Author: artoronto

October 3, 2015 / sunset to sunrise
Various locations in Toronto

PHIL ANDERSON, publisher:

Toronto’s tenth annual Nuit Blanche had the weather co-operating and the crowds converging on this annual celebration of contemporary art. I started out from my neighbourhood catching Dyan Marie and the Toronto School of Arts (107 Bloordale Index) display at Dufferin and Bloor. It required some investigation as more intimate  packaged displays clung to the surrounding fence of the old school yard. Earlier in the day I had been to Wycwood Barns, Artscape and seen an installation UP in The Sky.

Installation by  Dyan Marie and the Toronto School of Arts

Installation by  Dyan Marie and the Toronto School of Arts

Up in the Sky at Wycwood Barns, Artscape

Off then to St. George Station by subway to see displays at the Bata Shoe Museum and OISE. There was a large line up for the Bata so we passed and caught the video displays on the walls of OISE, Time of the Empress which were impressive as computer generated buildings imploded and then rebuilt themselves. Next it was off to the Gardiner Museum and the 50,000 piece lego installation. Again there was a large line up to pass by the lego work and I had wished it was hung high or suspended for better viewing. Checked out the video inside the ROM, The Virtual Immigrant briefly and then off to another video projected work  Zero Hour inside a Dome tent near the ROM. This work was engaging and had viewers watching with craned necks.

OISE, Time of the Empress

Silent Knight, the 50,000 piece lego installation at the Gardiner Museum

Zero Hour inside a Dome tent near the ROM

Then we went to the Great Hall and a video projection of the Raptor Rapture. It was a chance to sit and get a little break. Chowed down on some Chinese food before taking in the City Hall installation. Video projections seemed to loose their impact and the best part was the Toronto signage covered in printed faces, called, Inside Out : Face to Face by JR.

Hart House – Great Hall Raptor

Inside Out : Face to Face by JR at the City Hall

There seemed to be major gaps in the installations and that made it more difficult to take in the Nuit evening. Crowds were out enthusiastically trying to take it all in. I missed the guide – program that had become a staple of Toronto Nuit Blanche. It gave a better description of the different displays and was more fun to go through in advance of Nuit Blanche. I did check out some of the works online and in Now Magazines Nuit Program but it wasn’t the same. I also missed the concentrations of works that had happened in previous years at Liberty Village and University Ave like The Parade. I admit I did not get down to the Lakeshore which I probably would have enjoyed. I just ran out of steam and enthusiasm. Too many gaps for me. I was disappointed in the work at City Hall which seemed to present more spectacle in previous years. The budget was apparently larger this year with more corporate sponsorship but it didn’t seem as evident.

I still will be back next year and perhaps better prepared to take in more displays of contemporary art.

Text and photo: Phil Anderson 

JULIE MCNEILL, writer:

I started the long night at OISE where Time of the Empress, a projection of falling pixelated buildings by Azziz + Cucher were a little washed out as they competed with the bright lights of a practice at Varsity Stadium. And that’s how the evening felt to me: a little washed out and monochromatic.

The other major impression of the night was that most people were obsessed with selfies. Art was only a backdrop to that primary interest… which made JR’s projects in Nathan Phillips Square a big hit, with long lines to prove it. Even at 4 am it was busy. That said, some projects had more impact: Nurielle Stern’s The Bone Runners and Silent Knight by Ekow Nimako, both at the Gardiner Museum, were strong. I even got one of The Bone Runners‘ arrow points!

Mimir’s Well (which is an extended project) at the Queen Richmond Centre was among the most engaging, with the viewer’s movements and expressions transformed by technology. But by far my favourite item of the night was Gauge at TIFF where three pieces of footage running on a ten-minute loop captured morning, afternoon, and evening in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. It featured the temporary work of artists who painted on tidal cliffs as they rose out of the sea ice, only to watch their large scale paintings sink out of sight with the rhythm of the tides.

Beaufort 6: Hit at Queens Quay E. & Cooper St. (in the park). Photo: Dylan MacHattie

Beaufort 5: The abstract of Torus, 231 Queens Quay West. Photo: Dylan MacHattie

Beaufort 4: Lava Field No. 2, Dockside Drive, on the parking lot north of George Brown College. Photo: Dylan MacHattie

PARK HERE, City Hall (Underground Parking Garage). Photo: Dylan MacHattie

Text: Julie McNeill. Photo: Dylan MacHattie

ELLA GOREVALOV, writer:

The darkened purple skies set an eerie tone to the work of Tim Knowles, who displayed his piece Dispersal Zone on Queens Quay. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on…It felt as though I had entered an apocalyptic zone on the Quay; the street lights seemed to be smoking. Was this a piece for Nuit Blanche? Looking East, the deserted car-less street was full of gloom as the modified street lamps released a smoky hazy onto the street. In fact, I had to ask a construction worker what was going on. He pointed out that Knowles’ work was part of the exhibition that night, and that “the ghostly scene” was meant to use theatrical staging to replicate a sense of civil unrest. Dispersal Zone had done just that. The location was perfect for this project; the hushed streets, construction zones, and lack of car traffic had set the tone for Knowles’ work to construct a scene of despair and unrest. His work transcended the lamps themselves and captured the whole street in it’s exhibition.

