Artoronto.ca is an online art magazine that covers the rich visual art scene of Toronto and provides an open venue for critical dialogue on the exhibition of contemporary art. Articles with photographs are published regularly about exhibitions, shows, auctions, awards ceremonies, art fairs and other art events.

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  • BRIAN GROOMBRIDGE | small telescopes

    Untitled, 1997, enamel on board, 396 x 292 cm. Photo credit: Isaac Applebaum.

     September 8 – December 1, 2012
    Opening: Friday, September 7, 8 – 10 p.m.
    YYZ ARTISTS’ OUTLET
    401 Richmond Street West, Suite 140
    T: 416-598-4546
    yyzartistsoutlet.org
    yyzbooks.com
    Hours: Tues–Sat 11 – 5 p.m.

    Brian Groombridge will be exhibiting sculptures and wall works in YYZ’s first YYretroZpective exhibition. It is a chance to view a selection of his production since 1989. In many instances, the art was only shown once and this is an opportunity to consider how particular works engage with each other.

    Groombridge’s practice is characterized by a deceptive simplicity of form and an economy of materials. He makes evocative use of structural and poetic elements, including aspects of communication and perception, construction and measurement. He refers to the transient nature of things, to balance and to reciprocity. Recent work explores a perceptual notion that he has developed, called ‘’undeliverable space,” which comes from a continuing interest in parameters challenged by the absence of a fixed dimension.

    Groombridge has selected the practice of artists Elisa Strinna and Eva Cenghiaro (Italy) to complement his exhibition. They will exhibit the audio work Wood Songs (2002) in our YYZWINDOW, which consists of a series of records fabricated from found wood playable on a standard turntable.

    Elisa Strinna & Eva Cenghiaro: Wood Songs (2002). Photo Credit: Giuditta Ambrosini

    YYretroZpective is an artist-initiated and self-curated take on the retrospective exhibition. Our mandate is to put artists first. We provide them with the space and support to create freely and we respect their practice in whatever form they wish to present it. We believe that it is important for an artist-run centre to support artists at all stages of their careers, from giving them their first show out of school to taking a survey look at their practice.

    BRIAN GROOMBRIDGE has been exhibiting since 1978, his first solo show being at YYZ in 1979. Groombridge attended both Sheridan College (1972) and the Ontario College of Art where he participated in the O.C.A. NY Off-Campus Study Program (1977). A selection of his recent exhibitions include, Like-Minded, Plug In ICA, Winnipeg (2012), Model (interior) of Piet Munson House, Utrecht, 1922-24, Convenience Gallery, Toronto (2010), Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto (2008), Me and Them, Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon (2007), and The Cold City Years, The Power Plant, Toronto (2005). Groombridge is represented by Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto.

    ELISA STRINNA was born in Padua, Italy. After graduating from Bologna Fine Arts Academy, she received her MFA in Visual Arts from IUAV, Venice. In her work, Strinna focuses on issues such as the relationship between man and nature, the connections between art market and politics, and the cultural dynamics produced by the transnational displacement of people and goods. Some of Strinna’s latest exhibitions include RE-Generation, MACRO Testaccio, Rome (2012), HELICOTREMIA, festivals of recorded audio, Greenhouse Gardens, Venice (2012), EXTRA SPIRITO, Baldassini Palace, Rome (2012). In 2011 Strinna won the 13th edition of Movin’ up, the support mobility program for Italian young artists in the world.

    EVA CENGHIARO was born in Padua, Italy. Cenghiaro attended the University of Urbino where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts. She also studied at IUAV University in Venice, where she received her Masters of Visual Arts Design and Production. Her work aims to realize interdisciplinary projects through the use of different mediums: sculpture, drawing, landscape design and installation. A selection of Cenghiaro’s exhibitions include What’s the Matter?, Palazzo della Gran Guardia,Verona (2010), Common ground: Project for the Lagoon, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Palazzetto Tito,Venezia (2010), Eppur si muove (And yet it moves), Palazzo Re Rebaudengo, Guarene D’Alba (2009).

