Author: artoronto

Liam Crockard:  Slapstick /  Callum Schuster: In Finite 

Installation view of Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Courtesy of O’Born Contemporary

Having visited the O’Born in the past to view Edith Maybin’s “The Girl Document,” I was pleasantly surprised to be thrown off by Schuster and Crockard challenge the concept of the “white cube” gallery by creating two absurd/surrealist realities in the front and back galleries. When I claim that these artists challenge the white cube, I mean this in the sense that they are not aiming to solely highlight the formal qualities of a work of art or the effacement of context. Instead, both artists call attention to the space itself and the context of the gallery. For instance, upon entry, I was faced with Liam Crockard‘s strategically placed common-place objects such as, geometric mats on the walls, intertwined wooden frames on the floor as well as a TV monitor, bookshelf (filled with books), and a wooden bench with rolled felt mats underneath it. The word “slapstick” is defined by Merriam Webster as “a [low-brow] comedy stressing farce and horseplay.” In light of the definition, it was quite a fitting title; we can walk awkwardly around or through the space just like Crockard’s humorous and absurd video of featuring amateur martial arts practices shows, or we could remove the books from their shelves. Moreover, the installation has the potential to be quite therapeutic.

Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Photo: Leanne Simaan

Installation view of Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Photo: Leanne Simaan

Liam Crockard, Slapstick, video. Photo: Leanne Simaan

On the other hand, Callum Schuster’s In Finite presents sculpted faucets and leakage that are immovable. In addition, being an immobile sculpture, the flowing stream of water is static.

Installation view of Callum Schuster: In Finite. Photo: Leanne Simaan

According to Schuster, his installation acts as an exhortation to spark dialogue within the gallery space regarding the simulation of an imaginary world made tangible. In essence, the installation urges us to understand that what we are looking at is a simulation of an imaginary world, rather than a reality, even though it exists – and we experience it – in real time. My initial reaction fulfilled the artist’s intention. I contemplated its meaning and concluded that the back gallery transformed static space, a white cube, into a surreal world that allows our imagination to run wild, with infinite possibilities. Personally, I imagined a Kentridge-like flood, which can be seen in his 1994 animated short, Felix in Exile.

Installation view of Callum Schuster: In Finite. Photo: Leanne Simaan

Together, Slapstick and In Finite present their audience with a breath of fresh air by challenging us to think and act outside of the box, even if it gets a little awkward.

Leanne Simaan

*Exhibition dates: August 24 – 30, 2013, O’Born Contemporary  at 131 Ossington Ave. Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 – 6 p.m.

Poorsisters Live / Launch Party
August 23, 2013, 7 – 11 p.m.
Norman Felix Gallery
627 Queen St W, Toronto

On Friday, August 23rd, a large crowd gathered around Gordon Auld, the lead singer of Lowlands, in the art-filled Norman Felix Gallery. Amidst warm lighting and intrigued art-lovers the works of local emerging artists hung on the walls to celebrate Poorsisters’ debut weeklong showcase (August 23 – 29, 2013) and website launch (www.poorsisters.com).

Poorsisters is an up and coming online gallery and artist representation based in Toronto. Artist prints are sold online while events are thown to showcase the original works, live musical performances, and artist talks. Brought to life by Julia Hendrickson and Brittany Grayson, two young curators who recognize and understand the struggle that young, emerging artists face to promote their work.

Shaking Hands:  Sebastian Palfery – Vocals, Bass, Guitar / Riley McLean – Vocals, Bass, Guitar / Mookie Morris – Vocals, Bass, Guitar

Luka and Ada Dahli

Poorsisters introduce the artists behind the work by creating VHS-shot original films to illuminate their personality, capturing  “the intimate process of creating a piece of art.” The dreamy authenticity of the Poorsisters’ videos were tangible throughout the live event, which featured works from Li-Hill to Hannah Petsovsky. Julia and Brittany even showed their own collaborative pieces.