Beaufort 1: Dispersal Zone Queens Quay East & Bonnycastle Street. Photo: Dylan MacHattie

Text: Ella Gorevalov. Photo: Dylan MacHattie

SIMON TERMINE, writer/photographer: 

I actually found this year’s Nuit Blanche a let down compared to the one last year. Last year, they closed off all of Spadina for art shows and parties, which led down to Fort York quite easily and that area also had fantastic shows. The shows were clustered closely together so that commute wasn’t a problem. This year, it was disappointing. The line ups were long, the locations were so spread out, and several of the shows seemed to be missing or were difficult to reach. Instead of Spadina, they closed Queen’s Park, but there were barely any shows around it; I think it was only closed off for a marathon the next day.

In the moment, the ROUND venue, 152a Augusta Avenue

I’ve Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day, University of Toronto (University College Quadrangle)

Muscle Memory at Hart House

Raptors Rapture at Hart House – Great Hall

Worn Out with Exhaustion by this Unending Chain of Experiments at Whippersnapper Gallery

Text and photo: Simon Termine

EMILY NEWELL, intern:

October 3rd marked another evening of artistry known to Torontonian’s as Nuit Blanche. The windy evening did not seem to deter the on-lookers and partyers from being involved in the evening. The streets filled until the early morning with a multitude of people from art lovers to music enthusiasts. In walking around, at about midnight, I was able to experience a variety of instillations. The map of the event was extensive this year expanding from Bloor Street down to Front Street as far east as Jarvis Street and  going west to Dufferin Street with a small cluster north of Bloor at St. Clair. Basically, something everywhere for all to enjoy and get involved in. Included, in all the action were 117 participates. Walking through the streets was exciting as I have only recently moved to Toronto and now have been able to be part of the late night enthusiasm an evening like this has to offer. From what I got to see, there is everything from big to small in the many facets of art involved.

I was able to walk down and discover a street that had its direction changed at Mutual St & Carlton St.

Cambio de Sentido – Change of Direction by Tercerunquinto, at Mutual Street and Carlton Street

Sphinx, by Luis Jacobs, Allan Gardens (Children’s Conservatory), 19 Horticultural Avenue

‘refugees run the seas…, by Francisco Fernandos Granados , 284 Jarvis Street

All in all, Nuit Blanche offers a great idea for artists; however, it does also seem like an excuse for some to party all night long due to street closures and public transportation being offered till dawn. It was a big crowd walking down Queen St. Nuit Blanche had a vast variety of places to go even where you could avoid crowds and stick to the smaller, off the beaten trail exhibits – if it is an art experience is what you are after.

Queen Street at Old City Hall

Text and photo: Emily Newell

Climbing the steep, dimly lit staircase of Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery I feel solitary and pensive. The sensation of creaking floorboards underfoot is accompanied by the hum of a soft breeze from the gallery’s charming backyard garden. I associate the experience with strolling through a forest at dusk for there is an undeniable communion with my natural environment. Once at the top, the sun peaks through and I am invited into a bright clearing which currently holds the collection of works by ceramic artist Amy Bowles. Confronted with multiple sets of eyes, it soon becomes evident to me that I am not alone.

Amy Bowles, Floria, 2015,  handcrafted glazed earthenware, fabric 7 x 7 x 4 1/4 inches (Detail). Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery

In Echoing Wood Bowles calls on memories from her rural upbringing in England to establish a realm wherein earthly elements take on a new sort of consciousness. The fifteen miniature works of painted terracotta and white earthenware clay, portray organic renderings of imaginary beings. Beady eyes beckon as writhing fingers stretch outward and long tongues coil, signalling a taunting invitation to approach. Here, bodies and faces are integrated seamlessly with textures found occurring in nature. Each work possesses a unique individuality and the viewer is made to feel as though they have never quite looked closely enough at the bark of a tree or the grooves of a rock. Bowles’ exhibition suggests that there is much to be seen if one can look through an alternative lens—one which is innate, unbiased, childlike. 