     

  • Caven Atkins: Gathering Clouds

    3 Willows #2 (1935) 16.25 x 25.75 tempera on card

     

    September 8 – 29, 2012
    Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 11 – 1 p.m.
    INGRAM GALLERY
    49 Avenue Road (@ Yorkville)
    Toronto, ON M5R 2G3
    Tel. 416-929-2220
    www.ingramgallery.com
    Hours: Tues – Sat 11 – 5 p.m.

    A multi-talented visionary, painting alongside Carl Schaefer, Charles Comfort and Fritz Brandtner — Caven Atkins (1907-2000) was a master of all media.  Curated as a significant part of our 2011 exhibition In the Neighbourhood, Caven Atkins had studios on both Howland and Ossington in Toronto. In addition to his Ontario days, Caven Atkins was also part of the artistic communities of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Detroit, Michigan.

    “Caven Atkins’ beginnings were shaped by Lionel Lemoine FitzGerald and Fritz Brandtner in Winnipeg, by his industry and determination; later, in the company of friends like Charles Comfort, Carl Schaefer, Paraskava Clark, Peter and Bobs Cogill Haworth, Pegi Nicol MacLeod, and Charles Goldhamer.

    Atkins created a body of work which vividly represents his time.

    Not satisfied with a set formula for making pictures, he strove to reveal the fundamental structure, the essential rhythms in nature. To accomplish this end, he constantly experimented; Charles Sheeler, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Cézanne, Marsden Hartley, Albert Pinkham Ryder and John Marin were sources of inspiration. But, finally, it was the landscape of Canada itself – the winding Beausejour River, the lakes and woodlands of Flin Flon; the bluffs at Scarborough, the rolling countryside of Baie St. Paul, and Grafton – that fired his mind and shaped his art.” Ted Fraser, 1979

  • Untitled by Mary Porter

    Untitled (gouache and oil on crumpled paper) by Mary Porter

     

    August 26 – September 21, 2012
    Daily until 12 a.m., best viewed after dusk
    ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
    911 Davenport Road
    Toronto, ON M6G 2B7
    E: info@weseeinc.com

    This untitled work by Mary Porter was initially conceived after first seeing the mountains of southern Alberta and the Athabasca Glacier during a residency in Banff in 2010. The rugged landscape triggered an interest to learn about geological formations. It also engaged Porter in trying to represent these processes through her work. Utilizing the paper to reveal and hide and reveal again surfaces that the artist has worked and reworked with paint, the method mimics the pavan of geologic time, climatic change and tectonic shifts.

    Mary Porteris a Toronto-based artist originally from Nova Scotia. She earned her MFA at York University and has studied at Concordia University in Montreal, and NSCAD in Nova Scotia. Artist’s website: http://maryporter.ca/

     

     

  • Imaginary Homelands

    September 12 – December 4, 2012
    Reception: Wednesday, September 12, 6 – 9 p.m.
    ART GALLERY OF YORK UNIVERSITY
    Accolade East Building, York University
    4700 Keele St.
    Toronto ON, M3J 1P3
    T: 416-736-5169
    E-mail: agyu [at] yorku.ca
    www.theAGYUisOutThere.org
    Hours: Mon-Fri 10–4, Wed 10–8, Sun 12–5p.m

    This fall the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) charts new territories, crossing actual and perceived cultural borders and geographic boundaries, going the distance, and moving further out there in the process. But this time we’ve finally fallen off the known map: by forging our own cartographies, our self-imagined exile is also a furtive attempt to belong simultaneously to many other communities. Working under the radar, our stealth movement outward has changed whom we are inside. Welcome to your Imaginary Homelands.

    Curated by Emelie Chhangur, Assistant Director/Curator, AGYU

    Imaginary Homelands is the culmination of a three-year experimental residency project with Colombian artists Carlos Bonil, Nicolás Consuegra, Miler Lagos, Mateo López, Mateo Rivano, María Isabel Rueda, Daniel Santiago, Angélica Teuta, and Icaro Zorbar that explored how the oscillation of people, ideas, and materials between two real places—in this case Bogotá and Toronto—could become a point of departure toward “locating” a fictionalized mid-way point. A product of this experiment, the exhibition is an imaginary place situated somewhere between the two locations, made tangible through a series of artworks created specifically for, and as, an “Imaginary Homeland” at AGYU.

