Created to mark the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra’s 95th season, this painting of the number Ninety-Five joins local artist Keitha McClocklin’s Number Series, which celebrates the personal and collective significance of the meaningful numbers in our lives. McClocklin used the Symphony’s 95th season palette of pinks, blues, indigos and purples to reflect the emotional arc of the Symphony’s programming: a journey from darkness to light, from tension to joy. Inspired by the idea that this season carries audiences from darkness to light, she built the number with layers of collage and mixed media using a street art aesthetic that speaks to spontaneity, energy and emotional release. Look closely and you’ll find visual easter eggs representing the concerts of the Symphony’s 95th season. In its bold lines and gradual colour shifts, the number becomes both a milestone and a metaphor, a vibrant celebration of the music and moments that connect us.
Keitha McClocklin is a Canadian contemporary artist who creates from her studio in Saskatoon’s Riversdale neighbourhood. She works in a range of disciplines including painting, printmaking and drawing, often weaving techniques from one discipline to another. She fluidly moves between figurative, landscape and abstraction, with her abstract realism style characterized by the use of layers, colour and mixed media. McClocklin’s works are held in public and private collections across Canada, the U.S., France, the U.K. and Indonesia.