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Mary Keczan-Ebos
- born in 1946 in Grimsby, Ontario
- father immigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1929; mother
immigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1934
- B.A. English and Art History, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario; M.A., English, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
click on thumbnails
at left to view larger images
As an artist who is "socially and politically . . .
committed to addressing the concerns of marginalized groups such as ethnic minorities,
women, and naturalists" (Keczan-Ebos, 1998), Mary Keczan-Ebos produces mixed-media
installations that reflect this commitment. In Speaking Hungarian (1994) Keczan
Ebos has incorporated fresh green peppers, red szegedi paprika and white hand-made cziga
noodles into a colourful intricate map on the gallery floor, reminiscent of the colours of
the Hungarian flag. The smell of these various traditional Hungarian ingredients evoke
memories of Hungary, transporting the viewer back in time to the artist's parents' place
of origin. An exploration of Keczan-Ebos's Hungarian identity, this installation
incorporates stories told to the artist by her parents about their Hungarian town of
origin and immigration experience. She has also recycled old Hungarian newspapers remaking
them into paper upon which she inscribes various names of historical Hungarian artists,
perhaps as a way of locating her own creative production within the history of Hungarian
art. In 1995, she created The Blue Seed Garden, an installation using black,
blue, and pink seeds scattered in a rhythmic zig zag pattern that is associated with the
goddess, and incorporating text about seeds fading by the wayside and the association of
the colour blue with women. Keczan-Ebos wrote: "The work was about how we are
constructed as women and about our vulnerability. There were photographs of the
installation when first laid out and as it weathered over the duration of the exhibition.
They document a state of process and deterioration" (1998). In 1997, her Of
Closets and Gardens was part of a show with Cindy McMenemy, called Domestic
Conversations. Of Closets and Gardens explored the containment of nature and
its association with the female, who is confined in many ways to a male realm.
"Gardens are assumed to be neutral ground," she writes in the catalogue.
"And yet -- the Great Gardener in Western Culture is assigned a male gender and the
exotic specimens contained within it are female" (1997). An active member of the
Hamilton art community she was President of Hamilton Artists Inc. from 1992 to 1994, and
is a member of the Bay Area Artists Collective and the Bay Area Artists for Women's Art.
Committed to eradicating inequality and discrimination in the arts she was a mentor in the
Cultural Equity Mentoring Program and helped organize "Bridging the Cultural
Gaps," a community symposium addressing issues of equity and access in the arts. In
1994 Keczan-Ebos organized Proximities: The 'You Are Here' Factor, held at Hamilton
Artists' Inc., a group exhibition assembling the works of early twentieth-century
Hungarian artists from the collection of Reverend Csaba Baksa and contemporary Canadian
artists of Hungarian heritage.
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1995 |
Eve's Wedding
The Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario |
1994 |
Speaking Hungarian
The Spectator Gallery, Hamilton, OntarioMixed
Media: Works on Paper
The West Room, Faculty Club, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
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1993 |
Works on Paper
Hamilton Regional Arts Council, Hamilton, Ontario |
1992 |
Selected Works
"The Farm" Studio Gallery, Port Loring, OntarioThe Power of Three
The Arbour Room, Hart House, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
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1991 |
Gilmour Hall, McMaster
University, Hamilton, Ontario |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 |
Paperworks
Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario |
1998-97 |
Public Hanging
Hamilton and Regions Arts Council/Bay Arts Collective, Eaton Centre, Hamilton, Ontario |
1997 |
Domestic Conversations
Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, OntarioSelf-Portraits
Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario
International Women's Day Exhibition
Niagara Falls Art Gallery, Niagara Falls, Ontario
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1997-86 |
Member Shows, Hamilton Artists
Inc. |
1996 |
Cement Mentoring Project
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario |
1996-95 |
Defining the Site
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario |
1995 |
Lunch Buckets Revisited
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, OntarioAnd
She Said, "Let There Be Light. . ."
The Hammer Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
Proximities: The 'You Are Here' Factor
The Xavitz Gallery, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
Sound of Skin
The Spectator Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
Meta [4]'i'kun
Dofasco Gallery, Dundas, Ontario
Domestic Objects and Other Stories
The Annex Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
20th Anniversary Members' Show
Hamilton Artists Inc.
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1994 |
Bountiful Woman
Hamilton Public Art Gallery, Hamilton, OntarioProximities:
The 'You Are Here' Factor
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
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1993 |
On the Edge: The Red Hill
Creek Project
Broadway Cinema Gallery, Hamilton, OntarioOn
the Edge: Princess Point
Bay Area Artists for Women's Art, Hamilton, Ontario
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1992 |
Remember - Inc
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, OntarioSelected
Work
McMaster University Faculty Club, Hamilton, Ontario
Lives Built on Shifting Sands
3rd Space Group Show, Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
Bountiful Woman
Tivoli Theatre, Hamilton, Ontario
Working Notes
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
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1991 |
Grant Gallery, Hamilton,
Ontario The Go Show
CN/VIA Rail Building, Hamilton, Ontario
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1990 |
The Hag Show
Bay Area Artists for Women's Art Group Show, Gablemore Studio, Waterdown, OntarioThe Split-Subject
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
Bay Area Artists for Women's Art
Dedicated to the 14 Women Massacred in Montréal; Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
Total Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
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1989 |
3rd Annual Open Juried Show
Gallery 306, Toronto, OntarioSumma Show
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
Seven Women Artists
The McGill Club, Toronto, Ontario
14th Annual Juried Exhibition
Mississauga Library Systems, Mississauga, Ontario
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1988 |
20th Annual Juried
Exhibition
Burlington Cultural Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Glenyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario
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1987 |
Stable Show
Beckett Gallery, Hamilton, OntarioFine
Art Association's 20th Anniversary
Burlington Cultural Centre, Burlington, Ontario
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1986 |
92nd Annual Juried
Exhibition
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, OntarioThe
Mohawk Show
Mohawk College Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
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COLLECTIONS
Faculty Club, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario
Office of Women's Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Haggo, Regina. "Reaching out to
cultural artists." Indigenous Voices 1, no. 11 (May/June 1995): n.p.
Keczan-Ebos, Mary. "Gypsy Jazz." Source of Print: A Random Publication of
the Hamilton Artists Inc. 3, no.1 (1995): n.p.
---. "It's okay Mary, I fixed your piece." Source of Print: A Random
Publication of the Hamilton Artists Inc. 3, no.1 (1995): n.p.---, Nora Kilkenny, and Victoria Shymlosksy. Split-Subject. Hamilton,
Ontario: Hamilton Artists' Inc., 1990.
Rashleigh, Mary, Mary Keczan-Ebos, and Cindy McMenemy. Domestic
Conversations. Grimsby, Ontario: Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 1997.
"Symposium aimed at artists outside mainstream." Canadian Voices 2,
no. 2 (July 1995): n.p.
"Tracing Memories." Parallelogramme
20, no. 3 (1994): 70.
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