El cisne rebelde (“The Rebel Swan”)
(2003)
43” x 43”
oil on canvas

Mercedes Mc Lean's work borders between abstract and figurative. Every inch is full of vivid colors that suggest animals and nature. In the world she imagines and paints, animals blend with water, air, flowers, and forest--all the elements of their environment-- to create a new and extraordinary shape on canvas. In this way, her work transitions from figurative to pure and simple abstraction.

Latin American art critic Vicky Torres says Mc Lean's work is "precise", "well thought out" and "presented with extraordinary rigor and an almost absurd love for geometry and rules of composition." Torres writes: "From color and chaos a new world is born-a world where animals and their environment are one. With precise shapes, rigorous mathematics and vivid colors, Mercedes Mc Lean's work challenges the observer to discover some of nature's hidden and ignored shapes."

Mc Lean was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1948. As a small child she moved to Paraguay and became a Paraguayan citizen in 1972. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Europe and South America. She has been studying art technique and theory since 1989. Mc Lean paints and teaches art in Asuncion, Paraguay.

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