Carly Waito

Lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design with a degree in Industrial Design, Waito's small oil paintings indulge a lifelong fascination with the natural world – especially the little parts we feel compelled to pick up and keep. Her meticulously detailed renderings of mineral specimens draw the viewer in, encouraging close inspection of the material qualities of the subjects. They raise thoughts about the common impulse to possess pieces of the natural world which we find beautiful or curious and to assign complex layers of value to these objects based on a range of factors, such as rarity, historical context, scientific significance, and subjective notions of beauty. They are an extension of her interest in natural history, collecting, curiosity, wonder, and the appeal of small things.

Carly Waito has shown with Magic Pony and Narwhal Art Projects as a part of Give a Little (2006) and Little Crowns (2009).

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