Author: artoronto

Opening Reception: Friday, August 22, 2014 / 6 – 9 p.m.
Angell Gallery

The opening reception at Angell Gallery featured two exhibitions: When The Lighthouse is Dark Between Flashes by Canadian artist Daniel Hutchinson and Overwrought by Toronto artist Rafael Ochoa.

Artists Daniel Hutchinson and Rafael Ochoa conversing with Guests.

The front room of Angell Gallery holds the works of Rafael Ochoa. His digital paintings, showcasing the complexities and beauty of nature, are lit by the natural light coming in from the large front window, which creates a bright and comfortable space. Ochoa’s paintings invoke aspects of traditional art historical pieces; one can easily see the connection to Baroque modeling and Dutch still-life, especially in Autumn Quinces, Ochoa’s first digital print. The gallery’s high white walls and concrete floor provide a perfect, subtle, backdrop for the colorful paintings done by Ochoa.

Installation view with Rafael Ochoa’s Rafael Ochoa, Man with a Black Hat (left) and 7 Squashes (right).

Artist Rafael Ochoa with his work, 7 Squashes.

Guest with Rafael Ochoa’s Woman with Radicchio.

The main gallery space, with the large white walls lit by spotlight, creates an open atmosphere for the dark abstract paintings of Daniel Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s work often draws inspiration from the universe; the works’ titles reflect their associations with the macrocosm and the materials used. His circular works, such as Painting for a Frame (As Molecular Cloud), create almost a black-hole effect against the blank wall, one that pulls the viewer in forcing a closer inspection of the lines, brush strokes, and manipulation of light. All of his works incorporate the use of light and the gallery’s open space and track lighting really permits Hutchinson’s work to showcase its dynamic energy.

Installation View with (from left to right): Painting For Two Sterling Boards, Painting For a Picture Frame (As Lunar Streamers),  Painting For A Frame (As Molecular Cloud).

Artist Daniel Hutchinson with Painting for A Sterling Board (As Chiral Symmetry). 

Guest with Daniel Hutchinson, Painting for Electric Light (X-Painting).

Daniel Hutchinson, Painting For Electric Light Solar Winds.

The opening event felt like a reunion; many times throughout the evening both artists said, “hello” to colleagues and friends. The opening at the Angell Gallery felt small and comfortable, casual and elegant. Hutchinson was even accompanied by his wife and young son, a few others brought their children, and many came with friends. The tight-knit familiarity made the evening an ebullient one at the Angell Gallery.

Artist Daniel Hutchinson with guests.

Text and photo: Brinae Bain

*Exhibition information: Daniel Hutchinson: When The Lighthouse is Dark Between Flashes  and Rafael Ochoa: Overwrought, August 22 – September 27, 2014,  Angell Gallery, 12 Ossington Avenue, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 5 p.m.

John Ferri’s photo based works in Gallery 1313’s Cell Gallery explore the narrative present in public environments. He cleverly mixes street photography and collage to achieve a unique image. The interplay of people in those places is sometimes real and sometimes imagined. As Ferri states, to his works “Themes of solitude, dignity and the search for significance are central.“ Ferri ‘s background is journalistic, serving as a arts editor for the Toronto Star and then working for the paper on its online content. This seems significant in most of the works as we get a picture of the urban landscape viewed through Ferri ‘s vision.

John Ferri, Next to you, detail, photography. Courtesy of Gallery 1313. 

In Next To You 1 & 2 the linear works show people seated on city benches, sometimes engaged and sometimes pensive and alone. The people seem to represent a cross section of a large urban centre. Another large work, Circle in the Square is mandala-like with some hundred or more individuals caught on the move. Again each person is an individual in its movement, some hurried while others strolling casually. Viewed from a distance the people are seen almost like ants in scurrying from their nest. They become more significant when viewed closely.

John Ferri, Circle In the Square, photograph, 40 x 46 inches. Courtesy of Gallery 1313.

John Ferri, Circle In the Square, detail, photograph.