    Imaginary Homelands opens with a public reception on Wednesday, 12 September 2012, from 6-9 pm. The artists will be present.

    Throughout the series of residencies, artists considered their projects from the position of being in and being from these two places simultaneously: allowing both to inform their experiences; inflect their understanding of “the local;” and provide differing social and cultural contexts, available materials, etc., for the development of their work. As hybrid creations that draw upon and from so many different sources, materials, stories, and experiences (from visiting paper mills and recycling plants, to flea markets and shipping docks; from travelling to the Arctic, Niagara Falls, and Northern Ontario; to taking ravine walks and river rides), the resulting works in Imaginary Homelands are more than mere translations. Imaginary Homelands is a “third space,” open to imaginative projections as part of an ongoing process of creation. The exhibition continues until Sunday, December 4, 2012 and is curated by Emelie Chhangur, Assistant Director/Curator, AGYU.

    Your journey out there begins with Toronto’s Miles Collyer on The Performance Bus!

    Unfortunately, even an “Imaginary Homeland” has immigration inspection. The border between downtown Toronto and North York is now under lockdown. In spite of the need for passports and appropriate travel documents, The Performance Bus will take freedom seekers to the safety of AGYU’s Imaginary Homelands on Wednesday, 12 September 2012. The Performance Bus is free, departs OCADU (100 McCaul St.) at 6 pm sharp, and returns downtown at 9 pm. Due to a large number of urban nationalists fleeing across the border, MegaCity authorities request your assistance in identifying suspicious individuals during your journey “out there.” Trust us, we know a thing or two about the difficulties of moving people and materials between downtown Toronto and North York…

    Out there, seeing isn’t necessarily believing. Toronto artist Alex Snukal’s project for AGYU Vitrines is a case in point. By definition, a vitrine is always a little not there. It’s either just another section of the wall or a reflective surface, which occludes everything inside. The same could be said of “dazzle patterns” used in biology or military applications, which aren’t really camouflage. They’re conspicuous visual illusions meant to disrupt a predator’s sense of direction, extension, and depth. So… Snukal takes the vitrines at face value, and, playing with ideas of surface, camouflage, and disappearance, creates a new site specific work that is both visible and invisible, evading detection from passers-by while trying to blind them to the exact dimensions of the work.

    This fall, visit the AGYU’s Studio Blog and learn how to take care of oneself in order to take care of strangers all over the world with artist-curator Lena Suksi and curator-multimedia-artist-singing-sensation-popess Lido Pimienta at www.theAGYUisOutThere.org/studioblog

    The Art Gallery of York University is a university-affiliated public non-profit contemporary art gallery supported by York University, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, and our membership.

     

     

  • Interview with Toronto artist, Sasha Pierce

    Interview with Toronto artist, Sasha Pierce

    Interview with Toronto artist, Sasha Pierce (S.P.) by Phil Anderson (P.A.)

    Sasha Pierce. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

    P.A: Your current geometric paintings are very detailed and intricate. Can you explain the process of  constructing these works?     

    S.P: I have an unusual way of painting. I mix a number of oil paint colours on a palette and carefully place the paint in a small plastic bag at the corner, then I cut a small tip off the corner to squeeze the multi-coloured paint out. I apply a line of paint with a small repetitive gesture to create texture. I use a ruler to straighten the paint from a thin line to thinner line and ultimately to a vanishing point. I repeat this process onto the entire surface, using over 30 paint-filled bags at a time to achieve a variety of hues and tones.

    P.A: The process seems rather labour intense. How long does it take to complete a piece?

    S.P: Yes, the process is labour intensive. Each painting takes a month to two months to complete, depending on the complexity.

    P.A: Do you have a draft pattern to work from? How do you decide on how it will look when finished?

