Justine Skahan uses the house as a metaphor for human relationships. As Skahan explores the role of home ownership as it exists in our cultural psyche, she considers the idea of shelter, broadly speaking, as a desire for permanence and certainty. Skahan’s drawings and paintings of homes and tents are used as metaphors for vulnerable psychological states, evoking the reality of those in precarious housing situations.

Justine Skahan was born in Montreal, Quebec, where she currently lives. She obtained her BFA in Studio Arts with Distinction from Concordia University in 2010 and her MFA from the University of Ottawa in 2016. In 2015, Skahan received the Stonecroft Foundation Venice Scholarship, and in 2016 received the René Payant Award, both from the University of Ottawa. She has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout Canada and internationally and was a finalist in the 2016 RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Skahan has participated in artist residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Klondike Institute for Art and Culture (KIAC) in Dawson City, Yukon in 2018, SÍM residency in Reykjavík, Iceland. In spring of 2022, Skahan participated in a residency through Occurrence artist-run centre in Montreal and Admare in Îles-de-la-Madeleine during which she traveled from Montreal to les Îles and back, further exploring the ideas and themes of home that inform the work in this exhibition.

http://www.justineskahan.com/

McClure Gallery thanks the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for their financial support