millie shapiro, canadian painters, canadian artists, canadian expressionist painters

THE APPEALING, SWIRLING MATRIX IN THE ART OF MILLIE SHAPIRO The Art of Millie Shapiro at MARTIN BATCHELOR GALLERY, until June 25 kate cino frontrow Boulevard, May/June 2008
A visit to Millie Shapiro's Oak Bay home is a visual adventure. Inside, every nook, cranny and tiny bit of wall space reveals yet another amazing painting. Shapiro's expressionist oils, both large and small, bubble over with a bright menagerie of female figures and frisky felines. Each painting tells a fascinating tale - a tale open to interpretation. Shapiro's gestural style and bold clashing colours allow shapes and colours to blend and boil. Within the swirling matrix, mysterious faces appear and recede, flamboyant women burst forth, and charismatic kitties display a full range of human emotions. "It all starts with a single line," says Shapiro innocently, "then one thing leads to another." One thing has led to another for over 50 years in the career of this prolific and multi-faceted artist. "I have always drawn and painted," comments Shapiro. When the artist was a young girl, she would draw on the headboard of her bed at night, then check out her creation in the morning. "I was the class artist as well," she remembers. Art gave her an outlet and escape from the stresses of childhood. Shapiro's mother was an entertainer and single parent. As the eldest of three siblings, the youngster was often cast in a caregiver role.	The painter's early memories are populated with strong female role models including her exuberant aunt and grandmother. In 1957, at age 20, Shapiro began night classes at the Boston Museum School, and then went on to study at various art institutions for the next seven years. "I was often accepted to colleges on the strength of my painting," the artist remembers. Along the way, Shapiro received a teacher's certificate and taught in a Summerhill school in Berkeley. "I love being in the company of children, and gave art classes for many years," she says. The artist is currently gearing up for her May show at the Martin Batchelor Gallery, Batchelor, who celebrates 12 years at the helm of his community-oriented gallery, believes we are all artists and should celebrate our gifts. He describes Shapiro's paintings as confident and appealing. "Millie is an established artist with a great gift of self-expression," he notes. "Her long history and dedication are evident in these latest artworks." Visitors to the exhibition will see a colourful array of portraiture, featuring expressive faces and hypnotic eyes. "Eyes are the windows of the soul," comments Shapiro.	Her subjects are an amalgamation of people real and imagined. In Jane, for example, the artist has painted the portrait of a grieving friend. Jane's pale face, pursed lips and dark eyes suggest loss and shock. In contrast, the hot colours and energetic linework surrounding Jane reverberate with life-affirming energy. Witnessed by the wise-looking cat resting in her arms, Jane's dance of life continues. Less compassion is shown for the artist's subject in Humpty Dumpty. Reciting the lines of the nursery rhyme with glee, Shapiro indicates that this male figure with the pale egghead, shifty eyes, and lascivious lips is about to fall. Humpty Dumpty appears oblivious to his fate. But no wonder. Having been swept into existence by the whirlwind force of Millie Shapiro's brush, how could he imagine a less than glorious future. The art of Millie Shapiro is at the Martin Batchelor Gallery, 712 Cormorant Street, from May 31 - June 25. The opening reception, with artist in attendance, is Saturday, May 31, from 7 - 9 PM. For more information phone 385-7919, or visit Millie Shapiro's Website

