Cathy Daley (1955-2022)

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Cathy Daley

Toronto artist Cathy Daley, who focused on representations of the female body for some three decades, died March 2, Newzones Gallery in Calgary said Friday.

Daley, who taught at OCAD University for many years, has work in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. 

She was born in Toronto in 1955 and studied at the Ontario College of Art from 1973 to 1975 and at Art's Sake Inc. in Toronto from 1979 to 1980.

Daley's main interest was depicting the female form and its relationship to private and public space.

In the early 1990s, she gained attention with two related bodies of work. One was a series of life-sized reclining or sleeping nudes, executed in solid black silhouette. The other was a group of small, melancholic paintings depicting women dressing and undressing in muted interiors. 

She described her drawing process as "a record of what took place."

"It feels more alive that way, with the evidence of process. I work at a drawing and then rework it. The large drawings I do on the floor so I can move around. It’s a very physical process, being immersed in the work."

Source: Newzones, National Gallery of Canada