MEET CECILIA
Cecilia was born in Colombia and immigrated to Canada in 1969. She completed a BFA, MFA and PhD at the University of Calgary. She has exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally, including solo shows at the Royal Commonwealth Society (with Canada’s High Commission) in London, England, and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Cartagena, Colombia. She twice received prestigious scholarships from the Killam Foundation and was awarded three Queen Elizabeth II scholarships. Her work is included in many collections, including Cartagena’s Museo de Arte Moderno, IBM Canada, Mobil Oil Canada, the Law Society of Alberta, and private collections in Canada, United States, England, France, Holland, Colombia and Argentina.
Cecilia has worked in a variety of media including pencil, watercolour, and acrylic drawings and paintings, but for the past thirty-plus years her preferred medium has been sculpture. One of her sculptures, commissioned by the City Parks Department, was installed at Signal Hill Park in southwest Calgary. She has also published three books that incorporate many of her art pieces as illustrations.
Cecilia’s use of bright colours and visual puns in her art is a testament to her Latin American background and eclectic interests. She is an avid reader, enthusiastic world traveler, and so-so pianist. She is married, has five children and nine grandchildren.
Cecilia E. Gossen BFA, MFA, PhD
www.ceciliagossen.com | ceciliagossen@gmail.com
Selected Exhibitions
2025 Inspired by Opera, Masters Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
2024 This is Who We Are, Calgary City Hall; 45th Anniversary Exhibition Burns Visual Arts Society.
2023 Looking for Mona Lisa, Calgary Central Library ‘On Display!’ Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
2023 Freedom, Western GM Gallery, Drumheller, Alberta
2021-2022 Alberta Society of Artists 90th Anniversary Exhibition, ASA Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
2021 Freedom, Central Public Library, Calgary, Alberta; ASA Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
2020 Freedom, Collaboration with Platform Edese Kunstenaars, Ede, Netherlands.
2018 Incognito, Royal Over-Seas League, London, England.
2018 3D, Western GM Gallery, Drumheller, Alberta.
2016 La Sabiduría de las Abuelas, Consulate of Colombia, Calgary, Alberta (Solo).
2011 Stations of the Cross, Theatre Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Solo).
2008 La Figura de Santiago en los Caminos. Mundo Nuevo, San Sebastián, Spain.
2008-2010 The Home Show. The Stollery Gallery and Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program (Juried).
2008 The Feminine House. Campbell River and District Public Art Gallery, Campbell River, British Columbia.(Solo).
2006-2008 Lines of Communication. The Prairie Art Gallery and Alberta Foundation For the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. (Curated).
2005-2006 Memory and Identity. Alberta Society of Artists 75th Anniversary Exhibition. Bowman Centre, Lethbridge. (Juried)
2003-2005 Ars Poetica, The Prairie Art Gallery and The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program (Juried).
2002 Intimate Visions, Alberta Society of Artists' Art Walk Exhibition, Masters Gallery, Calgary, Alberta (Juried).
2000 Icons, Canada Week, Royal Commonwealth Society, in conjunction with Canada's High Commission, London, England (Solo).
2000 Undivided Highway, Artwalk Festival 2000, Institute for Modern and Contemporary Art, Calgary, Alberta (Curated).
1999 Icons, Museum of Modern Art (Museo de Arte Moderno), Cartagena, Colombia (Solo).
1998 Poles Apart, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile.
1996-1994 Home is Where the Art Is, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Travelling Exhibition (14 Venues).
1995 The Alphabet, Galería de Arte Chica Morales, Cartagena, Colombia (Solo).
1994 Drawing From Domestic Life, Muttart Art Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
1984-1985 Ottawa Watercolour Society: 9th, 10th, and 11th Juried Exhibitions, Braam Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (Juried) (Honorable Mention).
1982 Cold Lake Artists' Guild, Cold Lake, Alberta.
Public Art Commissions
2007 Village. Signal Hill Public Park Project, Calgary, Alberta.
Education
2012 Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, University of Calgary.
1998 M.F.A. in Sculpture, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
1992 B.F.A. in Sculpture, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
Professional Societies
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Burns Visual Arts Society of Calgary (Treasurer 1998-2006, Secretary 2015-Present)
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Alberta Society of Artists (Treasurer, South Branch 2003-2007)
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Visual Arts Alberta
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Ottawa Watercolour Society (past member)
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Cold Lake Artists Guild (past member)
Public Service
2005-2018 Fort Calgary Preservation Society. Chairman of the Board 2013-2017.
2018-2019 Translator for Dentistry for All, a humanitarian project in Guatemala.
Special Projects
2019 Art Attacks, a series of pop-up art installations in several locations around Calgary, to celebrate Burns Visual Arts Society’s 40th Anniversary.
2003-Present Co-creator of East Side Studio Crawl, an annual civic arts festival in the Communities of Ramsey and Inglewood, Calgary, Alberta.
Collections
Museum of Modern Art, Cartagena, Colombia; Law Society of Alberta; I.B.M. Canada; Mobil Oil Canada; Scurfield Hall, University of Calgary; private collections in Canada, United States, England, France, Holland, Portugal, Colombia and Argentina.
Professional Representation
Masters Gallery, Calgary, Alberta