    Sasha Pierce, Fire Agate, 2012, oil on linen, 23 x 18 inches

    S.P: I use tessellations pattern to guide my compositions. Tesselations are the process of creating a two-dimensional plane using the repetition of a geometric shape with no overlaps and no gaps. For example the tessellation I appropriated for “Fire Agate” is the tilling of congruent pentagons that was discovered by Marjorie Rice in 1995 and whose work is installed on the floor of the Mathematical Association of America headquarters in Washington, D.C. I choose to work with certain tessellations because of the way the interlocking shapes combined to make a variety of new ones. The various shapes create an unstable or multi-focus that contrasts with the central point. Because of the different systems I use to create the work I don’t have a clear idea how the painting will look until it is finished.

    P.A: Previously your works replicated textiles. Is there a connection?

    S.P: I have been using the formal and abstract qualities of textiles as a reference point for my paintings starting with work I completed during my undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph. My early work was focused on mimetic representation such as a thick paint bas-relief of my personal sleeping bedding. Later I shifted away from representation towards abstraction. Currently the connection to textiles is conjured through my process where I use geometry and architecture as the source for my paintings.

    Sasha Pierce, White Diamond  detail, 2012, oil on linen, 23 x 18 inches

    P.A: I understand you feel there is a tie with textiles and your family roots. Can you elaborate on this relationship?

    S.P: Textiles not only serve a vital function to keep us warm they also non-verbally communicate the identity of an individual or group. I feel textiles connect me to my ancestors, family, and memories. My ancestors were working class people and my great grandmothers created beautiful quilts using worn out clothes. My grandfather used to fix my great grandmothers sewing machine and he has repaired and sold sewing machines for the past 70 years. My earliest memories include shopping for clothes with my mother and sister.

    P.A: You have had some very successful exhibits in the Houston and Los Angeles. How you see the American contemporary art scene compared to Toronto? Is there a difference in attitudes?

    S.P: I was only in Houston and Los Angeles for a short time for the openings, so it is difficult for me to discuss the differences in attitudes. I have been lucky because my experience with galleries has been very positive both in the US and Canada. Los Angeles does have a large art audience and that was great to experience.

    Sasha Pierce, Lake Superior  Agate, 2012, oil on linen, 23 x 18 inches

    P.A: What lead to your exhibitions in the US?

    S.P: I was asked to exhibit with Bryan Miller at CTRL Gallery in Houston a year after he saw my work at the 2008 NEXT Art Fair in Chicago through Kineko Ivic at Greener Pastures. Both Greener Pastures and CTRL Gallery are now closed.

    Then in 2010 LA writer and curator Jan Tumlir curated my work in The Non-Identical Abstraction Engine group exhibition at ACME. The exhibition explored Robert Linsley’s New Models for abstraction fellowship at the University of Waterloo, 2004-2010. Then I had an opportunity to return to ACME for a solo show later that year.

    P.A: When you were studying at Guelph and Waterloo were there any particular artists who influenced your art practice?

    S.P: Yes I have been influenced by many artist including professors and my peers. I have been influence by abstract artists, which include Agnes Martin (American/Canadian, 1912-2004), Bridget Riley (British, 1931-) and Tomma Abts (Britsh/German,1967-). Perhaps in terms of influence it is more that these artists gave me the permission to go in the direction that I wanted to go.

    Sasha Pierce, Cycle, 2011, oil on linen, 21 x 16 inches

    P.A: Is there any advice you would give to young painters struggling with their work?

    S.P: Doubt can be a big challenge because art is rarely rational. I feel, staying connected to inspiration is really important as well as patience and perseverance. Running, cooking healthy food and having fun with friends and family can help enhance a creative lifestyle.

    P.A: What is next for you in terms of upcoming exhibitions?

    S.P: I will have work in Post, an upcoming group show at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG), which is a post-grad, and Shantz internship survey curated by Ivan Jurakic. The exhibition opens September 13th and runs until October 27th, 2012. Visit www.uwag.uwaterloo.ca for more details.

  • Inventories and Micro-mapping by Peter Dykhuis

    Detail from Inventory #5, 2012, mixed media with encaustic on 12 clipboards, 51.5″ x 29″ installed. Photo: Luke Clarridge

    September 5 – 22, 2012
    Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 2 – 5 p.m.
    THE RED HEAD GALLERY
    401 Richmond St. W., Suite 115
    Toronto, ON, M5V 3A8
    T: 416.504.5654
    E: art@redheadgallery.org
    www.redheadgallery.org
    Hours: Wed–Sat 12–5 p.m.