Ferri’s Giant Humans series, framed glicee prints (archival digital prints) are smaller in size but feel monumental. This time the people are collaged or appear to be stepping in front of large urban advertising that are using printed human faces or bodies. The individuals do not become lost with the background but seem to become even more prominent.

John Ferri, Giant Humans, glicee prints (archival digital prints), 10 x 15 inches. Courtesy of Gallery 1313.

The exhibition by Gallery 1313 Member, John Ferri is highly worth a visit and no doubt it will create some conversation and ideas to share.

Phil Anderson

*Exhibition information: August 20 – 31, 2014, Gallery 1313 Cell Gallery, 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun 1 – 6 p.m.

Alex Colville,  Horse and Train, 1953, glazed oil on hardboard, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Gift of Domonion Foundries and Steel Limited (Dofasco), 1957.    ©A.C. Fine Art Inc.

August 23, 2014 – January 4, 2015
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street

More than 100 works by Canadian icon Alex Colville (1920-2013) is presented at the Art Gallery of Ontario, marking the largest exhibition of the late artist’s work to date. Curated by Andrew Hunter, the AGO’s curator of Canadian art, the exhibition honours Colville’s legacy and explore the continuing impact of his work from the perspectives of several prominent popular culture figures from film, literature and music. 

Known for painting decidedly personal subject matter, Colville’s painstakingly precise images depict an elusive tension, capturing moments perpetually on the edge of change and the unknown, often imbued with a deep sense of danger. Featuring works assembled from museums and private collections nationwide, many of which have never been shown publicly, the exhibition spans Colville’s entire career, including iconic paintings such as Horse and Train, 1953; To Prince Edward Island, 1965; Woman in Bathtub, 1973; and Target Pistol and Man, 1980.

Born in Toronto in 1920, Colville was a painter, printmaker and veteran who drew his inspiration from the world around him, transforming the seemingly mundane figures and events of everyday life into archetypes of the modern condition. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1982 and won a Governor General’s Visual and Media Arts Award in 2003.

For more information please go to http://www.ago.net/alex-colville.

Brian Deignan, Winter Wonderland #1, Fine Art Print on Baryta 2.5 x 8 inches. Edition of 20, 2011. Courtesy of Gallery 1313

Brian Deignan is a photographer living in Toronto. In his new exhibition, Roadworks, Deignan captures the Canadian landscape from a car window. Having grown up in Montreal and subsequently moving to the United States, Deignan has had his fair share of homes and road trips. This current exhibition is a reflection on how we view the landscape from the most common and contemporary perspective, referring to the fact that most Canadians primarily encounter the landscape from an automobile. His works are characterized by their blurry appearance, while the automobile serves as a framing device and contextualizes the perspective.

With this exhibition Deignan perfectly depicts the hurried nature of traveling by car through the Canadian landscape. While speed is the initial impact, the photographs capture moments that draw the visitor’s attention to small details that might otherwise go unnoticed and unrecognized.

Tara Akitt

*Exhibition information: August 6 – August 17, 2014, Gallery 1313 Cell Gallery, 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun 1 – 6 p.m.

On the occasion of her retirement, Marnie Fleming, Curator of Contemporary Art at Oakville Galleries presents her final farewell show.

Entitled You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, the show brings together the objects and images which resonate most strongly with her after twenty-plus years at the Galleries—those that questioned, challenged and provoked her.

And it is a very strong show.

Scott McFarland, Orchard View, Late Spring: Vitis viniferia, Wisteria, 2004. Digital Cibachrome print. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy of Oakville Galleries.

From early commissioned works by Kim Adams and Jeannie Thib, to photographs by Angela Grauerholz and Scott McFarland, to a lakeside audio walk by Janet Cardiff, the show is a smorgasbord of contemporary Canadian art. Beyond showcasing the impressive depth of the Galleries’ holdings, You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me reflects the diversity of art practices as they’ve developed since the early 1990’s, and it is particularly recommended for those who don’t know much about the contemporary scene.

Across the show there are some beautifully curated moments— most notably an assembly of three works set together in perfect harmony against an original mantel in the home-turned-gallery space at Gairloch Gardens.  

