Fiona Hoop was the persona of two professional artists, Mary Kennedy and Michele Woodey, who began working together in 2000. They were commissioned to create site-specific installations combining painting, photography and interior design. This successful partnering led to a deeper exploration of collaborative painting; a concept which has its roots in the early Surrealist artists’ technique of passing a piece of work back and forth. Each artist contributed elements in turn, until the chemistry was complete. Their work is exhibited and sold in New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa.

MICHELE WOODEY

Michele graduated with honours in Fine Art from Brighton School of Arts in England in 1979. While working as an antique and art restorer in London, she continued her education with university courses in English, teaching English as a second language, printmaking and photography. She has had multi-disciplined experience as Joint Head of Montessori School art programs, guest lecturer, and artist in residence at the Atlin School of Arts and as Arts Council Artist in various other post secondary and graduate school programs.

From 1981 until 1986 Woodey was a part-time tutor teaching foundation level students in conceptual development, drawing and painting while continuing to develop her own artwork. In 1986, she spent some time in New York, and then eventually settled in Canada. She has had multi-disciplined experience as Joint Head of Montessori School art programs, guest lecturer and artist in residence at The Aitlin School of Art and as Arts Council artist in various other post-secondary and graduate school programs.

Michele Woodey has held solo exhibits of her work at the prestigious Nexus Gallery in Brighton England, at Erindale College within the University of Toronto, and multiple showings at the Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto.

MARY KENNEDY

Mary graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1989 and received OCAD’s Experimental Arts Award in Painting. Since then, she has been the recipient of several Visual Arts Grants from the Ontario Arts Council, as well as from the Sheila Dick Mackay Arts Foundation.

Kennedy has shown with such galleries as Baux-Xi in Toronto and Lois Shayne Galleries in Montreal. Several group and solo showings have been appointed by the esteemed Christopher Cutts Gallery in Toronto, often selling out completed works on paper and canvas within a few days of opening.

Mary has juried the University of Toronto Students Exhibits & Grant Awards, been featured on WTN Network’s “Bella” Productions, and has appeared in campaigns for Nokia Cellular’s “Connecting People” series.

Mary’s work may be found in corporate collections at the University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Hospital, Cooper Sandler & West and Sunlife Assurance Canada. International collections reside at KPMG Worldwide, Husky Systems GMBH and Voorheis.

EXHIBITIONS

2024

Landscape Art Exhibition and Sale, The Gallery Upstairs, Milton, ON

2021

3D Art Gallery Exhibition, Creations Art Gallery, Online

2012

Exhibition of New Art Prints, Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor, MI