    The Red Head Gallery presents Inventories and Micro-mapping by artist Peter Dykhuis. These works began with paper-based ephemera — such as personal lists, envelopes and notes — that were cut-and-pasted onto clipboards, then overlaid with maps and images and, as sequenced works of art, posted onto the walls of the Gallery. As visual sentences that embody human relationships that also depict spatial mapping systems, these works mimic communications parallel to those found in digital social media, albeit environments dominated by corporate interests in human interconnectivity.

    Peter Dykhuis has exhibited in artist-run centres and public galleries throughout Canada and the United States. As a member of The Red Head Gallery, he has participated in solo and group projects since 2004. On the international stage, Dykhuis has exhibited at The Embassy of Canada in Tokyo in 1998 and installed Pressure Today at the conference titled Cartography and Art – Art and Cartography in Vienna, Austria, in 2008. You Are Here (Works on Paper) was presented at the Sydney College of the Arts in Australia in 2009. New clipboard based work was displayed in the exhibition The Art of Mapping organized by TAG Fine Art in London, England, in November of 2011.

    Parallel to this, Dykhuis developed a career as an arts administrator, curator and critical writer, first in Toronto and presently in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In August 2007, Dykhuis became the Director/Curator of Dalhousie Art Gallery at Dalhousie University in Halifax where he is responsible for its administration and programming.

  • Ester Pugliese: False Relations and Fractions

    Ester Pugliese, ‘False Relations I’ acrylic, chalk, conté, chalkboard paint, 24” x 24”, 2012.

    September 1 – 23, 2012
    Reception: Saturday, September 8, 2012, 2 – 5 p.m.
    Q&A Session: Saturday, September 22, 3 p.m.
    loop Gallery
    1273 Dundas Street West,
    (3 doors west of Dovercourt).
    Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1X8
    T: 416.516.2581
    E: loopgallery@primus.ca
    www.loopgallery.ca
    Hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 5, Sun 1 – 4 p.m.

    loop Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by loop member Ester Pugliese entitled False Relations and Fractions.

    The mixed media works in Ester Pugliese’s False Relations and Fractions offer up an arrangement of incongruous image pairings and split-second variations that layer cultural references, natural elements and imagined realities. Roofs of Toronto houses open up to reveal ephemeral hierarchies; output graphs from Ontario’s wind power facilities intertwine with musical notation spectrograms of Italian madrigals; and groupings of fragile objects invite closer inspection.

    Ester Pugliese is a Toronto-based artist who has exhibited her work in Canada and England. She holds a BFA from York University and received the Humber College Board of Governors Achievement Award with her post-graduate certificate in Arts Administration/Cultural Management in 2004. Her work is in private and public collections in North America and Europe, including the Donovan Collection at St. Michael’s College, Toronto.

  • Linda Heffernan / Plus 2

    Linda Heffernan, Plus 2, mixed media, 8” x 8”, 2012.

     

    September 1 – 23, 2012
    Reception: Saturday, September 8, 2012, 2 – 5 p.m.
    Q&A Session: Saturday, September 22, 3 p.m.
    loop Gallery
    1273 Dundas Street West,
    (3 doors west of Dovercourt).
    Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1X8
    T: 416.516.2581
    E: loopgallery@primus.ca
    www.loopgallery.ca
    Hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 5, Sun 1 – 4 p.m.

    loop Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by loop member Linda Heffernan entitled Plus 2. Plus 2 continues Linda Heffernan’s exploration of the potential ramifications of extreme climate change and the opposing points of view that make a considered global response so challenging. The textured semi-abstract paintings in this exhibit use satellite views of major cities and snippets of media commentary as a jumping off point to depict the consequences of choosing to explore or ignore the search for a green economy.

    Linda Heffernan is a Whitby-based artist exploring themes of consumer capitalism and bureaucracy in an ever more interconnected global economy. She has a BFA from OCAD University and her work is included in a number of private and public collections in Canada. Linda Heffernan is a member of loop Gallery and has exhibited her work in a number of galleries in Toronto ‘s Queen West district as well as Whitby’s Station Gallery and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.