Cymatics by Turner Wigginton

Print Sale

Up next, Poorsisters will continue to establish their live event presence in Toronto and grow their company of represented artists. Julia Hendrickson and Brittany Grayson  hope to bring the Poorsisters philosophy to caring buyers throughout Toronto and the online marketplace.

Text: Samantha Grayson. Photo: Michelle Foran

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: RE-BRANDED
Project Gallery

Exhibition: September 12 – 19, 2013
Opening Reception: September 12, 2013, 7 – 11 p.m.
Deadline: September 2, 2013

Seeking submissions in any and all media for a contemporary art exhibition at Project Gallery: RE-BRANDED.

The exhibition will feature works that either embrace OR oppose consumer and popular culture brands in art (Coca Cola, McDonalds, Louis Vutton etc). The purpose of this exhibit is to serve as a neutral ground to generate discussion around the inclusion of brands in fine art. Project Gallery is seeking submissions from artists who support or are against this idea. The reality is that both perspectives and practices are prevalent in our society, and equally contribute to viable art forms. RE-BRANDED will present works that reflect both sides of the artistic coin.

The show will examine questions like: Does the use of brands in art increase or diminish aesthetic value? To what degree, if any, does an artist jeopardize or compromise his or her integrity or originality by incorporating commercial elements? Do brands that incorporate art promote or alienate artists? Given that artist sustain themselves through commercialism, can the artistic practice really be separated from consumerism at all? How can art constructively criticize brands and consumer culture? At what point, if any, does the incorporation of brands in art transition from a viable source for funding, collaboration and exposure to selling out? Does the incorporation of consumerist elements in fine art damage or support the growth of the art world?

If you wish to submit, please include:

• Up to 5 Photos or up to 2 videos of your work

• Titled: FULLNAME_TITLE_SIZE_MEDIUM_DATE

• A brief artist bio/statement – up to 200 words

• A sentence or two stating your position on the topic (for, against, neutral)

• Contact information – including phone number and website/blog

Javier Espino and Devan Patel are curating this exhibit; please send your submissions or inquiries to: submissions@projectgallerytoronto.com by September 2. 2013 (quoting ‘RE-BRANDED’ in the email title)

Exhibiting at Project Gallery means that your work will be professionally photographed, you will have the opportunity for a promotional artist video interview and your work will have the potential to be rented commercially.

 

AIMIA | AGO Photography Prize Announces 2013 Short List

The Jury selected four outstanding photographer finalists; public vote for $50,000 Prize begins August 27, 2013

Aimia, a global leader in loyalty management, and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) announce the four artists who have been shortlisted for the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize, Canada’s leading international contemporary photography award. The winner of the $50,000 Prize is chosen entirely by public vote, and online voting opens today at www.AimiaAGOPhotographyPrize.com and, for the first time, on the Prize’s Facebook page. Visitors to the AGO can also cast a vote inside the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize 2013 Exhibition, on view at the AGO from September 11, 2013 to January 5, 2014.

The finalists are: Edgardo Aragón (Mexico), LaToya Ruby Frazier (U.S.A), Chino Otsuka (Japan/U.K) and Erin Shirreff (Canada). As a group, these four artists represent a snapshot of current directions in photography and video, in which images are used to build powerful, complex and often personal narratives.

Edgardo Aragón, Tinieblas, 2009, 13 channel video, 7:50 min, courtesy of the artist and Proyectos Monclova.

Edgardo Aragón was born in Mexico, and his work invites reflection on the history of violence in his homeland. Deeply engaged with political and social histories of Oaxaca, the province where he was born and still lives, his video and photography often document performance and sculptural interventions against landscapes that appear at once serene and foreboding. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC), Mexico City; MoMA P.S.1, New York; and the Luckman Gallery, Los Angeles.