Amy Bowles, Untitled, 2015, handcrafted glazed earthenware, 3 3/4 x 4 x 1 3/4 inches. Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery

Amy Bowles, Called To Dream, 2015,  handcrafted glazed earthenware 5 x 5 1/2 x 3 inches. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli

The overarching feeling one gets is that these woodland creatures are not intended to be noticed. They are not free-moving entities which willingly interact with the spectator, rather they appear static, frozen in their often quirky positions not unlike a petrified rabbit who has caught the attention of a predator. There is an awareness on the part of the sculptures that they are being looked at, and there is a sense of giddy delight which arises in the spectator that they have become privy to their existence. The trivial size of the sculptures against the vast white walls of the gallery inspire wonder—is it possible there are other creatures which will become visible if looked for hard enough?

Amy Bowles, Glorious Dawn, 2015,  handcrafted glazed red earthenware, enamel 7 x 5 1/2 x 4 inches. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli

The arrangement of the small space effectively works to encourage intimacy and curiosity. Bowles’ sculptures cannot be adequately viewed from a distance, but require getting close to ensure no detail goes unnoticed. Tucked into the corner opposite the entrance is a pedestal upon which a sculpture sits. On the walls behind hang several other tiny, intricate works. The viewer must harbour a certain willingness to explore their surroundings, to weave between objects, in order to catch a glimpse of that which is otherwise imperceptible. In this sense, it could be said that the exhibition layout echoes that of a wood in that it is unsystematic, organic, and at times requires straying from the path of least resistance.

Installation view. Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery

There is an interesting exchange in this exhibition between the seen and the unseen, the real and the unreal. While the forest dwellers which Bowles depicts in her sculptures are not perceivable in a real wood, that which is perceivable in reality is largely absent from the gallery space.  The 2015 sculpture “Untitled” constructed of handcrafted glazed earthenware depicts a peculiar, wide-eyed creature enveloped by three found twigs. The sculpture manages to combine elements of imagination and reality well. This, and others like it in the collection, challenges the spectator to perceive the world with innocence and to be receptive to the possibility of the unimaginable.

Amy Bowles, Untitled, 2015, handcrafted glazed earthenware, twigs   16 1/2 x 5 x 6 1/2 inches (Detail).  Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery

Vanessa Zeoli

*Exhibition information: September 11 – October 10, 2015, Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 11 – 5 p.m.

“I enjoy the ‘performance’ of using myself, I EMBODY all the layers I want to express. This feels the most immediate and authentic way to express myself.” – Janne Reuss

Artist Janne Reuss. Photo: Phil Anderson

Walking into Gallery 1313 you will find a number of striking portraits of the artist, Janne Reuss. The layered photographic prints all feature her covered in various shades of blue and different veils. Her story is woven into the images as she explores not only her own identity – but also the lack of belonging that many immigrants feel subject to currently in North America.

Installation view. Photo: Phil Anderson

In the front of the gallery one of the first pieces you will see is the incredibly affecting “One-Act”. The striking print layers dark and light shades of blue as she looks away from the camera and allows all the conflicting aspects of her identity to intertwine.

Janne Reuss, One-Act, 2015, 68 x 90 cm. Courtesy of the artist

When you move to the back of the exhibition there is a small room where fewer portraits intimately sit. The beautiful “Quiet Please” has already sold two prints, and it’s no question why. Reuss’ face is almost completely obscured by the stunning layers of blue, but she still manages to make a strong connection with the viewer demanding thought and contemplation.

Janne Reuss, Quiet Please, 2015, 72 x 90 cm. Courtesy of the artist

Amazingly despite all the pieces being strongly connected through their various shades of blue and portraits of the artist they all manage to be wonderful and engaging on their own individual merits. Like the thread of the veils each piece weaves together the different aspects of the artist’s identity as an immigrant and as a woman.

Installation view. Photo: Phil Anderson

Rhiann Moore

*Exhibition information: September 30 – October 11, 2015, Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun, 1 – 6 p.m.

Saturday, September 26, 2015 / 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Dundas West / Ossington Tour

The Toronto Gallery Hop was a wonderful and inviting experience. It is a comfortable and welcoming opportunity to develop new interests and share opinions, open to both the new and the seasoned enthusiasts. During the entire tour, the group freely questioned and interpreted the artists’ works; the artists and curators themselves were more than happy to share. Though there were presentations, overall it felt more like a friendly chat. Even between galleries, everyone was talking about the galleries, other artists, anything.

LE Gallery, artist Scott Waters (right) talks about his work

The first gallery was the G Gallery, exhibiting Carnival of Sorts: a joint show featuring artists Jennifer Chan, Adrienne Crossman, and Lorna Mills, who explore the proliferation of different themes in popular culture through video art. Yaoi, GIFs, and the 1980/1990 workout videos are among the key focuses.