  • Istvan Kantor: IT’S A CRIME!! STRIPBOTS ON SALE

    Saturday, August 25, 2012, 2 – 5 p.m.
    ANTIX – Centre for Art Crime and Neoism
    276 Crawford Street, Toronto
    through drive way towards garage
    www.istvankantor.com

    IT’S A CRIME! STRIPBOTS ON SALE – storage cleaning superprices

    Hey great art collectors, art lovers, art haters, art dealers, art stealers, art healers, art brokers, heart brokers, art vamps, art snachers, art butchers, and anyone with demons inside their soul and some cash in their pocket here is your chance to increase your wealth with some terrific Istvan Kantor paintings and drawings…

    Kantor recently exhibited his work in Estonia at the Contemporary Museum of Art in Tallinn, june/2012. Istvan Kantor is Hungarian-born, Toronto-based artist. Recent solo exhibitions included: Monty Cantsin Was Here, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, febr/2011; Made in Estonia, installation, Tallinn, may/2011; Selected works, St.Istvan Museum, Szekesfehervar, Hungary, oct/nov 2011 Upcoming group exhibitions include: Interakcje Festival, Piotrkow, Poland, may/2011; WRO Biennale, Wroclaw, Poland, may/2011 Recepient of the Governer General Award for Visual and Media Arts (2004), Istvan Kantor’s artistic practice incorporates robotic sculpture, video, performance, mixed-media installation, painting, sound, and various other action-based social-mediums like the open-pop-star movement of Monty Cantsin and the world wide network of Neoism. Neoism is a transmission interface and revolving platform to gain public support and media attention for its users.

  • The Grange Prize Announces 2012 Shortlist

    September 5, 2012 – January 6, 2013
    Public Launch Party: Wednesday, September 5, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
    ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO
    317 Dundas Street West
    Toronto, ON M5T 1G4
    T: 416.979.6648
    www.ago.net
    Hours: Tue & Thurs–Sun 10–5:30, Wed 10–8:30

    Jo Longhurst from UK was announced as the winner in a ceremony on November 1st, as part of AGO’s 1st Thursdays.

     The Grange Prize Announces 2012 Shortlist for $50,000 Prize

    Four photographers shortlisted from Canada and U.K.; winner to be chosen by public vote

    The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and Aeroplan, an Aimia company, announce the four finalists for The Grange Prize 2012, the only major Canadian art prize whose winner is chosen by public vote. Two artists from Canada and two from the United Kingdom have been shortlisted to compete for the $50,000 prize. Online voting begins today at www.thegrangeprize.com and is open until 11:59 p.m. on October 30, 2012. The winner will be announced on November 1, 2012 at a public party at the AGO.

    Selected by a jury of leading Canadian and British photography experts, the artists on this year’s shortlist share a fascination with the world of images that surround us every day — from fashion editorial and sports photography to landscape images and crime scene documentation.

    The Grange Prize 2012 Shortlist:

    Jason Evans was born in Holyhead, Wales. His wide ranging photographic practice includes fashion editorial, art photography, online projects, and collaborations with musicians including Caribou, Four Tet, and Radiohead. His online project The Daily Nice features one image per day that makes him smile, with no archive. Evans’ series Strictly, featuring portraits of highly-styled young men on the suburban streets of the U.K., is part of the collection of the Tate.

     Jason Evans, Untitled from Strictly, 1991, styling by Simon Foxton.

    Emmanuelle Léonard was born in Montréal. A graduate from the Université du Québec à Montréal, she has exhibited widely at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Kunsthaus Dresden and Neuer Berliner Kuntsverein in Germany, and Mercer Union in Toronto. Her works tackle the persuasive nature of the photographic image, questioning such tenets as artistic and legal authority, the nature of evidence, and perceptions of beauty. In 2005, she was the recipient of the Pierre-Ayot Award, presented by the city of Montréal for excellence in visual arts.

