Hybrid sculptural painting balancing painted surfaces and metal framework by Carl Sean McMahon

Fusion Series

Series Overview

Concept

The Fusion series explores the integration of painted canvas sections within an abstract metal framework.

Development

I began this series as a way to revisit my interest in painting, aiming to bridge my passion for both sculpture and painting. This led me to explore how metal sculpture could be seamlessly integrated into a painted composition. Traditionally, I viewed paintings as single, two-dimensional planes, but I challenged myself to incorporate painting within a three-dimensional framework. This experimentation resulted in a style I call sculptural paintings, with Vicissitude as the pioneering piece. The concept first materialized in Vicissitude, a multi-plane, multi-perspective painting housed within an abstract sculptural structure.

Following this, I developed the Fractured Landscape series, which captures four distinct regions of British Columbia: the Lower Mainland, Northern B.C., the Coastal region, and the Interior. These sculptural paintings highlight the defining characteristics of each area—for example, the dramatic verticality of Northern B.C.’s mountains or the vivid red and yellow hues of the Interior in autumn. The works aim to evoke the essence of these landscapes without becoming overly representational.