G Gallery, exhibiting Carnival of Sorts

We then ventured to see the Scott Waters’ exhibition, How To Disappear Completely, at LE Gallery, displaying luminous and highly realistic night paintings – that expertly imitate the effects of flash photography and lighting – to represent the “flag-flying endeavor, an ongoing dream of ‘not-being’.” As much as a notion of “nothingness” is approached with skepticism, there is also a certain admiration and desire for it, as touched on by thinkers like Thomas More and Thom Yorke which serve as some of the literary inspirations for Waters.

Scott Waters, We are tragic men

The joint exhibition at the Loop Gallery – Linda Heffernan’s Are We There Yet? and Kim Stanford’s Trichotillomania – are two very captivating shows. Heffernan’s paintings cleverly combine acrylic paint, wire mesh, and other unconventional mediums to mirror the digital aesthetic of satellite imaging. Meanwhile, Stanford’s sculptures recreate banal routines into surreal objects, drawing inspiration from the basic act of removing unwanted hair.

Loop Gallery presentation by tour guide, artist Adam David Brown

Kristiina Lahde’s From a Straight Line to a Curve at the MKG127 Gallery shows several geometric experimentations that transform otherwise linear elements into new curvaceous forms. Micah Adams’ accompanying exhibition, Selected Coin Studies, consists of drawings, prints, and sculptures that give a lively new perspective to an otherwise mundane object.

Artist Kristiina Lahde in front of her work From a Straight Line to a Curve at the MKG127

The final stop was the Xpace Cultural Centre, which works closely with the OCAD student union, as well as other independent artists, to show off new talent.  Swallowed by Alexandra Mackenzie is an extremely vibrant show, with walls covered with handcrafted wallpapers and projected illustrations.  Simultaneously, Nyssa Komorowski’s –nuhsawvhtat- to add a room, to extend a house emphasizes the Aboriginal rights’ movements that the artist herself participated in: a politically charged display of banners, video, and signs aimed at bringing awareness to the cause.

Nyssa Komorowski’s installation at the  Xpace Cultural Centre

Text and photo: Simon Termine

Canadian Art Magazine Fall Launch
Saturday, September 26, 2015 / 6 – 8 p.m.
Angell Gallery
1444 Dupont St.

The Canadian Art Gallery Hop came to an end at Angell Gallery in time for Canadian Art Magazine’s Fall issue launch. A talk about the front gallery exhibition by Bradley Wood was just ending as I arrived. The new space was bustling. MPP Davenport  Cristina Martins presented Jamie Angell with a plague welcoming him to the neighborhood and commenting that she has been to many such gallery openings in her riding as galleries have made the move to the area. She mentioned that MOCCA also moved to the area. Sadly the Jessica Bradley Gallery closed as she has decided it was time to move on. It seemed that the 74 Miler Street location had not been open that long.

MPP Davenport  Cristina Martins with Angell Gallery Director, Jamie Angell

CEO and publisher of Canadian Art Magazine, Jill Birch introduced Richard Rhodes who is stepping down after 20 years as editor of Canadian Art. Rhodes remised he remembered the first day he and partner Dyan Marie had walked into Jamie Angells first Gallery on Queen Street West when he was just starting out and still cutting hair in the back of the Gallery. The gallery and Jamie have come a long way.

Canadian Art editor, Richard Rhodes

Talking with Rhodes he was looking forward to other projects though he still has another 1.5 issues to finish before he leaves. He will have an office nearby on Dupont and was talking about going to Los Angles to revisit the art scene there.

Not sure who the new editor will be but they will have big shoes to fill.

Text and photo: Phil Anderson

King East / Distillery Tour
Sunday, September 27, 2015 / 2:30 – 4 p.m.

The Toronto Gallery Hop is an annual event that offers a walking tour of Toronto’s art galleries. Divided into ten different neighbourhoods, each ‘Hop’ covers four to five galleries. Offered by the Canadian Art Foundation, these tours are great for beginners who needs a quick introduction to current Toronto’s art scene.

The Distillery District tour began at the Beauchamp Art Gallery, arguably the most commercial out of the five galleries in the tour. The space was filled with moderately sized canvases of traditional paintings – lots of figures, cityscape, and flowers. Each painting offers various payment plans, ideal for novice collectors.

Beauchamp Art Gallery

Second in our stop was Julie M. Gallery, featuring Shai Kramer’s solo Exhibition: Connecting Narratives. Kramer’s photographs are defined by reflections. Reflection exemplified by diptych photographs, as well as the reflection of the audience from the glossy framing. Embedded in Kramer’s political photographs dealing with the relations between Israel and Palestine are our own faces looking, both into the picture and back at ourselves, allowing us to study our own reaction in the reflection. 