Millie Shapiro's art is sexy, rambunctious - and cheering Millie Shapiro: Recent Works at GALLERY ON HERALD, until December 23, 2004 Robert Amos ON ART Times Colonist, November 18, 2004
Millie Shapiro's paintings are immediately recognizable. Fields of delicious colour welcome you in. Acres of energetic brushwork explode in a burst of exuberance. At some point all this joy resolves into a sultry woman's face coming to a point of contact in the eyes. This woman is often accompanied by the dogs and cats who are her familiars. Shapiro paints from a place deep within her, and puts out good energy. "The more energy you put out," she told me, "the more comes back to you." The artist's background presents a mix of influences. Her grandfather McCorkindale, who had a profound effect on the young Millie, was a Presbyterian minister and a painter. "I remember waking up to find him in the kitchen making finnan haddie - and painting!" she recalled. His code for living was passed on: "I grew up with a very moral feeling - that we were here to do unto others as we would have them do to us." From this lesson she found her reason for painting. "Let's try to bring something out into the world that makes people happy," she said. "I would really like to create peace on earth." That's a tall order and it hasn't resulted in a "goody-two-shoes" sort of art. Shapiro's paintings are sexy and sensual and rambunctious. "Mother was a dancer," she went on. With husband out of the way, this single mother was bringing up Millie, while pursuing the things she loved: "boyfriends, nightclubs, parties." If her classical dance training	wasn't called for, she earned her living in burlesque. Millie Shapiro's own training took place at the Boston Museum School, among other institutions. But she draws her inspiration from within her tranquil Oak Bay home. When I visited, the dog and cat were shut away and her daughter and husband worked on their own projects elsewhere in the large house. All of them feature in Millie's pictures which - exclusively - decorate the walls. I was sitting across from a canvas as big as a door, showing an empowered woman striding forth - flame red and edged with lime green. "It starts with a dot or a dash." Shapiro said of the canvas And then, almost immediately, the artist visualizes the eyes of a dog or a cat or a woman in the swirls of paint. She engages with that connection in a painterly way, developing "a lot of abstract stuff around it. I just have a feeling of what's going to come next." Clearly, her paintings express her feelings - they come from within her. When she's getting it right, "it makes my mouth water," as she puts it. It may be germane to an understanding of her work to realize that Ben, her husband of 30 years, is a psychologist specializing in bioenergetic therapy. "There's a lot of holding," she explained to me, "to release tensions from the body." Shapiro goes into her backyard studio every day. Lately, she's been ripping up and painting over old canvases. "Such nice surfaces," she said, as she ran her fingers over	a recent painting. "It's so bumpy to travel over, to take the road home!" Her studio activity is all about freedom. "It's like playing," she said. "There are no rules - and no mistakes. What could be better?" What, indeed? "The idea of open creativity can apply to everything you do," she reminded me. The artist is often alone these days, as her husband travels a lot. "I have a very friendly cat and dog," she added, and went on to speak of a comfort she derives from the people she invents in paint, "She's a new friend," Shapiro noted as she introduced a recent painting of her archetypal woman. "I can look at her ... there aren't too many hims," she added. It's not that she couldn't fill her world with real people. "I have a really big opening in me," Shapiro revealed. "I don't have tight boundaries. And when things come in I have a hard time keeping them out. So I overload myself ... and I don't want to explode!" So she stays home most of the time. "The paintings are where I get to open." While she can't offer her openness in person to everyone, she has made these paintings as "a giving." She is pleased to put them on show in the Gallery on Herald Street. Hopefully, passerbys will stop and look in the window. "They won't be intimidated," she hopes, "and they will feel free to just come in and look, and take away something." The something she offers is from within her heart, her soul, her spirit. "They're supposed to give," she concluded. "It's a giving."

Backroom Gallery, Victoria 1984
North Park Gallery, Victoria 1987
Jewish Community Centre, Vancouver 1988
Robert Allman Gallery, Seattle 1989
Barton-Leier Gallery, Victoria 1993
Studio Shows 1994-1999
Small City Bistro, Victoria 2003
Gallery on Herald 2004
Martin Batchelor Gallery 2008

Victoria Art Media "8 Women" 1978
Victoria Art Gallery "Victoria as seen through the eyes of artists" 1979
Crystal Art Gallery 1980
Victoria Art Gallery - Art Auction 1981
Winchester Galleries 1983
Manning Press 1983
Bank Art Show 1983
North Park Gallery 1984
Ken Heffel Fine Arts, Vancouver 1986
Victoria Jewish Community Centre 1991
Northern Passage Gallery, "Breast Cancer Awareness" 1997
Victoria Art Gallery Art Rental, "Breast Cancer Awareness" 1998
Goward House 2000
Sidney 2nd Annual Fine Arts Show 2004
Grass Roots - McPherson Theatre, "Gallery at the Mac" 2005
Sooke Fine Arts Show 2005

The largest adjudicated art show on Vancouver Island, Sooke Fine Arts showcases original artwork from the Capital Regional District artists. The 9-day show takes place at the beginning of every August and has been an ongoing community event for 19 years!