An early commission by Kim Adams is set beside a grouping of works by Spring Hurlbut, Micah Lexier and Tatsuo Miyajima. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy of Oakville Galleries.

In this grouping, Japanese artist Tatsumo Miyajima’s Time Fire burns at centre, while Spring Hurlbut’s tooth-encrusted entablature hovers above a photo-based work by Micah Lexier. Although each piece presents a personal comment on the passing of time, the works gain greater potency when set against the decades-old fireplace in the gallery space — a feature which itself witnessed many changes and transformations over the years.

Tatsuo Miyajima, Time Fire, 1996. LED, integrated circuit, electric wire and wood panel. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy of Oakville Galleries.

Micah Lexier, Set of Seven (Siblings), 1993. Photographs mounted on books and Barre granite. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy of Oakville Galleries.

Indeed, the theme of change and evolution features very strongly in the show—and it makes sense considering its retrospective nature.

In fact, David Merritt’s Rope can be seen as a metaphor for Marnie’s career and for the permanent collection she’s helped develop at the Galleries. By allowing new works to challenge her perspective and promote new ways of thinking, ideas, like the rope, have unravelled, expanded, and taken new form over time—and this is exactly what Marnie hopes visitors will take away from the show.

David Merritt, untitled (rope), 2005. Sisal rope fibre. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy of Oakville Galleries.

“If I have had only one goal during my time here,” Marnie writes in her introduction to the show, “it is that you, as viewers, have encounters with these works that are as satisfying as my own, luring you in, stirring your soul and prompting your imagination.”

So next time you are in Oakville, stop by the galleries and let these works take a hold of you too.

Veronica Scarpati

*Exhibition information: June 8  – August 30, 2014, Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens and at Centennial Square, 1306 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville. Gallery hours: Tue – Fri 1 –5, Sat 10 – 5,  Sun 1 – 5 p.m.

Four extraordinary artists have been shortlisted for the 2014 Aimia | AGO Photography Prize. The Prize, co-presented by Aimia, a global leader in loyalty management, and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), will award each of the four artists a six-week artist residency in Canada and feature their work in an AGO exhibition opening September 3, 2014. The winner of the $50,000 prize were chosen by public vote from August 13, 2014.

The winner is:

Lisa Oppenheim(USA)

Lisa Oppenheim was born in 1975 in New York City, where she lives and works. Oppenheim’s photographs and videos are composed of images and materials from the recent and not-so-recent past that she re-processes and transforms through various historical and contemporary techniques. Her process often begins online, where she sources images and objects that she reinterprets photographically using both analogue and digital technologies. Through this approach, the process itself becomes source material, as Oppenheim gives photographic images new forms and new contexts. Recent solo exhibitions include Forever is Composed of Nows, Kunsterverin in Hamburg; From Abigail to Jacob (Works 2004-2014), Kunstverein in Graz; and Heaven Blazing into the Head, The Approach Gallery, London.  Oppenheim graduated with an MFA from The Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College in 2002.

“I want the viewer to ask, ‘What am I looking at? How is it made?’ Somehow, that provides a way of critically reading how images come to all of us through our daily lives.” – Lisa Oppenheim

Lisa Oppenheim, Smoke, 2013, Two-channel video installation, looped, dimensions variable. Courtesy of The Approach

Together representing the cutting edge of international photography, the four artists engage with broad historical and cultural forces such as war, colonialism, urban planning and advertising. They each have a distinct approach to visualizing the world, creating environments and materials that express diverse and thoughtful ideas about the ways past and present experiences are communicated through images.

A jury of three selected the four finalists from a long list of 22 artists. The jury included lead juror Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s associate curator of photography; Okwui Enwezor, Nigerian-born, German-based scholar, curator, writer and director of Haus der Kunst, Munich; and New York–based photo and video-based artist Laurie Simmons.

“This year’s long list was really impressive – an exciting range of artists from around the world, highlighting such diverse approaches to the photographic image,” said Hackett. “We were drawn to the four nominees for the distinctive visual force and rigour of their work, but also for the ways they each address historical and philosophical questions about photography’s role today. We are delighted to showcase their work in Toronto for the first time and to award them an opportunity to develop new projects and create new connections through their residencies.”

