Born in Corner Brook,
Newfoundland, in 1985, artist Mike Gough received his Bachelor of Fine Arts
from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in 2007 and graduated from Central Saint
Martins College of Art and Design in London with a Master of Fine Arts in
2010.
Gough’s interest in
the elusive quality of memory is a constant interest in his art practice.
Rooted in memories of his upbringing in Newfoundland, his autobiographical
paintings carry universal narratives. In the absence of detail, there is an
opportunity for one’s own memories to fill in the details. Expansive solitude
and a sense of isolation are met with a universal feeling of what it means to
belong. At its core, his practice explores how our relationship with the
natural world connects and defines us. Working in mixed media, Gough endeavors
to create familiar meditative spaces that exhibit a personal journey, but simultaneously
invite the viewer to insert themselves in the narrative.
Gough’s paintings
partially stem from fear of memory loss which is taken from experiences with
Alzheimer’s in his family. Not only does the painting process exercise his
memory, but the paintings themselves act as records of his experience becoming
a blend of reality and idealism. They are not painted from photographs, the
places not precisely rendered, and the experiences not accurately told. With this
incongruence, they are his authentic recollections of them. Gough’s intent in
his work is to create a patchwork map of memories as a guide back to the
authenticity of human feeling.
Gough was the winner of the
Excellence in Visual Arts (EVA) People’s Choice Award in 2015 and was
shortlisted for the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Emerging Artist of
the Year in 2013. Gough has been the recipient of numerous Arts and Letters
Awards and was selected for both the Elbow Room Residency Program (2013) at the
Rooms Provincial Art Gallery and the Artist in Residence (2016) at 2 Rooms
Contemporary Art Projects in Duntara, Newfoundland.
Gough has exhibited
both nationally and internationally in over 40 exhibitions and his work appears
in private, corporate, and public collections in England and Canada, including
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, Humber College, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College,
The City of St. John’s, and Global Affairs Canada. Prominent collectors include
the United Arab Emirates Royal Family.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 “Mike Gough: The World Is More Than You Can See”, Artspace
Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
2019 “Certainty of Tides,” Jones Gallery, Saint John, NB
2018 “The Impression
of Something Real,” Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2017 “This Place Will
Follow You”, Fisher's Loft Conference Centre, Port Rexton, NL
2016 “How We Get
There,” Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2014 “We Made This
Our Home,” Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2013 “Retrace,” The
Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, NL
“Surfacing,”
Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 “Representation of
Imagination”, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York
2020 LA Art Show, Los
Angeles, CA
Art Palm
Springs, Palm Springs, CA
Affordable
Art Fair NYC, New York
2019 “Together we Roam,” Christina Parker Gallery,
Toronto, ON
Affordable Art Fair,
Hong Kong
“Mood
Shifts,” Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Art Toronto,
Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, ON
2017 “Great and
North,” Curated by Francesca Valente for Imago Mundi, Palazzo Loredan, Venice,
IT
Art Toronto, Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, ON
2016 “Architec
Tonic,” 2 Rooms Contemporary Art Projects, Duntara, NL
Art Toronto, Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, ON
2015 “Narrative, NL,”
Grenfell Art Gallery, Memorial University, NL
“30 + 1,”
Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
“Paper,”
Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
Art Toronto, Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, ON
2014 “Keeping
Current: Artwork From Our Country’s Eastern Edge,” Abbozzo Gallery, Toronto, ON
“Changing Tides: Contemporary Art of Newfoundland and
Labrador,” The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, ON
2013 “A Celebration
of Gallery Artists,” Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2011 “Arts and Letter
Exhibition,” St. John’s, NL: Winning Entry
“City of St. John’s Art Procurement Exhibition,” St. John’s
City Hall, St. John’s, NL
2010 “Nothing To Be
Done,” Empire Gallery, London, UK
“Necessary Illusions,” CSM Interim Show, Curated by the
Chelsea School of Art Curatorial Critical Framework Course, London
2009 “Time After
Timeline,” Eastern Edge Gallery, Members Exhibition, St. John’s, NL
2007 “Segment,” B.F.A
Graduation Exhibition, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Art Gallery, Corner Brook,
NL
2006 Student Print
Exhibition, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
Halifax, NS
“Harlow,”
Harlow, Essex, England
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2016 2 Rooms Contemporary Art Projects, Residency, Duntara, NL
2013 Elbow Room Studio Residency, The Rooms, St.John's, NL
2012 NLAC Professional Project Grant
2011 NLAC Professional Project Grant
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
City of St. John’s
Provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Permanent Collection
Husky Oil Corporation Permanent Collection
Mischon De Reya, Solicitors, London
McInnes Cooper, St. John’s, N
Bank of Montreal Cox and Plamer, St. John’s, NL
Fortis, St. John’s, NL
The Rooms Permanent CollectionGlobal Affairs Canada
