About
Biography
ADORNATO (1977 – not dead yet) is a first generation Italian-Canadian contemporary artist based in Ottawa, Canada. His subversive and provocative art practice often consists of dystopian subjects with a satirical or irreverent twist. Contentious social issues, climate change and Capitalism-gone-wrong are regular motifs in his paintings, performances, and playful creative outbursts.
Career highlights to date include solo exhibitions at the Diefenbunker Museum (2018), The Ottawa Art Gallery Annexe (2016), group exhibitions at the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum (2007), the Canadian War Museum (2006), and the Shenkman Arts Centre (2023). His work resides in the permanent art collections of the City of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker Museum, the Ottawa Archives, as well as countless private collections across Canada, Italy, China, and Spain. Adornato has also received grants and awards including the Artist Production grant from the City of Ottawa in 2018 for his neo-medieval series, Dystopia Rising.
In 2014, he drew international attention when he submitted a painting of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) set ablaze by their disgruntled mascot, to the prestigious RBC Canadian Painting competition. Click here to see the RBC paintings, and news coverage. RBC has since cancelled the banal painting competition and retired their mascot.
In 2015, Adornato made an ATIP (Access to Information and Privacy) request to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and discovered a 7-page, mostly redacted police investigation (view here) into his performance art project, #MYPROTEST. It concluded that Adornato “is an eccentric artist” and that his artwork and performances were not a crime.
For more information or pricelists, contact : marcadornato@gmail.com
Representation: The Ottawa Art Gallery Annexe, or message him directly.
CV/Resume
Education
NSCAD University, Bachelor of Fine Art degree, Major in Media Arts, Halifax, NS, Canada. 2001
Representation
The Ottawa Art Gallery Annexe, or contact directly – marcadornato@gmail.com
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2020 Dystopia Rising, a COVID Christmas lockdown studio exhibition. See the exhibit and artist talk here.
2018 Ruined Landscapes, The Diefenbunker Museum, Carp, Ontario
2016 I’ve Got Some Bad News, Ottawa Art Gallery, Art Rental and Sales Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2016 Ruined Landscapes, OZ Kafe, Ottawa, Ontario
2015 Arbie Goes Rogue, Railbender Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2014 We’re So Screwed, The Manx, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 WOOD, Grey Area Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 Hunting Dissent, Umi Cafe, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 I Have Much To Report,The Hintonburg Public House | Shanghai | The Daily Grind, Ottawa, Ontario
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Ottawa Icons, Shenkman Art Center, Ottawa Ontario
2022 Religious Art, St. Anthony of Padua Church, Ottawa, Ontario
2022 Art & Parcel, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2021 OAG Virtual Art Auction, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2020 OAG Virtual Art Auction, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2020 COVID-19 Art Auction fundraiser, Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, Ontario
2019 Le After Party, Annexe Gallery, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2019 Ottawa Riverkeeper Gala, Ottawa Riverkeeper, Ottawa, Ontario
2018 LUCK, Ottawa Arts Council, Ottawa, Ontario
2016 City of Ottawa Direct Purchase exhibition, City Hall, Ottawa, Ontario
2016 LUCK, Ottawa Arts Council, Ottawa, Ontario
2015 Exploring the Intersection of Art and Progress, Marc Adornato/Jonathan Hobin, TheBroadbent Institute Progress Summit, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 UFOs over Ottawa, Nuit Blanche Ottawa, Grey Area Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 Create this Revolution, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 Colin Campbell, Iím Yours, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 Human Zoo, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 Candela, The Cube Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (People’s Choice Award)
2011 Timeraiser, National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
2007 Sacred Money, Damned Money, The Currency Museum, Bank of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
2006 Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario
2003 Art vs. War, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
Residencies:
2022 Artist residency at Maker Space North, 250 City Centre Ave Bay 216, Ottawa
2013 – Present: Resident artist, UNION 613 and Jabberwocky, 315 Somerset St W, Ottawa
Grants and Awards:
2022 COVID-19 artwork and HERO poster of Zexi Li are inducted into the City of Ottawa Archives.
2019 2 month research & travel grant to the Venice Biennale, Rome, Florence, Naples, Berlin, and Athens.
2019 Political Art research grant to The Bread and Puppet Theater, Vermont, USA.
2019 Loon Choir Album Cover, National Arts Centre album release party, April 26.
2019 Juror for City of Ottawa public art commission, Rosemount Library Hintonburg.
2018 City of Ottawa Creation and Production Fund for Professional Artists – funding the painting series ‘Dystopia Rising’
2018 Self-Awarded art research grant to Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey to study Icons, and Byzantine Art.