LaToya Ruby Frazier, Self-Portrait (March 10 a.m.) from the series Notion of Family, 2009, gelatin silver print, 50.8 cm x 60.96 cm

LaToya Ruby Frazier was born and raised in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Her work is informed by late 19th- and early 20th-century modes of representation in documentary practice. She uses the conventions of social documentary and portraiture to expose untold stories of post-industrial decline in the United States, filtered through the experiences of her own family and community in Braddock. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art; MoMA PS1; and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. In 2012 Frazier was appointed critic in photography at Yale University.

Chino Otsuka, 1982 and 2005, Paris, Japan from the series Imagine Finding Me, 2005, chromogenic print, 305 mm x 406 mm

Chino Otsuka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to the U.K. at the age of 10 to attend school. Often mining her own autobiography, Otsuka uses photography and video to explore the fluid relationship between memory, time and photography. She has also published four books in Japan as a writer and published her first autobiographical book at the age of 15. Her works are found in public collections including National Media Museum, U.K., Wilson Centre for Photography, U.K., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Huis Marseille Museum for Photography and Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

Erin Shirreff, Lake, video still, 2012, color video, silent, 44 minute loop

Erin Shirreff was born in 1975 in Kelowna, B.C., and now lives and works in New York. Her work interweaves photography, video and sculpture to extend and explore the act of looking, asking questions about the often paradoxical relationship between time and space and the image, and the impact of perception on the location of meaning. Recently her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.; White Cube, London, U.K.; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ont. Her work is also in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.

A jury of three—made up of lead juror Elizabeth Smith, former AGO executive director of curatorial affairs and current executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in New York; Urs Stahel, director, curator, and editor of Fotomuseum Winterthur; and artist Kader Attia — selected the four finalists from a long list of 14.

These artists will receive a fully funded six-week residency in Canada next year, and their work will be exhibited at the AGO beginning September 11, 2013. A free public launch party will be held at the AGO that night, with presentations by nominators and members of the jury about each of the four artists.

The following evening, September 12, 2013 at 7 p.m., the four artists will speak at a special panel event at the AGO alongside Smith; AGO associate curator of photography Sophie Hackett; and nominators Jennifer Blessing, senior curator of photography at The Guggenheim; and Helga Pakasaar, curator at Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver. Tickets to the event are available now.

The winner will receive $50,000 CDN and the three remaining finalists will each receive a cash honorarium of $5,000 CDN. Online voting begins today at AimiaAGOPhotographyPrize.com and is open until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2013. For the first time, voters can also make their choice via Facebook at Facebook.com/AimiaAGOPhotographyPrize. Users who vote on Facebook can also enter for a chance to win a trip to the winner announcement event on November 7, 2013, at the AGO’s popular First Thursdays art party.

The Board of Directors of the Gardiner Museum is pleased to announce its new Executive Director and CEO, Kelvin Browne, effective November 4, 2013.
Currently Vice President Communication at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Browne is a seasoned executive with 9 years of experience at the ROM in various roles including brand management, marketing, major exhibition planning, attendance and revenue generation, as well as awareness and perception of the ROM.
“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Kelvin to the role of Executive Director and CEO,” said Karen Sheriff, Chairman, Gardiner Museum Board of Trustees. “We are excited to begin this new chapter and look forward to his leadership and energy helping us build on the momentum and outstanding contribution of former Executive Director Alexandra Montgomery.”
This past March a board-led search was launched to fill the permanent leadership position following Montgomery’s departure to assume the role of VP Philanthropy at Tides Canada in Vancouver.
“As the Museum approaches its 30th anniversary it has grown to become one of the world’s most respected ceramic museums and rare specialized institutions, thriving and bringing in quality programming,” said Sheriff. “Kelvin’s background and strong passion for the Gardiner and for ceramics, make him a valuable new addition to the Museum and its future development.”
“The Board of Trustees would also like to wholeheartedly thank Rachel Gotlieb for an excellent job filling the management role in the interim, while at the same time continuing her work as Chief Curator and ensuring a seamless transition. Rachel will continue to actively support the Gardiner as Chief Curator within our very special institution,” added Sheriff.