Shai Kramer’s solo exhibition, Connecting Narratives at Julie M. Gallery

Compared to the common white gallery space, the Thompson Landry stands out with its distinct architecture. It is very representative of the aesthetics of the district, featuring large exposed metal pipes. At times, however, the decor is so strong that it shadows the actual exhibition. Even though Juxtapositions by Jean-Pierre Lafrance showcases enormous gestural abstract paintings that are full of movement, texture, and colour, it fails to overpower the interior of the gallery, as well as the small porcelain sculptures. 

Juxtapositions by Jean-Pierre Lafrance at Thompson Landry Gallery

Our fourth stop is a change of pace with Proof Studio Gallery. In a tight crowded space, the gallery displays art works in both affordable prints and in framed originals. There is a lot of maple leaf motif in the photographs, formerly in anticipation of visitors of Pan Am games. Aside from photographs, the studio sells numerous nick-knacks as well, such as little notebooks and tiny sculptures.

Proof Studio Gallery

Last and arguably the most impressive stop was at the Corkin Gallery. All the gallery space in the district seem to be highly individual and gorgeous, and Corkin Gallery was not an exception. Featured was Barbara Astman’s I as Artifact – disturbing series of images that resemble faces. Created by applying a mask on her face then peeling them off, Astman experiments with questions of identity and representation. Each mask was presented in a clinical manner, increased in size and photographed in a black background to highlight its texture and transparency. In these masks we see emotion, topography, and according to Astman, the universe.

Presentation at Corkin Gallery

Although the nature of the neighbourhood prompted works that were quite different in styles and purpose compared to those in Queen West area, the tour was nonetheless an effective introduction that, because of short duration spent during each gallery, prompts the visitors to return for a more detailed experience.

Text and photo: Sunny Kim

 

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery welcomed the fall season with quite a crowd. With visitors lined up around the building, Power Plant’s opening party was a huge success. The gallery introduced three major solo exhibitions by three international artists: Carlos Amorales, Dora Garcia, and Mark Lewis. It was one of those nights where you get sucked into the crowd, forced to follow the flow of people. That combined with the layout of the gallery and the different atmosphere of each exhibition, the space transports you from one world to another, through an endlessly surprising maze. One second you’re standing in the midst of Amorales’s installation, staring at the black hole of swarming moths, then all of a sudden you’re gazing at Garcia’s work, listening to the gentle conversations in her film, The Joycean Society.

Amorales’s Black Cloud overwhelms us. As we enter, it swallows us into its world. Spilling out of Power Plant’s main hall are 30,000 moths – all black and of various sizes. Cut with precision (probably with a laser cutter) and then folded for dimension, these moths cover everything from the wall to the light fixtures. Some are cut perfectly, and some are cracked and frayed. However, even the imperfect marks are cut perfectly with the cutter, reproduced honestly from Amorales’s archive. The initial reaction when entering is one of wonder and delight. This sensation soon turns into a grim one, however, as the gaze moves up to see a concentrated corner near the ceiling. It is far enough that the moths no longer look like cute cut out shapes, but an ominous infestation. It is a strange mixture of emotions because at our eye level (where it is possible to look at these shapes closely), the moths are friendly and non-threatening. Only when we start looking up do the moths start to cover the lights, spill into the second floor as well as entrances; fear emerges. 

Carlos Amorales: Black Cloud

Carlos Amorales: Black Cloud

To the right of Black Cloud is the entrance to Dora Garcia’s work I See Words, I Hear Voices. It’s a highly complex work that investigates relations between individuality and community, with a focus on literature. On the projector plays Garcia’s film The Joycean Society, a 2013 film featuring a group of scholars who congregate to discuss novels by James Joyce. Using every source possible, from personal letters to encyclopedias, the group investigates every word in the novels with scrutiny to analyze Joyce. On the wall is a large drawing of what looks like rough sketch that features figures, mathematical and circular shapes, as well as writing. Overlooking the screen are three tables that contain various archival books, sketches, notes, and mails that Garcia has collected in an attempt to study the relationship between reading and writing. On the last table sits a person, watching a clip on a small TV and writing endless notes in his journal. Near the tables is a blackboard with symbols and definition, which appear in the archived notes on the tables. There are subtitles for the film, which is supposedly placed because the space was very loud and crowded. However, the screen is so large that, in a sitting position, the subtitles are all we see. It takes the focus away from the film itself, so the viewer end up missing a lot of mise-en-scene because the huge white letters steal all the focus. This exhibit should be visited on day not so crowded to fully absorb the atmosphere.

