Cindy Norton
A painter and sculptor whose work explores identity and social constructs.
Cindy Norton
BIO
Cindy Norton - artist and musician. Like her art, Cindy Norton’s interests and experience are an eclectic collection. Her academic studies (B.A Fine Art, M.A Sociology of Art - University of Guelph) have enabled her to combine her interests in Visual Arts and Social Theory. Her scholarly pursuits have taken her from research in 18th Century Tombstone Iconography to notions of the self as found in self portrait photographs at the turn of the last century.
In the final year of her joint honours degree at the University of Guelph (Departments of Fine Arts and Sociology/Anthropology) she won a scholarship from the Canadian/Scandinavian Foundation, which enabled her to travel to Oslo’s Munch Museum to research the self portrait photographs of the Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch. She then used this research towards the completion of her M.A. thesis - entitled: The Expressive Mirror. Self Portrait Photographs as Autobiographical Documents. She later started a Ph.D at York University but left in good standing in order to pursue a teaching career with The Toronto District School Board.
Cindy was born and raised in Toronto but now lives and works on her artistic endeavours in Flesherton and Kimberley Ontario. Cindy is a member of the Walter’s Falls Group of Artists.
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Artist Statement
A painter and sculptor working in Expressionist figurative and landscape painting, as well as kinetic sculpture. Her work blends surrealism, abstraction, and found objects to explore essence, solitude, and transformation.
Throughout her artistic journey, Cindy has worked across a range of mediums. Most recently, she has been exploring expressionist painting—both figurative and landscape—as well as creating kinetic sculptures.
The direction of her most recent paintings have taken the form of portraits. These paintings, invite the viewer to look past their presented facade. Her paintings contain an element of surrealism and a sense of solitude which are at times both strange and powerfully evocative.
In her landscape work, Cindy blends abstraction and expressionism to explore how essence, rather than appearance, can be painted.
Her kinetic structures are an embodiment of all her interests...truly mixed media. She sees beauty in rusty pieces of metal, animal bones, feathers, old piano mechanisms, doll pieces ...and other discarded objects. She continues to collect and repurpose found objects in an attempt to give new life to old.
CV
basic info
Cindy Norton
born - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lives and works in Kimberley, Ontario, Canada
Education
University of Guelph: Master of Arts Sociology of Art Thesis Title: Self Portrait Photographs as Autobiographical Documents
University of Windsor: B.Ed (Jr./Intermediate/Senior. Qualifications. Specialization - Visual Arts/Sociology)
University of Guelph: B.A. Joint Honours in Visual Arts & Sociology/Anthropology
exhibitions
2025 - Walter’s Falls Artist’s Group Show Guest Artist in juried group show
2025 - Northern Contemporary (Toronto, Ont.) Juried Exhibition: “Feeling Blue”
2025 - Propeller Gallery (Toronto, Ont.) Juried exhibition: “Misneach: Courage and Bravery - We Need This Now.” Curator: Virginia Eichhorn
2025 - Craig Gallery (Meaford, Ont.) invited guest: “Smalls Show”
2025 - Grey Gallery (Owen Sound, Ont) invited guest with Grey Highlands Artist Circle entitled: “Material Matters”
2024 - Walter’s Falls Artist’s Group Show Guest Artist in juried group show
2024 - Grey Gallery (Owen Sound, Ont) Solo Exhibition, entitled: “These Eyes”
2023 - Craig Gallery (Meaford, Ont.) Group exhibition, (juried) entitled: “Portrait Show”
2023 - Walter’s Falls Artist’s Group Show Guest Artist in juried group show
2023 - Grey Gallery (Owen Sound, Ont.) 2 person show entitled: “Figures: Expressionist Paintings”
2023 - Hidden South, Art-Oddities-Antiques (New Orleans, Louisiana)
2023 - “The Studio” @ Dr. Bob’s, Art Gallery (New Orleans, Louisiana) Open Studio
2022 - Grey Gallery (Owen Sound, Ont.) 2 person show with Alan Glicksman
2022 - Walter’s Falls Artist’s Group Show Guest Artist in juried group show
2022 - 100 Kellogg Lane (London, Ont.) ArtComp - 1 of 100 jury selected artists from 900 international applicants
2021 - Flesherton Art Gallery (Flesherton) Two Person Exhibition featuring: Cindy Norton & Catherine Carmichael
2021 - Atelierhaus Dujardin - (Krefeld Uerdingen, Germany) Group Exhibition entitled: “Dialogue” with Sibylle Gröne
2019 - Pop up Art Exhibition 2019 - Starbox Studio (Flesherton) Exhibition entitled: “Natural Selections” - Art & Nature
2019 - GrowOp 2019 The Gladstone Hotel, (Toronto) Juried Group Exhibition: "Energy"
2019 - CanSerrat ~ El Bruc (Spain) Studio Exhibition of recent works during residency
2019 - C9 Art Gallery (Toronto) Juried Group Exhibition
2018 - Art Room Gallery Juried international on-line Exhibition: “Animals” (merit award winner)
2018 - Flesherton Art Gallery (Flesherton) . Group Exhibition: “Birds”
2018 - Durham Art Gallery (Durham, Ontario) Group Exhibition: GHAC - "Scarcity and Abundance"
2017 - Autumn Leaves Studio Tour (Flesherton, Ontario) Juried Exhibition: Recent works
2017 - Flesherton Gallery (Flesherton, Ontario) Group Exhibition
2017 - Dunbar Gallery, (Flesherton, Ontario) Group Exhibition
2016 - Starbox Studio and Gallery (Flesherton, Ontario) On going display of recent work by Cindy Norton
2016 - Autumn Leaves Studio Tour Juried Exhibition: Recent works
2016 - Gallery 1313 (Toronto) Juried Show: “Small Works Exhibition’
2015 - Gallery 1313 (Toronto) Juried Show entitled: “City of Art”
2015 - Arts Market, (Toronto) Juried Artisan’s Market
Residencies
2025 - Cill Rialaig Artist Residency (County Kerry, Ireland)
2023 - Artscape Gibraltar Point - Self Directed Residency (Toronto Island)
2022 - Gladstone House - Studio Residency (May, June)
2022 - Buinho Creative Hub (Portugal) deferred due to Covid
2019 - Westport Artist Residency (Brier Island, Nova Scotia)
2019 - Can Serrat Artist Residency (El Bruc, Spain)
Awards and Publications
Art Room Gallery on-line Gallery of Contemporary Art Juried international Exhibition: “Animals” (merit award winner)
Canadian/Scandinavian Research Award Research in Oslo at Munch Museum
"Myth and Knowledge" Conference: Memorial University St. John’s, Newfoundland, Research paper presentation entitled: 18th Century Tombstone Iconography
“Chaos and Creativity” Conference: Memorial University St John’s, Newfoundland, Research paper presentation entitled: The Expressive Mirror - Self Portrait Photographs (from Early 20th and 19th century)