GALLERY
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THE PAINTER
Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea
Florence, Italy
2003 - December 4th through 16th
Representing Canada as one of Canada's Artists
Cynicism is easy. Optimism is hard. Some people have it throughout their lives. Because Barbara E. Mercer has it she showed her Canadian Icons series of portraits at the Florence Biennale (Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea) last December at age 70. Because she has it now, at age 71, she is a new member of the historic Arts & Letters Club in Toronto (established in 1908). The it is her optimism and effervescent personality that gets her exhibiting and adventuring around the world. Not to mention the fact that her work is in private and public collections around the world in such diverse places as Sweden and Mexico. Her work was also celebrated in the film "The View from Vinegar Hill" a CBC production that highlighted her work and that was shown internationally. Her work and her life have been both the focus of books and a part of books focusing on Canadian women.
J. Lynn Fraser