2017 Juror for City of Ottawa Creation and Production Fund
2017 Self-Awarded research grant to Paris and the Netherlands to study Art History of the last 500 years.
2012 People’s Choice award for Cube Gallery’s Candela exhibition.
Selected Artist Talks
2020 Dystopia Rising exhibition artist talk on YOUTUBE. Watch it here.
2015 ArtPreneur Conference, Innovative Artists, Harold Shenkman Hall, Shenkman Arts Centre
2015 Pecha Kucha, Ottawa Chapter, Aberdeen Pavilion, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
2015 ShoufenTalks, Jackpine, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
2015 The Technology Of Protest Past and Present: #MYPROTEST, Department of History, Carleton University, Ottawa
2014 Guest Artist Lecture, Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 Create This Revolution, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 A decade of making art, PECHA KUCHA Vol.6, Shopify Lounge, Ottawa, Ontario
2006 Guest Artist Lecture, Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa ON, Canada
2004 Un-censoring: MediaMorphosis conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
Selected Radio, Media, & Television
2020 CBC radio / Radio Canada TV, COVID-19 Mural on Chateau Lafayette in Ottawa’s Byward Market, Ottawa, Ontario.
2018 Ottawa Now with Evan Solomon, CFRA 580 radio, Ottawa, Ontario
2017 The Secret Lives of Public Servants, featured artist, A Canada 150 Webseries, Youtube
2017 All In A Day – my thoughts on LA MACHINE,hosted by Alan Neal, CBC Radio 1, Ottawa, Ontario
2015 All In A Day – about #MYPROTEST art projec hosted by Alan Neal, CBC Radio 1, Ottawa, Ontario
2015 As It Happens – About Arbie Goes Rogue with Carol Off& Jeff Douglas, CBC Radio 1, National Radio,Canada
2014 Regional Contact hosted by Joel Haslam, CTV Television, Ottawa, Ontario
2013 Click Here hosted by Mitchel Caplan, CHUO 89.1FM radio, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 The Artisan hosted by Sterling Lynch, Rogers Television, Ottawa, Ontario
2012 All In A Day hosted by Alan Neal, CBC Radio 1, Ottawa, Ontario
2009 All In A Day hosted by Alan Neal, CBC Radio 1, Ottawa, Ontario
2007 Talk Ottawa hosted by James Hendricks, Rogers Television, Ottawa, Ontario
2006 Arts Review hosted by Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Radio 1, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 Daytime hosted by Derick Fage, Rogers Television, Ottawa, Ontario
Selected News Media & Bibliography and collaborations
2022 COVID-19 artwork and HERO poster of Zexi Li are inducted into the City of Ottawa Archives.
2020 COVID-19 mural on Chateau Laff in the Byward Market, CBC and
2020 Cover Art collaboration for Ben Caplan’s O Holy Night, with Jamie Kronick.
2019 CBC Arts, Why Marc Adornato is painting ruined landscapes and mass shootings
2019 Cover Art for Loon Choir Album, In The Age Of Alienation.
2018 Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa artist’s disaster ‘hacks’ of older paintings at Diefenbunker, Peter Hum, April. 4
2017 Ottawa Citizen, The Secret Lives of Public Servants exposes hidden talents, Tom Spears, Oct. 23
2017 CBC News, Ottawa artist Marc Adornato sees flattery in imitation, Mario Carlucci, Jan 18.
2016 CBC News, ‘Bad news’ exhibit remakes the familiar into the political, Mario Carlucci, June 23.
2016 APT 613, Marc Adornato has some bad news for youî by Brenda Dunn, June 21.
2015 CBC News, Ottawa artist’s Christmas Eve installation turns into ‘online scavenger hunt’, Dec 26.
2014 Huffington Post, RBC Branch On Fire Painting Likely Won’t Win RBC Contest, Oct 7.
2014 ArtNet News, A Bank’s Painting Prize Gets an Incendiary Response, Ben Davis, Oct 4.
2014 The Ottawa Citizen, The Calgary Herald,One artist’s fiery protest against a bank and its annual painting prize, Peter Simpson, October 2.
2014 The Ottawa Citizen, A Penchant for the Past, Jessica Rose, D8.
2014 Guerilla Magazine, Martyrs and Messiahs, Tony Martins, Vol.10, Issue 39, pg. 3
2014 LoveOttawa.com, the historical and inspirational aesthetic of old Ottawa, D.Brown.
2013 The Ottawa Citizen, 10 to see at Nuit Blanche, Peter Simpson, D7-D10
2013 The Ottawa Citizen, There is really no limit, Drake Fenton, pg C3
2013 Herd Magazine,The Beaten Track, Claudia Gutierrez, pg12-15
2013 Ottawa Magazine, Dialing Back, Fateema Sayani, pg 33
2011 Zouch Magazine Marc Adornato: An Artist Repurposed in Canada, Meghan Clarkston.
2011 APT613.ca,The Art of Volunteering, Francois Levesque.
2009 Ottawa Magazine, Take The Cash, FateemaSayani, pg 21
2008 Ottawa: The Unknown City, Expensive Art, Rob McLennan, pg 28
2006 The Ottawa Citizen, War seen through young artists eyes, Peter Simpson, D4
2005 VOIR Magazine, La guerre et l’art, Line Dezainde, pg 12