14th Annual Juried Emerging Sculptors Exhibition
Opening Reception followed by Awards Presentation: August 15, 6:30 p.m.
Canadian Sculpture Centre

Sculptors Society of Canada presented its 14th Annual Juried Emerging Sculptors Exhibition Opening Reception followed by Awards Presentation on August 15th. It was a warm Thursday evening but that didn’t keep the artists and sculpture lovers away.

As a non-profit artist-run society and gallery – the  Sculptors Society of Canada / Canadian Sculpture Centre (SSC/CSC) has organized, juried, and sponsored an annual exhibition of works by Emerging Sculptors selected from across Canada since 1999. The SSC/CSC is proud to support Emerging Sculptors by providing them with an opportunity to advance their careers.

Nicholas Crombach won the top award with his piece called “Man with Child’s Bow and Arrow”, cast resin. Photo: Nicholas Crombach

Phil Anderson, Executive Director of Gallery 1313 (juror), presenting the Al & Malka Green Award  (first prize) to Nicholas Crombach. Photo: Peter Wirun

This year’s jurors: Phil Anderson, Executive Director of Gallery 1313; Katharine Mulherin, Owner and Director of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, Toronto/New York and Andrew Benyei, Sculptor.

 “Two Generations”, wood / staples, by Marta Franco (second prize). Photo: Marta Franco

Eric Knoespel, CEO, presenting the Artcast Inc. Award (second prize) to Marta Franco. Photo: Peter Wirun

Four works by Tim Manalo: “Auto Body”, cast silicon; “Virtual Materialism” (seat), foam; “Balut” (back pack), cast resin, lead. Photo: J.M.Young

Judi Michelle Young, President of Sculptors Society of Canada, presenting the MST Bronze Ltd Award (third prize) to Tim Manalo. Photo: Peter Wirun

They selected the following participants: Laura Acosta, London ON, Nicholas Crombach, Toronto ON, Iain Downie, Etobicoke ON, Marta Franco, Thornhill ON, Timothy Manalo, Scarborough ON, Iriz Pääbo, Elmwood ON and Amanda Sears, Almonte ON.

Participating artists (from left to right): Marta Franco, Nicholas Crombach, Tim Manalo, Iain Downie and Amanda Sears. Photo: J.M.Young

Guest Musicians: Peter Shoebridge & Aidan Todd-Parrish

Awards Sponsors: Abraham & Malka Green, Artcast Inc., MST Bronze Ltd.
Exhibition dates: August 15 – September 6, 2013 at the CANADIAN SCULPTURE CENTRE, 500 Church St., Toronto. Gallery Hours: Tuesday -Friday 12 – 6; Saturday 11 – 4 p.m.

Featured image (from left to right):  Amanda Sears, Laura Acosta, Tim Manalo, Nicholas Crombach and Marta Franco. Photo: J.M.Young

Artist’s talk and reception: Sunday, September 8, 2013, 2:30 – 5 p.m.
Hangman Art Gallery

Thomas Bittner; Silo City: constance and change is an exhibition consisting of thirty six framed inkjet print photographs searching for what makes a place special? The answer is in a journey about a place that in which reveals itself in ways that are difficult to put in words. The exhibition documents Thomas Bittner’s discovery to a place called ‘Silo City’.

“Constancy vs. change, geometry vs. color, foreground vs. background,… Over a period of one year I explored these aspects of Silo City, a collection of ten disused silos along the Buffalo River. The resulting images are on display in my exhibition.” Thomas Bittner

Exhibition Run: August 27 – September 15, 2013, Hangman Art Gallery, 756 Queen Street East (east of Broadview Avenue). Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 12 – 5 p.m.

Friday, September 6, 2013, 6 – 10 p.m.
Gardiner Museum

BEER.
BUBBLY.
BITES.
BEATS.