Dora Garcia, The Joycean Society

To the left of Black Cloud and upstairs are video works by Mark Lewis. Invention is a group of shorts shot by Mark Lewis that plays with and examines the architectural details and perspectives in Toronto. Out of the five shorts that he presented in Power Plant, the most effective one is the clip featuring Robarts Library at University of Toronto. The short starts out with a panning shot of the Toronto city scape, then swiftly moves into a window of the library. Digitally mastered to look like one long continuous shot, the camera moves into the window, and once inside it turns around to face the outside. The camera then flips upside down, destabilizing the audience. The sharp corner of the window allows for a dramatic composition as the camera slowly and smoothly floats around, eventually turning back down and re-stabilizing us. His camerawork is effective to the point that I felt nauseated at times, as the undulating sequence plays with my perspective. Even though I was sitting down, it jilted my sense of balance.

Mark Lewis, Invention

Lewis’s other works are highly accomplished as well. Galleria Do Work features a dramatic example of the dolly zoom. Set in a beautiful terrace overlooking an equally beautiful cityscape, the camera moves in while the lens zooms out, causing the shot to warp and distort in the most strange manner.

Mark Lewis, Galleria Do Work

These exhibitions in the Power Plant work to displace the audience. They transport us to another dimension – into a swarm of insects, into the pleasant voices dissecting Joyce, and into the architecture of Toronto like never before. In a highly addicting manner, Power Plant draws us in with the allure of escape.

Text and photo: Sunny Kim

*Exhibition information: Carlos Amorales: Black Cloud, Dora Garcia: I See Words, I Hear Voices, Mark Lewis: Invention,  September 26, 2015 – January 3, 2016, The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Thur 10 a.m. –8 p.m. Open holiday Mondays.

Saturday, October 3, 2015 / from sunset to sunrise

Nuit Blanche is as exciting as ever and all the city is preparing for the events. It is larger this year, so it would be easier to see more shows and performances. It would be an interesting and busy night for thousand of people for sure. Hopefully it wouldn’t rain all night so go out and have fun.

Here are our Picks:

PHIL ANDERSON, publisher:

Silent Knight  / Ekow Nimako, Toronto
50,000 pieces of lego
The Gardiner Museum  (Outdoor Platform)
111 Queen’s Park

Silent Knight by Ekow Nimako,

Beaufort 10: Frio Estudio del Desastre, 2014 / Los Carpinteros
Installation
Exterior of Westin Harbour Castle
1 Harbour Square

Beaufort 10: Frio Estudio del Desastre, 2014 by Los Carpinteros

Music Everywhere I Know I learned the Day My Son Was Born, 2015, / Alfredo Jaar, Santiago de Cuba
Sound Installation
Allan Gardens Conservatory
19 Horticultural Avenue

Music Everywhere I Know I learned the Day My Son Was Born, 2015, / Alfredo Jaar

EMESE KRUNÁK-HAJAGOS, publisher:

Inside Out, 2011 – 2015 / JR – Paris & New York, France & USA
Photography Installation, Interactive Installation
City Hall
100 Queen Street West

Inside Out, 2011 – 2015 by JR

Light Cave, 2014 / Friends WithYou – Los Angeles, USA
Installation
Drake One Fifty (Lower Patio)
150 York Street (Accessible entrance available at 181 University Street.

Light Cave, 2014 by Friends WithYou

Genesis: Memory Lane
Interactive Installation featuring 15 artists and nine stunning large-scale installationsInteractive Installation featuring 15 artists and nine stunning large-scale installation
Spadina Museum
285 Spadina Road (Accessible via the Dupont and St. Clair West Stations. Walk north on Spadina from Dupont or south on Spadina from St. Clair)

Genesis: Memory Lane

STEVE ROCKWELL, publisher:

Time of the Empress, 2012 / Aziz + Cucher – New York City, USA
New Media Installation
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
252 Bloor Street West (Best viewed from across the street, on Bloor Street and Devonshire Place, next to Varsity Stadium)

Time of the Empress, 2012 by Aziz + Cucher

Music Everywhere I Know I learned the Day My Son Was Born, 2015, / Alfredo Jaar, Santiago de Cuba
Sound Installation
Allan Gardens Conservatory
19 Horticultural Avenue

Untitled, 2015 / Tania Bruguera – Havana, Cuba
Decontextualization of an action, Stage, Podium.
College Street & University Avenue – outdoors

Untitled, 2015 by Tania Bruguera

SUNNY KIM, writer/photographer:

Pastiche has been a prevalent creative motif in artistic oeuvres throughout the postmodern era, producing a wide variety of knowingly referential and nostalgic works. From Quentin Tarantino’s cinematic quotation of seventies B-movie affairs, to Yasumasa Morimura’s parodies of classic Western portraiture, artists have appropriated earlier stylistic motifs for newer, more contemporary audiences. Stephen Appleby-Barr’s solo exhibition Sigillum, on now at the Nicholas Metivier gallery, continues this tradition of quotation by consciously synthesizing aesthetic movements throughout art history in this collection of uncanny yet oddly familiar paintings.

