Elizabeth McIntosh
Elizabeth McIntosh (b. 1967, Simcoe, Ontario; lives/works: Vancouver) is a painter who uses abstract and figurative techniques to work through questions of representation, the limits of perception, and the status of images. For more than two decades, McIntosh has reinvented familiar forms via playful yet exacting decisions, creating works that oscillate from the abstract into the surreal and representational, from the illusionistic mind to the sensational body. Her works evince an attentiveness not only to colour, but also to paint’s reflective and absorptive properties, often incorporating proprietary mixtures of oil, acrylic, flashe, and gouache. McIntosh’s acute sense of rhythm, specificity of placement, and interplay of diverse painterly approaches result in works that demonstrate both severe precision and exuberant creativity.
McIntosh holds an MFA from Chelsea College of Art, London and a BFA from York University, Toronto. McIntosh’s solo exhibitions include Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver (2023, 2020, 2017); Oakville Galleries, Canada (2020); Diaz Contemporary, Toronto (2016, 2014); Division Gallery, Montreal (2012); and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2010); as well as CANADA, New York, and Tanya Leighton, Los Angeles/Berlin. Group exhibitions include Timothy Taylor, New York (2025); Remai Modern, Saskatoon (2024); Galería Pelaires, Mallocra, Spain (2020); Oakville Galleries, Canada (2018); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2017); Bonavista Biennale (2017); Vancouver Art Gallery (2017, 2009, 2006); Arsenal Contemporary, New York (2017); Venus, Los Angeles (2016); Logan Center, University of Chicago (2014); Galerie de l’UQÀM, Montreal (2013); Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto (2012); and the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon (2005).
In 2013, she received the VIVA Award from the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts, Vancouver. Her work is featured in Vitamin P3: New Perspectives in Painting (Phaidon Books, 2016).