Inspired by the human form, my artwork focuses on the concepts of transition and transformation. My personal vision is expressed through fluid, spontaneous layers of medium and imagery. Evocative and serendipitous mark making create a turbulent context for otherwise serene characters.
This painting embodies the energy and movement that exists in even the quietest moments.
Audrey Smith
“Movement in Repose”, 2011
acrylics, conte, charcoal, pastel on paper
18 x 25 inches
$200 SOLD
Born in 1976, Matt Macintosh is a Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist working across photography, sculpture, perfor- mance, video, web, writing, design and painting. With an interest in the role of abstraction in the relationship between identity and knowledge production, his work intervenes on or stands in critical relation to existing objects, text or imagery—and to the media used to embody them—in order to open up the terms under which they are discussed and understood. He studied Drawing and Painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design before completing his Master of Visual Studies degree at the University of Toronto.
Abstraction Series: Object (2012)
Beginning with the reductive tendencies used in Mondrian’s Victory Boogie-Woogie (1943-1944), Abstraction Series: Object moves through the neo-romantic and pseudo surreal aspects of inter-war European painting as it culls, crops and edits archival photographs of Penicillin production facilities in Toronto between 1944-1945. Mirroring the image on its centre axis, obsolete technology is presented with mandala-like symmetry.
Matt Macintosh
Object 6, 2012
Inkjet
11.25 x 11.25 inches
$450
Matt Macintosh
Object 1., 2012
Inkjet
11.25 x 11.25 inches
$450
Imre Hajagos is a Toronto based painter artist. He was born in Budapest and educated in Hungary. He studied art and geography at College of Eger and printmaking with Imre Keri.
His most recent works has been a blend of urban elements: decayed and rustic colors, neon signs, abstracted markings (brush strokes, scraped paints). He also pulls inspiration and motives from studying geography: the matters of the universe and quantum physics. The finished paintings are full of emotional impulses and musical beats.
He showed his work in many museum and gallery shows in Europe and in Toronto and Montreal in Canada.
Imre Hajagos
Impulses, 2012
acrylic on paper
15 x 11 inches
$620
Imre Hajagos
Stormy Day, 2012
acrylic on paper
11 x 16 inches
$620
Itamar Jobani, Scream, 2008. plywood 16x9x11.25″
May 24 – July 1, 2012
Opening: Thursday, May 24, 6 – 9 p.m.
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 26, 2 p.m.
JULIE M. GALLERY
15 Mill Street Building 37, Suite 103
Toronto ON M5A 3R6
T: 416 603 2626
E: info@juliemgallery.com
www.juliemgallery.com
From Brooklyn, New York, Itamar Jobani works at the cusp of contemporary sculpture. Jobani’s signature balance of craftsmanship, innovation, and new technologies has earned him museum shows as well as residencies in Glasgow, Berlin and at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City. His work is informed by studies in fine art, film, and philosophy; it is recognized internationally for its conceptual lucidity.
Jobani’s first Canadian solo show, People of the 21st Century, opens as CONTACT winds down. People of the 21st Century explores the life-work of German photographer August Sander (b. 1876) though sculpture. Jobani interfaces with August Sander’s aspiration to quantify and visually map his social environs.
From 1911 through 1950 August Sander invested decades in a collection of portraits, Menschen des 20. Jarhunderts (People of the 20th Century), to capture the zeitgeist unique to Germany. Sander witnessed the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic, was persecuted during the Nazi regime, and survived two world wars, all the while utterly committed to objective photography. He used simple, sincere chapter titles to organize Menschen and pin-point identity: The Farmer, The City, The Artists, Woman… His subjects are anonymous, his photos undated, organized by categories that Sander considered “archetypes” of 20th century society.
Using sculpture and installation, Itamar Jobani reboots Sander’s project one hundred years later on its centenary. It is fitting that today Menschen is extended into three dimensions—after all, the internet is hailed as a virtual parallel universe, another dimension mirroring our reality. Playing with this analogy, it is particularly interesting that the materials of People of the 21st C. include glossy, reflective surfaces like mirror, aluminum, and resin along with clay and found objects. Identity is not constructed through “archetypes” of profession; instead it is dis/assembled by an excess of paraphernalia. Jobani’s figures struggle to resolve their identities, while trapped in the snare of carnival consumerism and technological flux. These mixed-media assemblages are a striking departure from Jobani’s preferred materials, plywood and corrugated cardboard—a departure that opens new realms of aesthetic exploration.