Join artist An Te Liu at the Gardiner Museum for AN TE SOCIAL, the opening party for his exhibition, MONO NO MA.

Mingle with An Te and enjoy an exclusive first look at MONO NO MA. Then party it up with complimentary beer from Steam Whistle Brewery, bubbly from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, mouth-watering bites from à la Carte Kitchen.

Beats and vibes by DJ John Kong (Do Right! Music).

Price: $50 (includes unlimited beer, bubbly and bites)

A full cash bar will also be available.

With MONO NO MA, acclaimed Liu explores the spaces around things.  Mono means ‘object’ in Japanese, and is paired with the more elusive word ma, meaning ‘space’ or ‘gap’. Together they describe an exhibit which is simultaneously aware of form and non-form.

Renowned for making evocative sculptures from found objects, Liu decided to embrace the medium of ceramics and in MONO NO MA, strikes a balance between the familiar and the enigmatic, material and immaterial, thing and no-thing.

An Te Liu’s MONO NO MA Takes Inspiration from Gardiner Museum is open: September 7 – November 11, 2013

September’s AGO First Thursday delves into the imagination and experience of the world’s most influential contemporary artist: Ai Weiwei, including a specially ticketed live video chat with the artist himself and a performance by the Toronto punk band Fucked Up.

One of today’s most provocative contemporary artists and the subject of a major retrospective currently on view at the AGO, Ai Weiwei will join the AGO’s director and CEO Matthew Teitelbaum for a thought-provoking discussion of his life and work. Ai, who is under constant surveillance at his home in Beijing, has been unable to leave China since the government confiscated his passport in 2011. Please note that due to capacity limitations, special tickets must be purchased to gain admission to the live video chat. Time: 8 – 8:45 p.m.

Following the live video chat, the Polaris Prize–winning band Fucked Up will take the stage in Walker Court, with live visuals by Tasman Richardson. Known for their legendary gigs, Fucked Up’s take on the hardcore genre has constantly upended assumptions about punk. Pitchfork called their last album, 2011’s David Comes to Life, “a convincing demonstration of what can happen when a band works without limitations,” and SPIN called it “one of the best hard rock records of the past ten years.”

Toronto artist Sean Martindale will contribute his unique vision to the night with two projects: his 8’ cardboard sculpture of Ai Weiwei, Love the Future / Free Ai Weiwei, and a special performance created specially for the night, entitled Solidarity Buzz: Shaving for Free Expression, in which Martindale will shave the heads of some very brave partygoers.

Jonathan Campbell, author of the book Red Rock: The Long, Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll will play a special DJ set of Chinese rock music in tribute to Ai’s latest project: a punk album with an accompanying music video.

In the one-night-only exhibition OUT OF THE VAULTS: Art and Activism!, view a selection of protest art from the AGO collection, including women’s rights promotion, anti-war imagery, and in-your-face social commentary in the Marvin Gelber Print & Drawing Study Centre.

In this month’s pop-up talks, curators, artists and local personalities share their personal reactions to Ai Weiwei: According to What?. Get inspired by Toronto city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto City Councillor; Elizabeth Parke, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto; and Charlie Foran, president of PEN Canada.

Put that inspiration to good use and make art! Customize your own on a street-poster designed by local artist Shannon Gerard.

With more great music and a few more surprises, the September 5 AGO First Thursday is a not-to-be-missed spectacle about one of the world’s most exciting artists.