The Aimia | AGO Photography Prize is Canada’s most significant award for contemporary photography, recognizing photographers from around the world whose work has exhibited extraordinary potential over the preceding five years. It has a total annual prize value of more than $100,000, with $50,000 awarded to the winner, $5,000 awarded to each of the other shortlisted artists and $25,000 supporting a national scholarship program for students studying photography at select institutions across Canada. The remainder funds six-week residencies for the four shortlisted artists at institutions across Canada.

The other three 2014 finalists are:

• David Hartt (Canada)

David Hartt was born in Montreal in 1967 and currently lives and works in Chicago. In his installations, which include photographs, videos and sculptures, Hartt explores how physical spaces reflect the ideas and beliefs of a particular time and place. By investigating the materials, symbols and histories that shape our surroundings, he calls attention to the ways our built environments exist and evolve. After extensive research and site visits, Hartt distills this material into complex and elegant installations. His exhibition Stray Light, organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2011) travelled to the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2014), among other galleries. His work is in many public collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery of Canada. He graduated with an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994.

“Our understanding of ourselves is deeply rooted in the spaces we occupy.” – David Hartt

David Hartt, The Republic I, 2014, Pigment print, 149.9 x 224.8 cm

• Elad Lassry (Israel/USA)

Elad Lassry was born in Tel Aviv in 1977 and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. At the centre of his work is the question, “What is a picture?” His practice suggests that the photograph is an elusive “unit.” Lassry uses multiple aesthetic modes and technologies to create analog images, digital interventions, moving pictures, design applications and applied arts that seem utilitarian but produce complex visual sensations. His ongoing investigation leads him to refer back to and experiment with a variety of visual sources — textbooks, manuals, film stills, marketing materials and science texts — which at turns contradict and play off one another in his work. Lassry uses this dynamic to pinpoint what he calls a “contemporary condition” in which the photograph is a flexible entity, seductively powerful and yet untrustworthy. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Kunsthalle Zurich; and Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan. Lassry earned an MFA in 2007 from the University of Southern California.

“The questions for me are about this very mysterious unit that is the picture. It brings on a set of assumptions and built-in ways of looking with which I am in constant battle.” – Elad Lassry

Elad Lassry, Untitled (Mozzarella), 2014, Chromogenic print, walnut frame, wire, PVC, paint, 61 x 45.1 x 3.8 cm

• Nandipha Mntambo (South Africa)

Nandipha Mntambo was born in 1982 in Swaziland and currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mntambo’s practice includes sculpture, photography, performance and video. Her work investigates such dualities as male/female, attraction/repulsion, animal/ human, and European/African. Mntambo makes sculptures from cowhide, using her own body to mould the forms. In many of her videos and photographs, she appears wearing her sculptures, suggesting individuals’ capacity to shape the world around them, while also highlighting notions of race, gender and history.  Mntambo won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Art in 2011. In 2007 she graduated with an MFA from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.

“I’m interested in uncovering that binary – that in-between space that you can’t always pinpoint or articulate.” – Nandipha Mntambo

Nandipha Mntambo, Praça de Touros I, 2008, pigment print, 111 x 166 cm

 

Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, is a unique initiative to help nurture and support promising new artists in the early stages of their careers; a time when they need both recognition and financial support.

A regional jury panel of distinguished members from the arts community select five paintings from their regions as follows: Eastern (Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador), Central (Ontario), Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut).

The three jury panels then select one national winner and two honourable mentions from the 15 semi-finalists. The national winner receives a purchase prize of $25,000 and the two honourable mentions each receive $15,000.

RBC Canadian Painting Competition, 2014 / Winner and Honorable Mentions:

Winner: Tiziana La Melia, Vancouver, BC

Winner, Tiziana La Melia with her painting, Holding on to the part.

Honourable Mentions:

Ufuk Gueray, Winnipeg, MB

Ufuk Gueray with his painting, Market.

