Chloe McLean - Solo Exhibition 2023
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Bluey Bluey is excited to announce our first solo show with American artist, Chloe McLean.
McLean, B.2000 in Los Angeles California, now resides in Falmouth, Massachusetts where she gained her BFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her debut show, “Bloomers”, McLean depicts abstract figures who are based on her childhood memories. They experiment with the shapes and positions their bodies can make and some are captivated by shiny objects – heels, lipstick, hair. Her characters are on the cusp of being self-conscious, but not quite influenced by criticism. Each painting starts off by examining the feeling of ‘reminiscing’, by flipping through old photo albums and recalling stories with family. Picking out visual emblems to sketch out with animated exertion and transferring these drawings into 3D clay models. The models hold a physical rationalisation to the intangibility of memory and feeling to bring dimensionality to the canvas.
“...Reflecting on “Bloomers" and the confidence of the eccentric figures inspired by my childhood, I examine my past self-consciousness with my current perspective. In the awkward stages of middle school adolescence, “late bloomer” was always a comforting term my mother would refer to me as. It implied to me that I would bloom out of the quirks I was ashamed of and into the norms of societal standards. Now I think about “blooming” as growing towards self-acceptance completely untethered from external expectations. "Bloomers" are characters that want to be seen. They honour the loving foundation of family that fuels my quest for self-assurance. ‘Bloomers’ serves as a reminder that personal growth is an ongoing journey, free from external expectations, and that quirks should be embraced proudly, not concealed...”
To request more information for Chloe McLean's work please email
contact@blueybluey.com