Download CVVanessa Maltese (b. 1988, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) works in painting and sculpture, referencing familiar patterns and shapes to pose questions about visual and cognitive perception. Specifically, through her research on pareidolia— the psychological phenomenon in which recognizable patterns are identified in unrelated contexts— and klecksography—the process of making images from inkblots— Maltese explores the psychoanalytic connections between pattern recognition and the subconscious. The flatness of her images is meant to challenge the desire for illusion associated with the history of painting, which she playfully acknowledges through the irregular frames she creates.
Maltese received her BFA from OCAD University in 2010. She is the National Winner of the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competition and has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions across North America. Most recently, she has exhibited at Mickey Gallery, Chicago (2020); Night Gallery, Los Angeles (2019); The Power Plant, Toronto (2018); the National Gallery Library and Archives, Ottawa (2017); Carl Louie, London ON (2017); Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2016); Greenpoint Terminal Gallery, New York (2016); Art Museum of the University of Toronto, Toronto (2016); Cooper Cole, Toronto (2014); and Erin Stump Projects, Toronto (2012). Her monumental public artwork “subject to change” can be seen at RBC’s Waterpark Place in downtown Toronto. Maltese currently lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 1
Desk no. 1, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 2
Desk no. 2, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 3
Desk no. 3, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 4
Desk no. 4, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 5
Desk no. 5, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 6
Desk no. 6, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 7
Desk no. 7, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Desk no. 8
Desk no. 7, 2021
Oil on panel, wood frames
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Vanessa Maltese
Trompe l’oeil device
Trompe l'oeil device, 2021
Oxidized silver, enamel
Edition of 28 + 2 AP
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Vanessa Maltese
Floored no. 1
Floored no. 1, 2020
Patinated bronze, wax
Vanessa Maltese
Floored no. 2
Floored no. 2, 2020
Patinated bronze, wax
Vanessa Maltese
Radiating
Radiating, 2019-2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Picture making
Picture making, 2019
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Relating
Relating, 2019-2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Things touching are the same distance
Things touching are the same distance, 2019
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Mistake repetition for accuracy
Mistake repetition for accuracy, 2019-2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Connecting
Connecting, 2019-2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 10
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 10, 2021
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
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Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 9
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 9, 2021
Oil on panel, powder coated steel
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Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 8
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 8, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 7
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 7 , 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 6
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 6, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 5
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 5, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 4
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 4, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 3
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 3, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 2
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 2, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 1
Hypothesizing coincidence no. 1, 2020
Oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
How long is a piece of string? (at Night Gallery)
How long is a piece of string?, 2018
Installation view
Vanessa Maltese
Duped by the grapes
Duped by the grapes, 2018
oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, acrylic paint, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Meanderings
Meanderings, 2018
oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, acrylic paint, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Circling the drain
Circling the drain, 2018
oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, acrylic paint, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Heading Home
Heading Home, 2017
Oil on panel, painted wood, steel frame, magnets
Vanessa Maltese
Decorated Edge
Decorated Edge, 2017
Oil on panel, painted steel frame
Vanessa Maltese
Object Knowledge
Object Knowledge, 2017
Oil on panel, painted steel frame
Vanessa Maltese
In Soft Blues
In Soft Blues, 2017
Oil on panel, painted steel frame
Vanessa Maltese
Tallyman no. 5
Tallyman no. 5, 2017
Electrical wire, wood, chalkboard paint
Vanessa Maltese
Birds flew down to peck at the painted grapes
Birds flew down to peck at the painted grapes, 2016
Installation view
Vanessa Maltese
The painted grapes
The painted grapes, 2016
Oil on panel, painted steel
Vanessa Maltese
Capacity for self control
Capacity for self control, 2016
Oil on panel, painted steel, plastic
Vanessa Maltese
Aware of surroundings
Aware of surroundings, 2016
Oil on panel, painted steel
Vanessa Maltese
Passing time
Passing time, 2016
Oil on panel, painted steel
Vanessa Maltese
Company (at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery)
Company, 2016
Installation view
Vanessa Maltese
subject to change
subject to change, 2015
Powder coated aluminum
Vanessa Maltese
Tally (Swatch No. 1)
Tally (Swatch No. 1), 2014
Wood, latex and acrylic paint, rubber washers, hardware
Vanessa Maltese
Chart No. 26
Chart - No. 26, 2014
Wood, paper, rubber washers, hardware, chalkboard paint
Vanessa Maltese
Chart No. 35
Chart - No. 35, 2014
Wood, paper, laminate, watercolour paint, rubber washer, hardware, chalkboard paint
