Ian McLean explores the intersection of mid-century nostalgia and psychological tension. Based in Southern Ontario, Ian transforms domestic architecture into "suspended" moments using a palette of disruptive, otherworldly colour. His work navigates the blur between the constructed and the organic—where memory distorts the familiar into something mysterious and new. Ian is a recipient of multiple Ontario Arts Council Visual Artist Grants and is represented in private and public collections worldwide.
Exhibition History (Selected)
2027 | James Baird Gallery (solo), Pouch Cove, NL
2026 | Pivot, Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove, ON
2025 | No Certain Place, Earlscourt Gallery, Hamilton, ON
2024 | ReView, Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (JNAAG), Sarnia, ON
2024 | Summer Group Exhibition, The Gallery House, Bayfield, ON
2021 | VAM43, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON
2021 | Art Builds, Gallery 1313, Toronto, ON
2020 | Presently, Art Gallery of Peterborough, ON
2019 | The Same Things At The Same Time (with Paula McLean), Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove, ON
2017 | Elusive Utopia (with Matthew Carver, Renée Van Halm, and Kevin Yates), JNAAG, Sarnia, ON
2017 | Floor Plan (Solo), Artopia Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2017 | Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON
2016 | New Works (Solo), CFA Gallery, Toronto, ON (Catalogue)
2016 | SOPA Fine Art, Kelowna, BC
2015 | Out of the Deep Freeze: 15 Hot Painters to Watch in 2015, CFA Gallery, Toronto
2013 | Conditions (Solo), Loop Gallery, Toronto, ON
2013 | Easily Distracted (Solo), St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre, St. Thomas, ON
2013 | Weird, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
2012 | The Promise of Painting, The Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario
2011 | Here, Then and There, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2011 | Recreational Use (Solo), Loop Gallery, Toronto, ON
2011 | Gallery Moos, Toronto, ON
2006 | Excess (Solo), Transit Gallery, Hamilton, ON (with Gary Michael Dault)
2005 | Living Arrangements (Solo), Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, ON (Catalogue)
Selected Bibliography
John Kissick | Cruel Aspirations: Some Thoughts On "Elusive Utopia", July 2018
Lisa Daniels | Elusive Utopia (Catalogue Essay), JNAAG, 2017
R.M. Vaughan | The Exhibitionist: Ian McLean at Loop Gallery, The Globe and Mail, 2011
Gary Michael Dault | Art With Afterglow, The Globe and Mail, 2005
Eliza Griffiths | Living Arrangements: Sublimation, Decor, and The Pursuit of Happiness, catalogue, 2005
Professional Distinctions & Media
International Juror | Prisma Art Prize, Rome, Italy (2020–2025)
Film/Media | Featured artist in Motorheads (Amazon Prime, 2025)
Television | Contestant, Landscape Artist of the Year: Canada (CBC, 2020)
Collections
Public: Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (Permanent Collection)
Corporate: Niman Zemans Gelgoot LLP (Toronto); Christen Seaton Barristers (Toronto); Aphex Technologies (Toronto).
Private: Work held in private collections in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saint John, Sarnia, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Denver, London, Oslo, Brussels, and Melbourne.
Exhibition History (Selected)
2027 | James Baird Gallery (solo), Pouch Cove, NL
2026 | Pivot, Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove, ON
2025 | No Certain Place, Earlscourt Gallery, Hamilton, ON
2024 | ReView, Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (JNAAG), Sarnia, ON
2024 | Summer Group Exhibition, The Gallery House, Bayfield, ON
2021 | VAM43, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON
2021 | Art Builds, Gallery 1313, Toronto, ON
2020 | Presently, Art Gallery of Peterborough, ON
2019 | The Same Things At The Same Time (with Paula McLean), Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove, ON
2017 | Elusive Utopia (with Matthew Carver, Renée Van Halm, and Kevin Yates), JNAAG, Sarnia, ON
2017 | Floor Plan (Solo), Artopia Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2017 | Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON
2016 | New Works (Solo), CFA Gallery, Toronto, ON (Catalogue)
2016 | SOPA Fine Art, Kelowna, BC
2015 | Out of the Deep Freeze: 15 Hot Painters to Watch in 2015, CFA Gallery, Toronto
2013 | Conditions (Solo), Loop Gallery, Toronto, ON
2013 | Easily Distracted (Solo), St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre, St. Thomas, ON
2013 | Weird, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
2012 | The Promise of Painting, The Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario
2011 | Here, Then and There, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2011 | Recreational Use (Solo), Loop Gallery, Toronto, ON
2011 | Gallery Moos, Toronto, ON
2006 | Excess (Solo), Transit Gallery, Hamilton, ON (with Gary Michael Dault)
2005 | Living Arrangements (Solo), Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, ON (Catalogue)
Selected Bibliography
John Kissick | Cruel Aspirations: Some Thoughts On "Elusive Utopia", July 2018
Lisa Daniels | Elusive Utopia (Catalogue Essay), JNAAG, 2017
R.M. Vaughan | The Exhibitionist: Ian McLean at Loop Gallery, The Globe and Mail, 2011
Gary Michael Dault | Art With Afterglow, The Globe and Mail, 2005
Eliza Griffiths | Living Arrangements: Sublimation, Decor, and The Pursuit of Happiness, catalogue, 2005
Professional Distinctions & Media
International Juror | Prisma Art Prize, Rome, Italy (2020–2025)
Film/Media | Featured artist in Motorheads (Amazon Prime, 2025)
Television | Contestant, Landscape Artist of the Year: Canada (CBC, 2020)
Collections
Public: Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (Permanent Collection)
Corporate: Niman Zemans Gelgoot LLP (Toronto); Christen Seaton Barristers (Toronto); Aphex Technologies (Toronto).
Private: Work held in private collections in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saint John, Sarnia, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Denver, London, Oslo, Brussels, and Melbourne.