Landon Mackenzie facts for kids

Landon Mackenzie (born in 1954) is a famous Canadian artist who lives in Vancouver, Canada. She is well-known for creating very large paintings. She also taught art for many years at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she is now a Professor Emeritus, meaning she is a retired professor who still holds her title.

Early Life and Art School

Landon Mackenzie grew up in Toronto, Canada. When she was 17, she moved to Halifax to study art at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design (NSCAD) from 1972 to 1976. She earned her first art degree there. Later, she went to Concordia University in Montreal from 1976 to 1979, where she earned her Master's degree in Fine Arts. After finishing her studies, she started focusing completely on painting. In 1981, she won first prize at the Quebec Biennale of Painting and began showing her "Lost River Series" paintings.

Art Career and Teaching

Landon Mackenzie started teaching art at Concordia University in Montreal from 1978 to 1985. In 1986, she moved to Vancouver and joined the faculty at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. That same year, she helped start a studio building for artists in Vancouver.

Her paintings are often very large and connect to the long history of painting. Her artworks are displayed in many important places, like the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her paintings have also been shown in many solo and group exhibitions in Canada and other countries. For over 45 years, many people have written about her art in books, magazines, and academic papers.

Mentoring Young Artists

Mackenzie is known for being a great mentor to younger artists in Vancouver. She is an important teacher because she studied art during a very exciting time for "Conceptual Art" at NSCAD University. This period is interesting to many young artists today. She is also famous for her "Lost River Series," which was part of a style called "New Image Painting" in the early 1980s.

Awards and Recognition

In 2008, when the Emily Carr Institute became a university, Landon Mackenzie was the first person to become a Full Professor there. In 2009, she received the first-ever Ian Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award. She was also honored with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Diamond Jubilee Medal for her important contributions to Canadian arts. In 2017, she received the prestigious Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

Exploring Themes in Art

In the early 1990s, some of Mackenzie's large paintings included layers of research notes, maps, and documents from her studies of different places. Her painting "Vancouver As the Centre of the World" was created for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She has always been interested in how the brain works and how it maps information, similar to how we map physical places. This interest led to her series like "Houbart's Hope," "Neurocity," and "The Structures."

In 2014-2015, Mackenzie's work was shown alongside paintings by the famous historical artist Emily Carr in an exhibition called "Emily Carr and Landon Mackenzie: Wood Chopper and the Monkey" at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Her art often combines abstract ideas, landscapes, and realistic images.

In 2015, an exhibition called Landon Mackenzie: Parallel Journey: Works on Paper (1975-2015) traveled across Canada. This show looked back at 40 years of her work and came with a book about her art.

Selected Collections

• National Gallery of Canada
• Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

Selected Awards

• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2003)
• Canada Council Grant to Established Artists (1998, 1999, 2005)
• Canada Council Paris Studio Residency Award (2008)
• Ian Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award (2009)
• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
• Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2017)