Nicolas Lachance, Montreal, QC

Nicholas Lachance and his work, The book of Empathy.

RBC Canadian Painting Competition 2014 / Finalists:

Ashleigh Bartlett, Calgary, AB

Ashleigh Bartlett, Ballet Duo, 2014, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 68 inches

Carly Butler, Halifax, NS
Jennifer Carvalho, Toronto, ON
Wallis Cheung, Toronto, ON
Teto Elsiddique, Halifax, NS

Teto Elsiddique, 7 of 6, 2014, acrylic, spray paint and latex on wood, 48 x 36 inches

Karine Fréchette, Montreal, QC

Karine Fréchette , Cyclone, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 64 x 51 inches

James Gardner, Toronto, ON

James Gardner, Fixed Rock, 2014, oil and insulation foam on board, 35 x 24 inches

Ufuk Gueray, Winnipeg, MB
Tiziana La Melia, Vancouver, BC
Nicolas Lachance, Montreal, QC
Gavin Lynch, Ottawa, ON

Gavin Lynch, Before the Fire (2014 Version), 2014, oil and acrylic on canvas, 26 x 37 inches

Megan McCabe, Toronto, ON
Laura Piasta, Vancouver, BC
Robert Taite, Winnipeg, MB
Elysanne Tremblay, Montreal, QC

Congratulations to the 2014 RBC Canadian Painting Competition finalists. The Winner and two Honourable Mentions will be announced at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. The Winner and each of the two Honourable Mentions will receive a purchase prize of $25,000 and $15,000 respectively.

Jamie Angell

Interview with Jamie Angell (J.A) by Amy Luo (A.L)

A. L: You opened Angell Gallery in 1996. But before that, you worked as a hairdresser and even briefly in the fashion industry in New York. What made you gravitate toward the art world and eventually open your own gallery?

J. A: When I was at Vidal Sassoon in Yorkville, I worked as an assistant to one of the hairdressers there who took me to gallery openings. I remember being enthralled by the art, and so I started reading about artists and hanging out with artists. I didn’t know exactly what a dealer was at the time, but instinctively, I knew that I could be a facilitator to bridge the gap between the artist and the audience.

When I was 32, I moved to Paris. My partner there was an academic, an artist, and my tour guide. We used to go to museums and gallery openings at least three times a week. So I saw a lot of art in the two and a half years that I was there. After Paris, I moved to New York for a while, and took in more contemporary art there. In 1995, I moved back to Toronto and became acquainted with the Queen West area. Artscape opened up, and I became friends with a number of artists there. Meeting these emerging artists was a real impetus for opening a gallery. I wanted to support the art community in Toronto and belong to something bigger than myself. There was a space available just a block over from Artscape, and I rented it and opened the gallery. It was a leap of faith, not calculated at all. My attitude was that if you want something bad enough, you’ll figure it out.

When I opened the gallery, I went to top dealers in Toronto and asked them for advice. And each and every one of them said it was going to take ten years. That was a benchmark to me. I figured that if I could stick it out for ten years, I could make it.

 Angell Group Show, November 28, 2009 – January 2, 2010, in the old gallery. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: How did you build up your list of contacts and clients after opening the gallery?

J.A: I was very fortunate to have a friend who had an amazing mailing list, which she gave to me to use. I also went to a lot of gallery openings to meet people and see how the shows were done. I got really involved in the neighbourhood community, sitting on different committees to help develop and promote the area. One of the initiatives I was part of was for a local AIDS fundraiser, and many of the people on this committee are still friends or clients to this day.

Alex McLeod, Spectral, 2010, computer generated image, 48 × 96 inches. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: As someone very involved in the West Queen West neighbourhood community, what do you think of the dramatic development and transformation in the area in the last decade or so? Do you think that Angell Gallery and the early local art scene have been catalysts in transforming the neighbourhood?

