Carol Wainio facts for kids

Carol Wainio (born in 1955) is a famous Canadian painter. Her art is known for being very detailed and often uses a limited range of colors. Her paintings have been shown in big art galleries around the world. She has won many awards, including the important Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.

About Carol Wainio

Carol Wainio was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Her parents came from Finland. She grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.

She studied art at several universities. These include the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and the University of Toronto. She also earned a special art degree (Master of Fine Arts) from Concordia University in Montreal. Today, Carol Wainio lives in Ottawa. She also teaches visual arts at the University of Ottawa.

What is Carol Wainio Known For?

Wainio's Season's End (2012) on display at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery as part of the 2016 exhibition Stilled Lives: Works from the Permanent Collection.

Carol Wainio's paintings often mix different ideas. She gets inspiration from fairy tales and old books from the Middle Ages. She also includes ideas from modern life, like the 2008 financial crisis.

One art critic described her paintings as "fairy-tale landscapes." These landscapes are filled with everyday items from today's world. Her art makes you look closely and think about what you see.

Her very first art show was in Toronto in 1982. In 1990, her paintings were shown at a big art event called the Venice Biennale in Italy.

In 2010, a special traveling art show called Carol Wainio: The Book was created. This show explored her interest in how fairy tales change over time. It also looked at how images tell stories. This exhibition traveled to many galleries across Canada until 2014. In 2024, she had her first solo show in New York City.

Carol Wainio's large paintings have been shown in over 40 museums. These include the National Gallery of Canada and the Shanghai Art Museum in China. Her art can also be found in major public collections. Some of these are the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Awards and Recognition

In 2004, Carol Wainio became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. This is a special honor for Canadian artists.

In 2014, she received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. This is one of Canada's highest awards for artists. She was one of nine Canadian artists to receive this award that year. It recognized her amazing work in art.

Exhibitions

Solo Shows

• S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto, 1991
• Galerie Chantal Boulanger, Montréal, 1990
• Galerie d'art du Centre Culturel de l'Université de Sherbrooke, 1989
• "Imagining the past/Remembering the Future", S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto, 1985
• Concordia University Art Gallery, Montréal, 1983
• Yarlow/Salzman Gallery, Toronto, 1982
• Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, 1980

Group Shows

• "Aperto", Venice Biennale, 1990
• "Les Temps Chauds", Musée d'art contemporain, Montréal, 1988
• "Songs of Experience", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1986
• "Appearing", Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax, 1983