In Menschen des 20. Jarhunderts Sander captures a portrait of a century. However, the sculptures in People of the 21st C. reveal Jobani’s awareness of the dual utopian and absurd underpinnings of Sander’s endeavor. Sander’s contemporary Walter Benjamin puts it best, “Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector’s passion borders on the chaos of memories.” Jobani reconstructs Sander’s fantasy of an encapsulated history as a conceptual framework, which he uses to reflect on the complex valence of the 21st century. What are the archetypes of today, and how do they exist in a world split by flesh and avatar, globalism and rampant ego-centrism? Will Jobani pay homage to Sander’s guiding tenet of objectivity? How will he negotiate “objectivism” in the 21st C. when subjective experience is paramount?
Jobani invariably wows us with technique. People of the 21st C. is impressively cerebral. This project opens up a Pandora’s box of complexities—we invite you to the exhibit to try your hand at unraveling them. Meet the artist at the opening reception from 6 – 9, May 24, or at an artist talk at 2 pm, Saturday, May 26th.
L. E. Glazer is a Toronto-based Architect, Photographer & Artist. Following the completion of formal training in 1979, he has focused on creating works that challenge viewer preconceptions and expectations.
Subject matter has been eclectic, with an attraction to the built forms and patterns rooted in his Architectural background. As Glazer’s images explore the deeper significance of contextual reference, his deconstruction of recorded moments provokes viewers to contemplate multiple realities. While Glazer objectively records moments in time, his exploration of composition and form provides viewers with opportunities for subjective reflection on their own world. It is this dichotomy that provides the richness and cinematic quality to Glazer’s work.
L. E. Glazer’s work can be found in institutional and private collections across North America. He is currently represented by Art Profile in Toronto, The Halsted Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, and Posner Fine Art, Los Angeles, California.
Rocky’s
Secret
The best Chinese
Images are 6 x 9 inches
Framed 18 x 22 inches
$600 each
James Ridyard is a self-taught visual artist holding an active studio practice in Toronto. He exhibits work that addresses historical representation. Ridyard aims to blur the historical/local into the contemporary/global. “It is the interplay and resulting clash between the past and present that excites me.” His work has received critical media attention.
Drawing from his professional experience in Canadian theatre and film, Ridyard pursues his visual career armed with an art history degree and an extensive knowledge of stagecraft. He has taught at such institutions as University of Western Ontario and for the Vancouver Cultural Alliance. He has professional experience with The National Ballet of Canada and the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts. He has participated in the Queen West Arts Crawl, Nuit Blanche and recently in the Canadian Art Gallery Hop. Ridyard has sat on the board for such artist run centres as Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts and Gallery 1313. His work can be found in such collections as RBC, CanWest Global and the City of Toronto.
Ridyard is currently represented Gallery 133, Canvas, Koyman Gallery and AGO Sales and Rental.
One Barn
oil on panel
6 x 18 inches
$350
Two Barns
oil on panel
12 x 15 inches
$400.00
Three Barns
oil on panel
9 x 12 inches
$350.00
This article is a second print of Davide Luciano – Potholes by Sara Namias from Zoom Magazine, Winter 2012
Davide Luciano has always had a passion for art.
He attended the Toronto Film School and he grew up studying film, winning numerous awards as best director and with screenings of his works at the Montreal and Toronto film festivals. His passion, creativity and, above all, innate sense of humor, are the characteristics that set his work apart, including in still photography, his second great love.
Davide Luciano, Bus Stop, 2011, photography
Canadian by birth, Davide Luciano works in close collaboration with his wife, Claudia Ficca. “My parents and grandparents immigrated to Canada from Italy in the 1950s and my wife, who is also of Italian descent, is a food photographer so the film about tagliatelle was done with her. We are very close to our families and our Italian roots and we both try to preserve the Italian traditions that were passed on to us, especially the culinary ones. My wife is also my creative partner. We work as a team on each other’s projects. ‘Potholes’ was born after we hit a huge pothole in our area which caused damage to our car, so we decided to channel our frustration into creativity by creating a humorous series.” Each shot is unique. “Once we have a scene in mind, we go on a quest to find the perfect pothole for that particular scene. We ask ourselves questions like: Do we want an industrial look? Once we find our potholes we then get all our models and our props together, and place everything around the pothole and shoot. We shoot without permits and during uninterrupted traffic. We take turns with the camera and looking out for oncoming traffic. The shoot usually takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.”