J.A: I think Katharine Mulherin, Stephen Bulger, Zsa Zsa Gallery and myself were among the first crop of galleries to open in the area. I think we did help the neighbourhood’s gallery scene evolve, even though it was a slow evolution. I knew the current owner of the Drake, who had networked with the art community in the area and re-opened the hotel in 2004, which was a big thing for the neighbourhood. This area used to have a lot of grit, which it has since lost. But I think it’s not necessarily a bad thing; as a gallery, you grow as the neighbourhood grows. You don’t want to stay the same. 

Vessna Perunovich, Flood Gate, 2012, latex fabric, sand, metal hooks and reflective Mylar, dimensions variable. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: Angell Gallery’s website says that you initially opened with the mission to support emerging and mid-career artists who take risks in their work and challenge the critical norms of contemporary art-making. Does this still characterize the main goals of your gallery now?

J.A: My mission statement has always been the same, to show artists who take risks in their work. We show emerging and mid-career artists, because early on in their career is when artists really need that support. When I moved in February, 2010 into this current space (12 Ossington Avenue), from our original location, I made a conscious decision to turn the front east gallery into a space where I show more alternative and perhaps non-commercial art. I’ve shown sound, performance, and digital works. That room is important to me, because it gives me a chance to show art that’s risky. It might not be great in terms of revenue, but it generates interest in these works and opportunities for artists that I believe in. It’s also important for the gallery’s overall vision.

Exhibit A1, Jason Trucco, installation view, 12 Ossington Avenue, 2014. Courtesy of Angell Gallery

A.L: The gallery recently presented its second group exhibition of digital art, which is certainly riskier from a commercial perspective. What are your thoughts on the growth of new media arts and their viability on the contemporary art market from the perspective of a dealer?

J.A: I’ve been showing digital art since 1998. I’m excited too see artists work with something new. Is it viable? Well, if I believe in something, I’ll make it work. I’m not going to make a living off of it, but the video and digital works we show do sell. And I’m fortunate to have been able to build a clientele who believe in my vision and support it. About two years ago, Alex Kisilevich introduced me to Rafael Ochoa, whom he had met while studying at York University. I knew we had to show him, so we transformed the video room into a mini-gallery and gave him his thesis show. I sold the first edition of each of the five works to one collector, and other collectors bought works from that show as well. You still don’t see a lot of digital art, but eventually I think it will become more popular. Phillips in New York had its first digital art auction recently. It took a long time for photography to become a viable art form too. So I believe in new media art, and its possibilities.    

Rafael Ochoa, Red, 2013, C-print, 36 × 36 inches. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: When considering emerging artists, there’s always a level of risk and uncertainty because they are only in the early stages of their career. Many of the young artists you’ve picked up have gone on to do very well. Kim Dorland, for example, has gained international prominence as a painter. How do you make decisions about who to represent or show at the gallery? Do you keep a close eye on the market and press, or go largely by intuition?

J.A: I definitely go largely by intuition. I often meet artists who walk into the gallery, and also through other artists. Aside from talent, I look for artists who I think will have longevity. Determination and persistence are key aspects to success as an artist. 

Kim Dorland, Bay Blanket #2, 2014, oil and acrylic on linen over wood panel, 40 x 30 inches. Courtesy of Angell Gallery

A.L: Right. I think that the idea that it often takes ten years to make it doesn’t just apply to gallery owners, but also to artists.

J.A: I truly believe that. An artist’s work typically doesn’t get fully resolved until they move from emerging to mid-career, which if often in their early 30’s. It sometimes takes a long time to see your vision unfold.

Beyond persistence, when I meet artists I also look for business sense and ambition. I look for artists who understand that it’s not just about sitting in the studio producing work, but those who understand the bigger picture: marketing, going to openings, and going out and looking at art. They have to be involved in the community, because that’s how things happen.

Simulators, installation view with  Jon Rafman’s work, 2012, 12 Ossington Avenue. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: In May, the gallery held a group show called “I Love Paint” that was curated by Kim Dorland. This exhibition of painting was shown at a time when most other art spaces were exhibiting photography-based works as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Was the timing of the show a conscious decision?

J.A: I was initially planning on showing Alex Kisilevich in May for CONTACT, but I wasn’t confident that he would be quite ready. So I decided to move “I Love Paint” ahead of it and show that in May instead.