Stephen Appleby-Barr, The Pale Path, 2015, oil on linen, 60 x 66 inches. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Appleby-Barr’s expressive brushwork is undoubtedly reminiscent of revered seventeenth and eighteenth-century painters including Velázquez, Rembrandt and Goya. His images are rendered in a slightly painterly fashion; yet retain the verisimilitude that defined the artistic production of yore. With regards to subject matter, Appleby-Barr’s images cite Napoleonic equestrian portraiture, eerie still life compositions of the baroque, and surrealist fantasia as explicit reference points. Furthermore, his canvases range in size, from the hierarchal monumentality of traditional history painting; to more decorative and modestly scaled compositions of post-Reformation Dutch art. This effortless blending of technique and thematic preoccupation showcases the artist’s deep understanding and reverence towards his artistic predecessors, and their formative influence on the production of artworks within the exhibition. 

Stephen Appleby-Barr, Felipe, 2015, oil on linen, 50 x 40 inches. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Stephen Appleby-Barr, Bird Rider, 2015, oil on linen, 96 x 72 inches. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery

The artist’s blending of aesthetic tropes allows his paintings to transcend beyond any specific era or oeuvre his work may bring to mind. Human heads are often replaced with those of animals or other non-mortal configurations, rendering their corporeal presence bizarre and otherworldly. An equestrian figure decked in military garb is placed in a fantastical landscape, enabling the seemingly historical connotations of the image to become obsolete. Appleby-Barr also incorporates his artist friends into the mix, showcasing contemporary subject matter fashioned in a more traditional manner of representation.

Stephen Appleby-Barr, Jessica, 2015, oil on linen, 40 x 32 inches. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Stephen Appleby-Barr, Flowers and Skull, 2015, oil on linen, 14 x 12 inches. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Throughout Sigillum, Appleby-Barr keeps his tongue firmly planted in cheek, allowing a sense of playfulness and wit to permeate throughout the exhibition. His awareness of past artistic trends and tropes has provided a wealth of inspiration for this uncanny collection of images, which dually act as thematically succinct collection contemporary artworks, and a whimsical art history lesson.

David Saric

*Exhibition information: September 17 – October 10, 2015, Nicholas Metivier Gallery 451 King Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Sat, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Walk Among the World by Maximo Gonzalez, Nuit Blanche, 2014. Photo: Phil Anderson

Saturday, October 3, 2015, sunset to sunrise
Various locations in Toronto
Free all-night contemporary art event

The 10th edition of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche will feature more than 60 contemporary art projects by Toronto’s art community and four curated exhibitions produced by the City of Toronto.

Exhibition Projects produced by the City of Toronto

Under the direction of four curators, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche features more than 45 public art projects by local, national and international artists.

HTUOS/HTRON – College Street/University of Toronto

Curated by Agustin Pérez Rubio, you’ll find 12 exhibition projects stretching from the University of Toronto and College Street over to Carlton and Jarvis Streets.

Black and White Night – City Hall / Bay Street

Internationally acclaimed artist JR presents the event’s first-ever artist exhibition in and around City Hall and down Bay Street.

The Work of Wind / Waterfront (Parliament Street to Harbourfront Centre)

Join curator Christine Shaw with 13 projects unfurling the 13 Beaufort wind forces along the Waterfront between Parliament Street and Harbourfront Centre.

10 for 10th – Memory Lane / 10 Cultural Organizations

Curated by Che Kothari, this exhibition features 10 projects co-produced by the City of Toronto in partnership with 10 of Toronto’s cultural organizations.

Independent Projects produced by Toronto’s art community

Toronto artists, cultural and educational institutions, museums, galleries and neighbourhoods participate in Scotiabank Nuit Blanche each year by producing their own one-of-a-kind projects that transform the city.

For locations and more information please go to http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/.

Guests at the Opening Night Party. Photo: Andrew Williamson

September 19 & 20, 2015
Opening Night Party: September 19, 2015 / 7 p.m.
99 Sudbury, Toronto

Five independent art galleries came together this past weekend for the launch of the new art fair SURFACE. As I moved through the participating galleries during my visit it was obvious each gallery was very clear and passionate about the point of the fair: to work together and see how powerful that outcome of teamwork could be. It was a great vibe for the emerging art fair. As Johnny Hollick from #Hashtag Gallery said to me about one of his expectations, “Wouldn’t it be fun to throw a little party, put up our cool stuff, listen to music, and invite all our friends. That’s how it should be.” And that’s how it was.

