stories are in history,” she says. “I was particularly taken by all of the paintings in museums under names like ‘Portrait of a Woman’ or ‘Portrait of the Wife of…’ and it inspired me to focus on these women in my own work.”
The faces in MacLean’s portraits derive from paintings of women done mainly in the Renaissance and Baroque time periods. Through her work, they are transported into the 21st century with the use of modern materials, like paint markers and spray paint.
“I’m fascinated by the fact that these women’s images live on when their stories do not,” she says, “and I’ve always sought to celebrate these people, who, because of their gender, likely lived very hard lives.”
MacLean incorporates motifs of censorship and silencing women into her paintings. Many of her pieces show women with their mouths covered or crossed out, “really calling to the lack of women’s voices in history,” she says.
MacLean grew up in Kingston, but is based in Toronto. Her artwork is available online at keightmaclean.com, as well as the Bbam! Gallery in Montreal and Studio22 in Kingston.
What is a hidden gem in the city?
Bathurst Local is a bar that I found right before the pandemic. It’s this sweet little unassuming place on Bathurst Street, just south of Dundas. It’s a whole labyrinth, almost like the first floor of a house that’s been converted into a bar. They have incredible cocktails, incredible amount of wines, beers and sakes. They do craft cocktails as well. They have couches around little nooks and crannies you can hide away in. They’ve been doing a bottle shop during the pandemic. They have a lot of Japanese whiskies that are harder to find in Ontario. They curate it all and their newsletter is really cute.
Where do you go for inspiration? There’s a bunch of back alleys, which is something I love about Toronto. Especially during the pandemic, I’ve taken to navigating the city through as many back alleys as I can, and all the residential laneways, with all the garages with incredible murals. Some of them have really good art.
In the past couple years, I discovered the Aga Khan Museum. Oh my God. I had no idea about it, especially as someone who is downtown. It’s pretty out of the way. But it’s so worth it going out there. You feel like you’re in a different world. The grounds are so beautiful — but also the level of curation of the exhibits they bring are incredible. It’s almost as good as travelling.
Where do you go to escape the city, while still being in the city?
We’re super fortunate as Torontonians that we have a public archery range, E.T. Seton Park. E.T. Seton was this guy who bequeathed the land to the city of Toronto, but when doing so, he specified that it had to remain an archery range and, if at any point the city failed to maintain it, the family would take it back. There’s this public archery range up there. As an archer, it’s incredible to have access to that.
I’ve also been going to Todmorden Mills a lot during the pandemic. It’s a really wonderful park. It’s big and not too populated, but once you get outside of the main open part of the park, it also has a bunch of hiking trails. There are a lot of little spots where the paths converge, and you can find a spot to have a picnic and feel like you’re absolutely in the middle of nowhere when really you’re right next to the (Don Valley Parkway).
Where is your favourite place to grab takeout?
I love North of Brooklyn. Just good solid pizza. Rol San, even though it’s said to be demolished soon, which is a tragedy. I’m trying to get all the dumplings in now. Heartbreak Chef is one of my favourite restaurants. They have the best chicken sandwiches and the best mac and cheese in the city.
Who are some artists we should know about?
I get a lot of my jewelry from this local artist. She goes by Handmade Revolution. She does custom stuff as well. I always bring her ideas and she makes them real. It’s wonderful.
A sculptor who I absolutely love locally and I collect her stuff is Lana Filippone. She does these gorgeous porcelain sculptures, these beautiful round dome glass frames. They’re absolutely beautiful. A lot of porcelain and gold luster.
For a tailor, Philip Sparks is in The Junction. What he does is all entirely bespoke, 100 per cent custom. Because of that, he works with all kinds of gender identities, all different body types. It’s super inclusive and wonderful. It’s custom, but a lot of his stuff is inspired and informed by historical stuff, which I really like.
I’m fascinated by the fact that these women’s images live on when their stories do not … and I’ve always sought to celebrate these people, who, because of their gender, likely lived very hard lives. — Keight MacLean