Of the many amazing events in the 2010 Winter Olympics, one was the creation by Canadian artist Gordon Halloran of the Ice Gate for those attending the speed skating competition at the Richmond Olympic Oval in Vancouver.
Halloran invented the new form of art "ice painting" as an evolution of his obsession with ice from his childhood in rural Ontario. Halloran uses the beauty of color moving within the crystalline structure of ice to co-create his ice paintings with nature.
Halloran also represented Canada at the 2006 Cultural Olympiad for the Olympic Games in Turin with his ice paintings in La Fortessa di Fenestrelle in Torino, Italy. Halloran created an Ice Wall for Chicago's Millenium Park in Feb. 2007.
The vastness of Canada's winter landscape in rural Ontario inspired him to work with large ice surfaces, "Canada is a big country, why not make big paintings?" says Halloran, "I've always loved the way ice freezes, moves, and forms".
"As Canadians, we have a personal and collective experience with ice and cold that is unique. We take pride in the beauty of our landscape, and at the same time, make peace with its harshness. We stare down at a piece of frozen ice and see ourselves reflected clearly in a mirror the size of the sky."
To see other examples of Halloran's work, click on Ice Gate, Italian Olympic Ice Painting, more paintings and Chicago's Ice Wall.
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