     Emanuelle Leonard, Search, rue Malicorne, Anjou, 2007 inkjet print, 122 cm x 92 cm

    Jo Longhurst was born in Essex, U.K. and has gained international recognition for her work, having exhibited in London, Paris, and Berlin, including at Documenta (13), currently on view in Kassel, Germany. A PhD graduate from the Royal College of Art, Longhurst’s work investigates ideas of physical perfection and self-creation, capturing the striking portraits of elite gymnasts and Whippet show dogs in her two primary bodies of work Other Spaces and The Refusal.

     Jo Longhurst, Suspension (1), 2012, vinyl, 366 x 218 cm (dimensions variable).

    Annie MacDonell is a Toronto-based visual artist working in a variety of media. Moving between appropriation, re-animation and deconstruction, her practice includes photography, film, installation, sculpture, and sound. She studied photography at Ryerson’s School of Image Arts, followed by an MFA at Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains, in France. Her photos have been shown at the Art Gallery of Windsor, the AGO, The Power Plant, and Le Grand Palais in Paris.

     Annie MacDonell, Hoarfrost at Black Diamond, 2011, 27” x 20”, book pages and tape.

    The four finalists were selected by a nominating jury led by Sophie Hackett, assistant curator of photography at the AGO, and including Sara Knelman, a London, U.K.-based writer and curator; Charlotte Cotton, a prominent writer and curator; and U.K.-based artist duo Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin.

    “These four artists have all made such a strong impact in recent years. By appropriating, re-editing and re-presenting photographic and filmic material, they reinvigorate our relationship with photography,” said Hackett. “All of the nominees have been through a period of intense exhibition activity recently; The Grange Prize will allow each of them a unique opportunity to embark on new research and develop new projects.”

    The winner will receive a $50,000 cash prize. The three remaining finalists will each receive a cash honorarium of $5,000, dedicated to the research, creation, and production of new work. All four finalists will receive an artist residency, one of the unique features of The Grange Prize compared with other international art competitions. In the coming months, Jason Evans and Jo Longhurst will be joining the AGO’s Artist-In-Residence program in Toronto, and Emmanuelle Léonard and Annie MacDonell will travel to the UK to conduct research and explore new avenues of practice.

    To celebrate the four finalists and to introduce the public to these talented artists, exhibitions of their work will be mounted in both Canada and the U.K. The Art Gallery of Ontario will open its exhibition with a public launch party on September 5, 2012. In the U.K., Canada House, in London’s Trafalgar Square, will celebrate the opening of its exhibition with a reception on September 27, 2012. Voting stations will be on site in each location to allow visitors to vote in person. Both exhibitions will be on view until January 6, 2013.

    Each year, The Grange Prize nominates two photographic artists each from Canada and a partner country. Previous winners include Gauri Gill of India (2011), Canadian photographer Kristan Horton (2010), Marco Antonio Cruz of Mexico (2009) and Canadian photographer Sarah Anne Johnson (2008).

    Updates, blog posts and more information about The Grange Prize can be found at www.thegrangeprize.com.

    The Grange Prize is generously supported by The Canada Council for the Arts.

    Programming Highlights for Grange Prize 2012

    Grange Prize 2012 Public Launch Party
    Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
    Walker Court at the Art Gallery of Ontario

    Join the four shortlisted artists and jurors Sophie Hackett, Sara Knelman, and Charlotte Cotton for a celebration launching The Grange Prize 2012 exhibition at the AGO. Curated by Sophie Hackett, lead juror and assistant curator of photography at the AGO, the exhibition, which runs Sept 5. 2012 to Jan. 6, 2013, will feature works from all four finalists. Featuring a set by DJ Jaime Sin, video content, a cash bar, and presentations by each of the jurors, the launch is free to the public.

    The Grange Prize 2012 Dialogues: Questions of Context: The Artists and Jurors in Conversation

    Friday, September 7, 3 – 6 p.m.
    Weston Family Learning Centre at the AGO
    Members $10/Public $12/Students$8

    Join us for the first of two stimulating panel discussions with the artists and jurors of The Grange Prize 2012. By appropriating existing images, placing familiar photographic genres in new contexts, and pushing the photographic print into the realm of the three-dimensional object, each of the four shortlisted artists is making exciting propositions about photography and its place in our lives today. Go in depth with each of the artists and jurors as they address key questions raised by The Grange Prize Exhibition, and explore the status of photography today. This panel will be moderated by Sophie Hackett, assistant curator, photography, AGO and Dr. Gaëlle Morel, curator, Ryerson Image Centre.