A.L: But the show turned out to be extremely timely – one of the painters in the show was Gavin Lynch, and a week after the show ended he was announced as a finalist for the 2014 RBC Canadian Painting Competition.

J.A: It’s funny how the timing worked out. I met Gavin through Kim two years ago. I saw potential in his work but didn’t think he was quite ready at the time. When Kim presented the idea for this year’s “I Love Paint” show, I loved the idea. Kim curated the entire show, and I think it was a real generous move for him to introduce a whole group of new painters to Toronto who may not otherwise be shown here. Gavin was in the show, and his piece was fantastic – it was a perfectly resolved painting. I took Gavin on and had him send me several more paintings, and they sold immediately. Timing is definitely important as a dealer; you need to keep the momentum going. And I’m thrilled for Gavin’s success, because he’s a hard worker. He has a family, and it’s a huge commitment to have two kids and to go and do your MFA. We’re going to be taking Gavin to the Toronto International Art Fair, and we’ve scheduled him for an exhibition in March of next year.

Gavin Lynch, Lake of the woods (Midnight Version), 2014, oil on canvas over wood panel, 36 x 48 inches. Courtesy of Angell Gallery.

A.L: Angell Gallery has been a regular participant at the Toronto International Art Fair. You’ve also had booths at international fairs like Pulse New York and Miami. Art fairs have certainly been proliferating and growing in influence. How has your experience of art fairs been and how important do you think it is to have a presence at these fairs?

J.A: Art fairs are a big expense and generally you don’t make any money. Fairs have helped artists take off, so it’s great for the artist. But some of the artists then leave the gallery, so it only benefits the gallery if the artist stays with us. But fairs are also helpful for branding and for meeting new collectors. The Toronto International Art Fair has generally been very good for us.

Opening Reception: July 17, 2014 / 6:30 p.m. 
followed by Award Presentation
Canadian Sculpture Centre

The current exhibition at the Canadian Sculpture Centre is the 19th Annual Juried Graduating Sculpture Student Exhibition. Students from schools across Ontario entered their artwork to be chosen for this exhibition with the prospective of winning one of three awards.

The jurors (from left to right):  Elaine Whittaker, Flavio Belli and  Edward Falkenberg.

The jurors were Flavio Belli, Elaine Whittaker, and Edward Falkenberg. Jonathan Simpson received the Malka Green Sculpture Award, Ash Moniz received the Artcast Sculpture award, and the MST Bronze Ltd Sculpture Award was presented to Elissa Gallander. After spending time with each of the sculptures as well as their creators it is clear why these were selected. Each piece is beautiful and interesting and engages the viewer because of the unique ideas each encapsulates. 

Judi Michelle Young, President of Sculptors Society of Canada,  presenting Abraham & Malka Green Sculpture Award to Jonathan
   Simpson, OCAD University 

Eric Knoespel, Owner, Artcast Inc. presenting Artcast Sculpture Award to Ash Moniz,
    OCAD University

Richard McNeill, presenting MST Bronze Ltd Sculpture Award to Elissa Gallander

There are some interesting stories attached to the art works. Ash Moniz exhibits some white plaster that looks like a broken sculpture and white dust. He tells us that in one of his travels, before taking up, he went to the airport’s washroom and pooled water over that plaster in a plastic bag. Then he put it into his luggage and opened it only when he arrived home, a day or so later. The final product was that dry, half sculpture, half dust that he shows in the exhibition. His other piece, Alchemy of Context, is a suitcase with a sculture of some crumpled clothes inside.

Ash Moniz with his piece, Alchemy of Context

Matthew Brown’s Gatekeeper cathes the eyes right away. The coat, covered with colored wax drops opens the doors to narratives. It could be Kaffka’s gatekeeper’s coat with all the fleas hiding in it, with layers of memories of long years of waiting for the person to cross. But it is almost too beautiful for that meaning. The drops are like pearls with shining colors – it easily could be Joseph’s technicolor coat. An interesting piece.