Davide Luciano, Claudia and Davide, 2012, photography
With little time at their disposal and much concentration, Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca skillfully create photos that seem taken from a film set and perfectly reproduce a sense of movement thanks to the harmony between the facial expression and action of the subject. Nonetheless, everything is completely absurd. Sort of like what happens in Roger Rabbit and other films where cartoon characters are brought by the director into the real world. Here, Alice in Wonderland chases the White Rabbit into a gaping hole in a city street, the lifeguard from Baywatch saves someone drowning in the middle of the asphalt, and a fisherman pulls and enormous fish out of what seems to be an ice-covered lake. It’s impossible not to smile in the face of these scenes.
Davide Luciano, Simona, 2012, photgraphy
“This project began as a fun way of looking at potholes. We can’t always change things, but we can change the perspective from which we see them. We plan to continue ‘Potholes’ in Europe and we have just finished a new series that will be published soon: a social and humorous work that analyzes how people lose their individuality.”
Davide Luciano – Potholes by Sara Namias for Zoom Magazine, Winter 2012, #105 international ed. – #233 italian ed.
Davide Luciano photography show “Sheep Nations” is on view at Pentimento Fine Art Gallery still June 3, 2012
In his work Sadko explores the construction of identity, and its cultural and social implications, with an extensive and ongoing portraiture-based body of work using mixed media and collage, and an array of references to popular culture. He refers to the environment of his upbringing in Bosnia and the relatively exotic vacation paradise of Cuba and its Communist undertones with works that contrast a childhood lived under the threat of war and an unhurried North American childhood lived without the burden of world affairs.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia, earned his MFA at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1984), and arrived in Canada in 1993. Since his arrival Sadko has participated in over 60 exhibitions in public galleries and artist-run centres in Quebec and across Canada. Sadko is represented by Paul Petro Gallery in Toronto
Sadko Hadzihasanovic
Eva, 2012
mix media on wall paper on masonite
9 x12 inches
$800. Auction starts at $450
Sadko Hadzihasanovic
Cuban pioner, 2010
pastel on canvas
8 x 8 inches
$600. Auction starts at $450
Interview with Luis Jacob (L.J) by Phil Anderson (P.A.)
Offical unveiling: Friday, May 18, 5 – 5:30 p.m.
Luis Jacob in front of his panels. Photo: Phil Anderson
P.A: You have lived in Parkdale for some time. Has this shaped the work that you have done?
L.J: I believe that all artists work in relation to their life experiences. Certainly having lived in Parkdale for more than ten years – a neighbourhood populated by people from many different cultures – has influenced my work.
The “Spirits of the Grotto”, Dufferin Underpass. Photo: Luis Jacob
The project at the Dufferin Underpass is titled “Spirits of the Grotto”. It consists of 34 panels that look like a series of large masks. Each panel has two colourful “eyes”; together they look like spirits residing inside the walls of the tunnel and watching us as we make our way inside. I imagine that some of these masks will remind people of the fabulous costumes of the Caribana parade, or the demons depicted in Tibetan silk paintings. Some panels feature depictions of mirror balls, which remind me of places like the Beaver Café, Stone’s Place, and Wrongbar, on Queen Street West.
The “Spirits of the Grotto”, Dufferin Underpass. Photo: Luis Jacob
P.A: How do you feel the work connects with the Parkdale Community?
L.J: I hope that people will bring their own perspectives to the ways they experience the artwork. To this end, it was important for me that each mask be endowed with a distinct personality. I hope people who live in the area will form unique relationships with the various “spirits”.
P.A: This art work at the Dufferin Bridge underpass has been a big project. Is the final work what you had visualized?
L.J: It was always my goal to make a work of public art that was not innocuous. This was one thing that was foremost in my mind during the two years it took to fabricate this work.
P.A: This project had some collaborations in terms of design and creating the mosaic can you tell us more about these.
L.J: I worked in with two amazing teams of people, one in Montreal and the other in Toronto. The metalwork was done by the folks at Punchclock Studio, on Sorauren, who developed a totally ingenious design for the metal structure. In Montreal I worked with the folks at Mosaika, who produced the beautiful glasswork. I was honoured to work with such dedicated pros!
