Charles Malinsky

 

Biography

Malinsky was born in 1956 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and grew up in the isolation of the vast Canadian prairies. He earned his diploma from the Alberta College of Art and Design 1978. He then spent his early years in Calgary as a graphic designer in educational Television, winning a number of international awards from the small, obscure station. Malinsky states, “The shear good fortune to be taken under the wing of a small group of the most talented and creative individuals I’ve encountered in my entire life, including Greg and Gary Crossley, Brian Huffman, John Blackie and Peter Ivens was a revelatory experiences for me.” In 1984, he took a posting at ACAD where he taught drawing. It was at this point where Malinsky changed streams and devoted himself to pure art. It took seven years of dedicated studio work for him to find his voice as an artist. His first pubic exhibition at the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria, British Colombia created a sensation normally reserved for rock stars.

Malinsky’s suburban prairie upbringing provided him with a backdrop of physical and social isolation, obsessed with image over content. His early work thus became focused on the rift between what was experienced and what could not be said. Malinsky’s first exhibitions in the early 90’s, during a time when figurative painting was not considered a legitimate, cutting edge genre for art, flew in the face of the self created, intellectual elitism of the deconstructionist movement of the time by creating complex, rich, layered narratives accessible through his figurative approach. He first received critical attention for depicting the dark, disturbing undercurrents of mainstream life.

Malinsky’s paintings, and drawings have been the subject of numerous solo and major group exhibitions and his work is represented in many museums, as well as prestigious private and corporate collections, including Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes, Barcelona, Spain(5 works), Collection of the Victoria College of art, Victoria British Colombia, Canada, Nickel Arts Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Michael Williams Collection, University of Victoria, Victoria , British Colombia, Canada(18 works), Permanent collection of the Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Colombia, Canada, Seymour Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

His work can also be found in the private collections of notable celebrities such as Dr. Dre, Phil Everly, Fred Durst, Vin Diesl, David Caruso and others.

Charles Malinsky has recently returned to Canada after living for ten years in Madrid, Spain.