Matthew Brown, The Gatekeeper

Glenna Rebick’s Kurly Kate is hugging herself into a ball, rounded for comfort, but the material the artist used is all spiky.

Glenna Rebick, Kurly Kate: Deconstruction/Reconstruction

Congratulations to all the students for their exciting sculptures!

The Canadian Sculpture Centre organized another enjoyable evening for the exhibition’s opening reception with music and snacks and a happy crowd.

Text and photo: Carter Brown

*Exhibition information: July 17 – August 8, 2014, Canadian Sculpture Centre, 500 Church Street. Gallery hours: Tue – Fri: 12 – 6, Sat: 11 – 4 p.m.

Installation view.

As part of World Pride held in Toronto this summer, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art presents a compelling exhibition – selected from the collection of Salah Bachir and Jacob Yerex – that explores the themes of identity and sensuality. Displaying an eclectic selection of works by both queer and heterosexual artists the show is interested in stereotypes commonly associated with queer culture, but also transcends them to deliver a powerful account of a universally shared human experience.

Installation view with Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali, 1978.

Inspired by ideals of solidarity, diversity and pride, symbolized in the Rainbow Flag, the exhibition not only questions heteronormativity and creates a space that recognizes and celebrates diversity, but also breaks away from the categorization that sometimes restrict such artistic exploration. Pieces permeated with a search for identity also address universal themes such as love, seduction, mortality, and decay.

Installation view with Andy Fabo, The Mnemonic Series (Michael), 2004-05.

The Mnemonic Series (Michael) by Andy Fabo stands out as one of those powerful works that record the fragility and transient condition of man. Composed of some twenty portraits of the artist’s partner, drawn from memory, this personal piece refers directly to the HIV/AIDs crisis that stroke the gay community worldwide, and raises questions about memories and how people’s energy is kept in the world after they pass away. The repetition of the subject brings a new dimension to the topics of decay and mortality, as it hints at the proliferation of images experienced in the digital age and how we are haunted by visual residues left by departed ones.

Installation view.

 Similarly arresting, a series of celebrities’ portraits by photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, George Hurrell, and Greg Gorman, as well as Pop artist Andy Warhol, also explores the notion of denial of mortality through visual records. These now iconic portraits reflect upon how identities are constructed, through self-conscious presentation but also through artistic collaboration. The number and variety of this collection introduces a sense of global identity, and addresses more directly the theme of seduction through the representation of the eroticized body.

Installation view with Stephen Andrews, Apostles, 1998.

The Apostles by Stephen Andrews also offers an interesting approach to the theme of identity and sensuality. Characterized by the artist’s interest in biblical narrative, this series of twelve portraits of young men was sourced in 1950s and 1960s gay pornography, with, however, a new focus on the facial features of the sitters that ease the sexual nature of the original material. The anonymity of the models depicted complicates their representation, and the knowledge that most of them were likely heterosexuals that posed for gay magazines adds a new layer to the concept of queer identity.

Installation view with Attila Richard Lukacs, Coo coo ka-cho, Mr. Robinson, 1999 & Untitled, 1991.

Displayed right next to the Apostles, two monumental paintings by Attila Richard Lukacs stand as perhaps the most arresting pieces of the exhibition. Saturated with sensuality, his work brings together varied cultural references, from Eastern mythology to skinhead culture, as well as Indian traditional miniature style and personal narrative, to create an interlude, a poetic statement about desire, innocence and initiation that unfolds as a spiritual experience and incursion into the artist’s private vision.

Installation view.

Over the Rainbow successfully addresses the themes announced and creates a space where differences are overcome and where beauty brings together varied concepts and representations. Although most pieces directly address archetypes of queer culture, they cleverly avoid clichés and instead stress the idea that there is more to queer identity that the stereotypes commonly held. The exhibition reaches out to a global and diversified community, and delivers powerful and universal messages that invite viewers to reflect upon their own experience and to get in touch with themselves.

Installation view.

Installation view.

Text: Aurore Mathys. Photo: Elena Iourtaeva

*Exhibition information: June 22 – August 17, 2014, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Sun, 11 – 6 p.m.