The “Spirits of the Grotto”, Dufferin Underpass. Photo: Luis Jacob
P.A: Does this project feel very different from your other art work?
L.J: I don’t believe that “Spirits of the Grotto” differs in any essential way from my other works. One important difference, of course, is that fact that this work is sited outdoors as a permanent work of public art. This certainly brings new complexity to the project, in terms of logistics and audience.
The “Spirits of the Grotto”, Dufferin Underpass. Photo: Luis Jacob
P.A: What new projects/exhibitions do you have in the works?
L.J: I am looking forward to taking part in the “Oh Canada” exhibition at MASS MoCA, in Massachusetts, with “Wildflowers of Manitoba”, a video installation made in collaboration with Noam Gonick. Right now I am also working on a monograph catalogue of my work to be published by MOCCA in Toronto and the Darling Foundry in Montreal, in partnership with Black Dog Books in London.
May 26 – 27, 2012
Artist’s Talk: Saturday, May 26, 8:00 p.m.
Artist Workshop: Sunday, May 27, 4:00-8:00 p.m.
FINE OAK ART SCHOOL
254 Niagara Street, south entrance (back half of Pari Nadimi Gallery)
Toronto, ON, M6J 2L8
T: 416.827.9739
E: fineoak@gmail.com
www.fineoak.ca/news
www.maryannahardy.com
Artist and illustrator Maryanna Hardy hosts the second instalment of Fine Oak Art School’s monthly series of artist talks and one-day art workshops. Fine Oak Art School is bringing practicing artists direct to the curious public.
Maryanna Hardy will be giving an artist’s talk and unveiling her latest work. The talk is free and open to anyone, and will be followed by a reception with music and drinks. Hardy will be speaking about her new series of large scale narrative drawings. This series is a collaboration with friend and writer Jordan Coulombe, drawings that are as much about their relationship as they are about the story he wrote. Coulombe will be participating in this talk and reading his short story titled “The Winchester”. Hardy will also be talking about her book of drawings “So I’ve Been Told” and new additions to her “Dream Log” series. These new drawings will be up for the night of May 26, in coordination with the presentation.
You can see more of Hardy’s work at www.maryannahardy.com
Hardy will be leading a workshop on narrative drawing, alongside Erica Beyea. The two artists will guide participants along creating their own drawing based on a narrative of their choice. All skill-levels are welcome and made comfortable; from people who “can’t draw a stick-figure” to folks confident in their rendering skills. BYOB and snack potluck, this workshop is entirely unintimidating and a lot of fun.
Daryl Vocat & Peter Kingstone, Every Time We Played House, I Wanted to be the Pet Monkey, screenprint, 22″ x 30″, 2010.
May 25 – June 23, 2012
Opening: Friday, May 25, 7 – 9 p.m.
Open Studio George Gilmour Members’ Gallery
401 Richmond Street West #104
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
T: 416.504.8238
E: office@openstudio.on.ca
Hours: Tue – Sat 12 – 5 p.m.
Sissies & Psychopaths is a collaborative suite of prints examining popular representations of queer sexuality through a child’s eyes. These screenprints are evidence of a conversation between artists Kingstone and Vocat responding to one another in a playful manner, addressing their histories and understandings of growing up and developing a queer sensibility. From dragons and death metal, to disco balls and pin-ups, a varied world of queer archetypes emerges. By adopting pop culture imagery as their own, the artists suggest that queerness is as much about an understanding of the world as it is about sexual identity.
May 29, 2012, 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
STEPHEN BULGER GALLERY
1026 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1H1
T: 416.504.0575
E: info@bulgergallery.com
www.bulgergallery.com
Learn about collecting photography from Stephen Bulger, during Contact photography festival. Stephen will give an introductory lesson on collecting different photographic print types, editions and series with examples from the gallery’s collection. Following the talk, there will be a reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres. Take this opportunity to ask Stephen your individual photography collecting questions, and mingle with other members and guests.
Stephen’s gallery provides a wide range of quality documentary and artistic photography. He is one of the initiators of the world-renowned “Contact” photography festival, happening annually in May. He is also on the board at the Ryerson Image Centre, among other prestigious art and photography positions in Toronto.
Members r.s.v.p. to info@artventurestoronto.com
Non-members register here: http://artventurescollectingphotography.eventbrite.com