For more information please check: http://www.ago.net/ago-first-thursdays-september-5-2013

October 25 – 30, 2013

 The illuminated Cloud Pavilion on Millennium Park, Chicago

TENTATIVE  ITINERARY:

Friday, October 25   Direct travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan (crossing border at Sarnia) – approx. 6 hr. driving time.
Arrive early afternoon at FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS AND SCULPTURE PARK (docent tour guides)
Evening at nearby lodgings ( Holiday Inn)

Saturday, October 26   Travel south along Lake Michigan to NATHAN MANILOW SCULPTURE PARK (docent tour guides)
Continue around lake to Chicago – downtown hotel accommodation (3 or 4 nights) – check-in – evening free

Sunday, October 27    Travel to SKOKIE NORTHSHORE SCULPTURE PARK (about 40 minutes north) (docent tour guides)
Return downtown.  Afternoon visit to ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO (closes 5 pm)

Monday, October 28   Visit to FIELD MUSEUM (opens 9am –  see the remaining Malvina Hoffman works)
Afternoon CHICAGO ARCHITECTURAL CRUISE
Followed by THE LOOP ART AND ARCHITECTURE WALKIING TOUR

Tuesday, October 29    MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO / Explore CHICAGO ARTS DISTRICT

Wednesday, October 30   Arrive in Toronto

COST: Approx. $1190. (tentative – final cost to be confirmed) includes:
Return Coach • Hotel Accommodations (Double Occupancy) • All Admission Fees • Guided Tours • Bus Tour To All Destinations

 Tour designed / coordinated by Richard McNeill with Tripsetter Inc.
Tour facilitated by Richard McNeill & Judi Michelle Young

Please note: If interested – we have limited space and are subject to very strict hotel booking conditions – we invite you to register with deposit of $500 as soon as possible.

PICK-UP & DROP-OFF at CANADIAN SCULPTURE CENTRE, 500 Church Street, Toronto
Info / RSVP: 647.435.5858 / gallery@cansculpt.org

BMO 1st Art! celebrates the best of Canada’s recent visual arts graduates, from coast to coast. Congratulations to this year’s national and regional winners, who demonstrate the excellence and promise of our newest generation of artists!

See the winning works at the 1st Art! Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, October 2 –  27, 2013.

NATIONAL WINNER: Erika Dueck, University of Manitoba

Erika Dueck, The Ephemeral Mind. Mixed media installation, 203.2 x 203.2 cm; 80 x 80 in. Image courtesy of the artist.

REGIONAL WINNERS:

AB Tiffany Wollman, Alberta College of Art & Design
BC Sam Knopp, Emily Carr University of Art & Design
MB Hillary Smith, University of Manitoba
NB Carson Isenor, Mount Allison University
NL Whitney French, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland
NS Alexis Bulman, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design
NU Silas Qulaut, Nunavut Arctic College
ON Eshan Rafi, York University
PE Valerie LeClair, Holland College
QC Laura Rokas-Bérubé, Concordia University
SK Charles Brendan Schick, University of Regina
YK Derian Blake, Yukon School of Visual Arts

The national winner receives $10,000 and the regional winners each receive $5,000. As the ultimate accolade, the national winner’s artwork becomes part of the BMO Corporate Art Collection, which includes works by historical and contemporary Canadian masters such as Kenojuak Ashevak, Emily Carr, Paterson Ewen, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Lawren Harris, Wanda Koop, Micah Lexier, Kent Monkman, Ian Wallace and many others.

Eric Doeringer, May 21, 2013 (after On Kawara), 10” x 13”, Acrylic on canvas, 2013. Courtesy of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects.

All summer long, Eric Doeringer has been presenting a series of short two-week exhibitions at Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects which unite to create Survey. For those who appreciate humour within conceptual art, Doeringer’s exhibition is sure to grant viewers with a chuckle from its cheeky and audacious content, while providing insight towards his broader critique of recent art history. The self-proclaimed bootleg artist is known for his imitations which subvert the intention of an original by exposing contradictions. In particular, Survey features a number of knock-off works from seminal artists of the twentieth-century. The exhibition presents itself as a homage to famous artists, a commentary on the rapid commercialism of the art industry, and a remark on the inconsistencies within conceptual art.

