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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

expanded images 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.

 


SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1995 Eve's Wedding
The Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario

 

1994 Speaking Hungarian
The Spectator Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

Mixed Media: Works on Paper
The West Room, Faculty Club,  McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

 

1993 Works on Paper
Hamilton Regional Arts Council, Hamilton, Ontario

 

1992 Selected Works
"The Farm" Studio Gallery, Port Loring, Ontario

The Power of Three
The Arbour Room, Hart House, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

 

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, Ontario

Self-Portraits
Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario

International Women's Day Exhibition
Niagara Falls Art Gallery, Niagara Falls, Ontario

 

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, Ontario

And 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.

 

1994 Bountiful Woman
Hamilton Public Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

Proximities: The 'You Are Here' Factor
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario

 

1993 On the Edge: The Red Hill Creek Project
Broadway Cinema Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

On the Edge: Princess Point
Bay Area Artists for Women's Art, Hamilton, Ontario

 

1992 Remember - Inc
Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, Ontario

Selected 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

 

1991 Grant Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

The Go Show
CN/VIA Rail Building, Hamilton, Ontario

 

1990 The Hag Show
Bay Area Artists for Women's Art Group Show, Gablemore Studio, Waterdown, Ontario

The 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

 

1989 3rd Annual Open Juried Show
Gallery 306, Toronto, Ontario

Summa Show
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

Seven Women Artists
The McGill Club, Toronto, Ontario

14th Annual Juried Exhibition
Mississauga Library Systems, Mississauga, Ontario

 

1988 20th Annual Juried Exhibition
Burlington Cultural Centre, Burlington, Ontario

Glenyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

 

1987 Stable Show
Beckett Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

Fine Art Association's 20th Anniversary
Burlington Cultural Centre, Burlington, Ontario

 

1986 92nd Annual Juried Exhibition
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario

The Mohawk Show
Mohawk College Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario

 


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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