Janice McLean wonders why art is "still under-sought".
Sandra Leung photo

by guy babineau



Constantin Brancusi said that architecture is inhabited sculpture. Of course, being a sculptor himself, he was biased. In times of cookie-cutter exterior and interior design (think of those middle-class Victorian parlours stuffed with copycat versions of exotic art from the African or Asian colonies, or the mass production of featureless suburbs in North America in the 1950s and ’60s), an artist’s bias can humanize living spaces and save them from soul-crushing sameness. With so many similarly designed, smallish condos filling up the city skyline, and, closer to street level, a flurry of newly renovated, postindustrial lofts that look and feel like private art galleries, some new homeowners are starting to feel it’s important to offset the promiscuity of trends with the fidelity of art.

“Art and sculpture are still under-sought, and not as accepted [as designer furnishings],” local artist and designer Janice McLean says, sitting in an arty coffee shop on West Hastings. When it comes to what paintings or sculpture to purchase, “The first thing I have to do is give my clients time to feel confident.”

The former curator of the closed Aaron Ross Gallery now operates the JMcLean Gallery www.jmclean gallery.com. McLean offers art-consulting services, represents national and international artists, and works closely with interior designers, architects, and artists to offer residential clients a program designed to bring art out of the closet. Paintings, sculptures, and handicrafts, McLean reasons, should be a centre of attention in your home, a fundamental component of your lifestyle rather than an afterthought or accessory.

“A woman I worked for who didn’t think she knew enough about art was very nervous about what to select, but when she saw the final result in her home, she kissed the wall,” McLean says. “We [North Americans] do not have the same awareness of art and design as in Europe, and sometimes people see it as too ‘intellectual’. I encourage clients to take their time, and to trust their gut instincts. I could tell you that the proper way to hang a painting is so the centre of the painting is at eye level, that the most important thing to consider is how it’s going to be lit, and that large paintings can be a dramatic focus for a room. But it’s ultimately instinctive.”

McLean, who produces layered paintings and prints that reflect her obsession with textures, does giclée printing that allows her to produce original, customized designs on large canvases—ones big enough to cover entire ceilings and walls. “I’ve never done anything small in my life,” McLean says with a laugh.

She started off in the ’70s with stained glass, sandblasting, and oil painting, then returned to college to study commercial design. After working in advertising for 10 years, McLean mobilized her knowledge of creative media, printing techniques, and photography to create identity in architectural spaces. Using computer imaging, she can “curate” clients’ residences digitally before anyone hammers in a nail, takes down a wall, or moves any furniture.

One of McLean’s biggest struggles is convincing people that not just two-dimensional art can find a striking place in the home. “It would be nice if more people realized how sculpture, like paintings, can define a space, in the same way furniture can,” she says. “It’s 3-D, creates a flow, and it’s interactive.”

The 20th century groomed us to think of furniture as a work of art, from Gerrit Rietveld’s red-blue chair to Marcel Breuer’s leather-and-chrome Wassily chair to Philippe Starck’s surreal, antler-shaped WW stool. But maybe it’s time for a creative shift—to switch things around and view art as furniture.