Eric Doeringer, Stripe Paintings (after Daniel Buren), Various sizes, White acrylic on striped fabric, 2009. Courtesy of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects

Survey is compiled of works from two of Doeringer’s projects: Conceptual Art Relations (2008-2012) and Bootlegs (2001-2012). In the passing months, Doeringer re-created the wall drawings of Sol LeWitt, the stains of Ed Ruscha, and stills from Andy Warhol’s Empire. The entire exhibition plays on the often heard “I could do that” attitude towards conceptual art and runs with it to give the ultimate message “too bad you didn’t”. Doeringer exaggerates the art of duplication to the point where plagiarism becomes a significant basis for the work’s concept. As reproductions of undeniably influential works are duplicated in modern times, Doeringer forces viewers to re-examine the greats of the past for why they were established as such, how revolutionary their ideas and works were, and how significant of a role time plays in any artistic practice.

 Eric Doeringer, I Went ( After On Kawara ), 8.5” x 11” (drawings), 11.5” x 12 x 3.5” (binders), Ink on laser prints in two three-ring binders, 2010. Courtesy of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects

However, aside from paying tribute towards the contributions of certain artists, Doeringer’s imitation extends far beyond mere flattery by challenging the foundations of conceptual art through a method of usurpation. The conceptual art movement brought about ideas such as the dematerialization of the art object and the insignificance of the artist’s hand, while focusing on the ideas and gestures within a piece to demonstrate its value. LeWitt’s pieces are intended to be read as instructions and most of Warhol’s practice was based on commercial methods of production. Doeringer is presenting viewers with the same concepts that are praised in the art world and market. He highlights his consistency and focus on a work`s idea by inserting slight tweaks to each artist`s visual trademarks without altering the overall concept. On Kawara’s self-documentation is brought to the year 2013, Empire was shot through Doeringer’s New York studio, and Warhol’s Coca-Cola bottles are modeled in plastic. However, although Doeringer meticulously follows each artist’s method and idea, he achieves nowhere near the same level of fame or fortune as his predecessors, bringing a dose of realism to conceptual art’s idealism that a good idea is all that matters.

Eric Doeringer, Spot Paintings (after Damien Hirst), Various sizes, House Paint on canvas, 2012. Courtesy of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects

Similar to Conceptual Art Relations, Bootlegs features small handmade copies of the works of artists such as Warhol and Hirst. This specific project began as a small stand on 24th Street in New York’s Chelsea gallery district, where Doeringer sold cheap imitations of art on the sidewalk as if they were counterfeit handbags. By doing so, the artist perpetuated the fame of the artist he imitated while commenting on their diluted content through his process of dissemination. Currently, Bootleg features imitations of over 100 modern and contemporary artists, many of which can be seen at Katherine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects as well as No Fountation next door. Bootlegs was eventually carried to notable art events such as the 2004 Whitney Biennial, where he sold Bootleg versions of pieces in the exhibition. Doeringer has stated that the project was originally intended as guerilla interventions, but eventually, he was invited to sell these works in institutions and established art venues. Thus, Doeringer’s criticism becomes full circle. As an artist who pokes fun at the concepts of the recent past, his works also falls under the same trap of commercialization which he is criticizing. It is uncertain whether Doeringer had predicted that his project’s success would ultimately contribute to the irony of his concept. However, given his study of the past and his shameless claim that he has “done anyone who’s anyone in the art world”, it is likely that Doeringer has set himself up as an example in order to expose the inescapable nature from contradiction and industry within the art world. In many ways, Doeringer demonstrates the fallacy within conceptual art while also noting its innovative contributions. Ultimately, Survey sends a hopeful message through a satirical form by demonstrating the shifting attitude towards conceptual art from “I could do that” to the postmodern belief and that “I could expand on that”.

Eric Doeringer, A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation (after John Baldessari), 68” x 56.5”, Acrylic on canvas, 2010. Courtesy of Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects

Shellie Zhang

*The show is on display till September 8, 2013 at Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, 1082 + 1086 Queen Street West. Gallery hours: Thursday to Saturday: 12 – 6 p.m. Sunday: 1 – 5 p.m. or by appointment.