Big Hair Painting

From 1984 to 1988, Audry Kalman studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada, where she majored in Textile Design. Upon graduation she accepted an internship in New York at a large fabric company. Once she returned to Toronto, her focus shifted to fine arts, which subsequently led her to study abroad at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary. Audry has participated in several group shows throughout Toronto and has had her work exhibted both in Europe and the States. Audry has had several solo and group shows at the Lennox Contemporary Gallery. Kalman has exhibited at the Elaine Fleck Gallery, Muse Gallery, The Artist Project, The Toronto International Art Fair, and many years at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Most recently in 2017, she had a solo show at AIP Connect selling most of her collection. Audry has work in many private collections throughout Canada, United States, Europe, and Israel, and continues to sell through her website. While her work has varied from abstract to figurative, it continues to be influenced by her studies in textile design combined with her late father's extensive collection of antique rugs, wall hangings, icons, and artifacts from primitive and ancient cultures. Mingled with her own Canadian and Hungarian heritage, these influences reach deeply into her own perceptions as an artist. While her work varies from a more abstract form to figurative, both styles have a consistent method. Kalman constructs her paintings by adding various types of paper, including discarded remnants from previous paintings which are skillfully reused in new configurations. These mixed media paintings also combine wax, acrylics, and oil sticks. By distressing and reworking the canvas several times, she reveals previous layers, much as a multi-coloured woven cloth, achieving a rich tactile effect.