Biography

Mary Calarco is a visual artist whose practice explores fragility, memory, and materiality using fabric and plant-based dyes. A graduate of the Interdisciplinary Studies program at OCAD University (1995), Calarco built a successful thirty year career in arts administration and event management before establishing her full time studio practice in 2024. She has participated in group shows within the Greater Toronto Area (Arts Etobicoke, Dying.Series, DesignTO, Propeller Art Gallery), Prince Edward County (SHED Studio, Gather in the County) and Guelph (Art on the Street, N/A Gallery). She works out of her studio at Boarding House Arts in Guelph, Ontario.

Artist Statement

Working primarily with reclaimed cotton, I incorporate painting, monotype printing and hand-dyed textile techniques, deconstructing and rebuilding the fabric into abstract artworks to reveal a dynamic interplay between strength and vulnerability. Raw edges and visible seams open the door to conversations about impermanence, while my recurring polka dot motif offers a disarming way to explore concepts such as medical imaging. As our bodies slowly bear the marks of time, we rush to see what can be salvaged, repaired, or reassembled. In contrast, my utilitarian tea towels, dinner napkins, scarves, and aprons serve as lively odes to domestic ritual, inviting a slower engagement with gestures of care.