    The Grange Prize 2012 Dialogues: The Impact of Art Prizes

    Sunday, October 28, 3 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­- 4 p.m.
    Art Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
    Free with admission to Art Toronto

    Join moderator Sara Angel, writer and critic, and panelists Sophie Hackett, AGO assistant curator, photography and lead juror of The Grange Prize 2012; Murray Whyte, art critic for the Toronto Star; the AGO’s Turner Prize-nominated Artist-in-Residence Mark Titchner; and Sarah Fillmore, chief curator of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the curator of the Sobey Art Award, for a wide-ranging discussion about the increasing prevalence of art prizes in Canada and internationally, and their effect, intended or otherwise, on artists, critics, curators, and institutions.

  • JEFFREY MILSTEIN: AIRCRAFT

    Grid Typology 49 Commercial Jets, archival pigment print, 56 x  56 inches

     

    September 8 – 22, 2012
    Opening: Saturday, September 8, 2 – 4 p.m.
    BAU-XI PHOTO
    324 Dundas St. West
    Toronto, Ontario M5T 1G5
    T: 416.977.0400
    E: info@bau-xiphoto.com
    www.bau-xiphoto.com
    Hours: Mon-Sat 10-5:30, Sun 11-5:30

    Standing at the end of a runway, Jeffrey Milstein captures images of aircraft moments before landing. Carefully positioned and using a high-resolution digital camera, he photographs them from below as they streak past at speeds up to 175 miles per hour.

    Jeffrey Milstein’s favorite spot for photographing aircraft is runway 24R at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  “You have to find the right spot underneath the flight path,” he says, “Not too far away and not too close. The plane can’t be coming in too high or too low, and if the wing dips a little bit to correct for wind, the symmetry will be unequal. It is just a matter of finding the ‘sweet spot’ so that the aircraft is lined up exactly in the camera’s frame.”

    A professional photographer, graphic designer, andarchitect, Jeffrey Milstein infuses his photography with his lifelong creative passion and fascination for flight. His acclaimed series “Aircraft: TheJet as Art” is being exhibited in a year-long solo show at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC from November 2011– November 2012, images from which will be on display at Bau-Xi Photo this September.

    Milstein’s photographs have been published in Men’sVogue, European Photography, American Photo, Eyemazing, Die Zeit, Wired, PDN,Esquire and Conde Nast Portfolio.

     

  • Bobbie Burgers: Arriving at a Landscape

     

    September 8 – 22, 2012
    Book Launch: Saturday, September 22, 2–4 p.m.
    BAU-XI GALLERY
    340 Dundas St. West
    Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1G5
    T: 416.977.0600
    E: toronto@bau-xi.com
    www.bau-xi.com
    Hours: Mon-Sat 10–5:30, Sun 11–5:30

    Bobbie Burgers’ latest exhibition is titled Arriving at a Landscape, and features the newest paintings from this highly sought-after Canadian painter. The inspiration for this show stemmed from the artist’s recent move to France with her family. The newest book, of the same title, serves as a stunning compilation of these latest paintings, while also offering personal insights into the artist’s life living and painting abroad. Burgers’ journal entries are lovingly written, and juxtaposed with the gorgeous landscapes painted ‘en plein air ’ on her travels.

    Bobbie Burgers was born in 1973 in Vancouver, B.C. She received a B.A. in Art History in 1996 from the University of Victoria. She has studied in Aix-en-Provence, France and returns often to recapture the life, light and spirit of Provence that she imbues into her painting.
    Burgers is known for her luscious bouquets, blown up botanicals and pastoral landscapes which focus on sumptuous colour and wild movement. Believing that the tragedy of beauty is its inevitability to fade, she captures that fleeting moment and makes one pause and absorb the wonder of what surrounds us. Burgers’ strong, assured brush work and keen sense of colour are the essence of her work, which has become richer, denser and more complex as her ideas rapidly evolve. With over 60 solo exhibitions, Burgers has attained international stature.

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