Angela Grossmann: reality and fantasy 1955 -

Angela Grossmann was born in London England. Both her parents were artists. Her family moved to Canada while she was in her teens. While a student at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 1985, Angela Grossmann was hailed as one of the ‘Young Romantic’ painters. Grossmann has continued since that introduction to be a major artist in the art world.

Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Europe. Angela Grossmann has exhibited in over twelve solo shows and many group exhibits. She has an MFA from Concordia University and has taught at Ottawa University. Angela Grossmann has devoted her work to exploring and depicting the themes of displacement and social marginalization. In the place that vacillates between fantasy and reality, Grossman demands we face our humanity and all its implicit flaws. She uses collage and discarded materials in her work. For example, in Affaires d'Enfants (1987), Grossman painted on the interiors of suitcases that were thrown out by an organization that once sponsored summer camps for orphans.

In (Sign)ifying the END of the (Second) 2nd World War- ( 1991) she used photographs of missing European children. In the series Scapegoats, 1994 Angela worked on mug shots that were taken of prisoners in British Columbia Penitentiaries during the 1940s.

In My Vocation, 1999, she sketched and enlarged the human form. The images of bodies emerged through layers of letters, photographs, and envelopes.

Grossmann returned to Vancouver in 1996 to paint and to teach at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She also continues to exhibit her work in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Recently, Grossmann is interested in coming-of-age and social themes in her work. In Alpha Girls (2004), she employs a narrative of the often turbulent emotional world of teenage girls. In Paper Dolls (2006) she explored the themes of social status, fashion and identity. In 2006, Grossman joined with colleagues Douglas Coupland, Graham Gillmore, Attila Richard Lukacs and Derek Root to build a sculptural installation called Vancouver School.

http://www.angelagrossmann.com/


Melissa Montgomery