About the Artist

Gordon Halloran

Halloran first developed his idea of painting on ice in the early ’90s. It came out of his boyhood experience flooding backyard ice rinks for pickup hockey games with his brothers. “I would stand out in the moonlight and look at the reflection of the light on the smooth surface. I was obsessed with the illumination. I’ve always loved the way ice freezes, moves and forms.”

To produce his ice paintings, Halloran employs portable refrigeration technology: modular aluminum plates that efficiently conduct the cold. These tabletop-size plates assembled into different configurations help in creating, displaying and maintaining the works, regardless of temperatures.

In 2006, Halloran was Canada’s representative at the Cultural Olympiad of the Olympic Winter Games in Turin. His colorful paintings in ice adorned the floors, walls and corridors inside a former church. In 2007, he created two large public installations, one for Toronto on Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall and the other at the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Now, experience Halloran’s work for the first time in the U.S. at Chicago’s Museum of Modern Ice: Paintings Below Zero, from February 1 through 29, 2008.

visit the photo gallery to see gordon halloran's work.

Visit the Paintings Below Zero Blog to get a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Museum of Modern Ice.