Johnny Hollick, Co-director of #Hashtag Gallery. Photo: Carter Brown

It was lovely to talk to each gallery owner and hear the stories of all their different relationships with one another for their coming together in collaboration. Such journeys as one owner who knew this person from another gallery at SURFACE numerous years ago, lost touch, then later reconnected and came together for this project. I learned another connection between galleries is completely new as a result of SURFACE but the combination of each separate gallery resulted in the provision of new knowledge as well as a whole new network of connections.

Guests at the Opening Night Party. Photo: Carter Brown

The harmonious fellowship seems to have been favorable for all galleries and their artists that ought to inspire others to do the same. Creative Blueprint’s Ashley Proctor stresses that the determination of SURFACE is collaboration rather than competition. She says, “We all have different networks and when you put people together in a room really magical stuff happens.” I found this shared positivity, that was the soul of the fair, infectious. Ashley also discussed her idea that SURFACE is meant to be an experiment, which she hopes will turn into example of what can be achieved when you reach out to other galleries in your community to see what happens.

 Ashley Proctor, Director of Creative Blueprint, in front of their space. Photo: Carter Brown

From my experience, SURFACE’s début weekend was a great success. The opening party was energetic with good company, music, and a fun surprise dance act. The notion of focusing on converging gallery and artist interests was strongly communicated by this tightknit community. Devan Patel, from Project Gallery, expressed to attendees in a small thank you speech, “All of these galleries, we are trying to do the same thing, which is usher in the new era of contemporary art and emerging art so thank you for being here and supporting that.”

Devan Patel, Co-director of Project Gallery. Photo: Carter Brown

 Johnny Hollick (left) and Andrew Williamson, Director of  The Black Cat Artspace (right) speaking to crowd. Photo: Carter Brown

Guests at the Opening Night Party. Photo: Andrew Williamson

Carter Brown

September 19 & 20, 2015
Opening Night Party: September 19, 2015 / 7 p.m.
Exhibition: Sunday September 20, 2015 / 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
99 Sudbury, Toronto

Installation view

On the weekend of September 19th, 99 Sudbury, a renovated warehouse and event space in the West Queen West neighbourhood, served as the venue for SURFACE: a self-proclaimed “alternative art fair and party” intended to showcase five emerging local galleries. This two-day event ran only until the 2oth, and included an opening party and reception that allowed visitors to acquaint themselves with Toronto based independent galleries, artists, and their supporters. Presented by The Black Cat Artspace, featured galleries included: Graven Feather, Project Gallery, Creative Blueprint, and #Hashtag Gallery. Curatorial decisions were left up to the exhibitors, and works on display ran the gamut from sculpture, to installation, to photography, mixed media, and paintings.

Graven Feather

The Black Cat Artspace

The atmosphere at the opening reception was relatively relaxed, and as the night wore on visitors continued to stream steadily in to the venue. Participating galleries were allocated individual installation spaces and were spread out along the walls of the venue, utilizing temporary partitions to hang work and to divide the room evenly.

#Hashtag Gallery

Creative Blueprint

Although the focus of the fair was largely on getting to know the faces behind some of Toronto’s most promising emerging contemporary art galleries, much of the work on display came also from emerging local artists, including pieces by: Stella Cade, Erin Loree, Sang-Jin Lee, Callen Schuab, Eugene Paunil, and Andrew Patterson, among many others.

Project Gallery

Erin Candela, co-owner and director of Graven Feather (a gallery and exhibition venue with an in-house print shop located on Queen St. West) was understandably excited about the evening’s events and suggested that the fair itself was a great way to showcase local artistic talent as well as an opportunity to reach out to the general public. Co-director of Project Gallery Devan Patel had similar sentiments, and stated that SURFACE was not only a chance to reach out to the public, but also for the featured gallerists to get to know each other and to build community in a positive and friendly atmosphere. 

Installation view

Text: Madeleine Till. Photo: Andrew Williamson

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, Earth’s first satellite. What followed was a half century of unparalleled technological innovations (ensuing from the often deadly competition between the two world superpowers) that spurred globalization and allowed us to see the world in completely new ways…literally. In addition to connecting humanity via the Internet and other communications technology, digital imaging could accomplish in minutes what explorers and cartographers took years to finish, and to even greater effect and accessibility. Linda Heffernan’s exhibition, entitled Are we there yet?, captures this phenomenon expertly, as if the canvases were mapping entire regions themselves.

Linda Heffernan, Map A3, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 24″

Heffernan creatively utilizes acrylic paint alongside construction materials such as wire fencing to mimic the digital aesthetic, mapping the Official Plan Review of Clarington and the Highway 407 East Project. The paint envelopes the mesh to create an almost perfect grid pattern on the canvas. The result is a pixelated surface which when combined with the cool, synthetic palette of transitioning gradients of blue, encapsulates a computer screen perfectly. However, it extends this phenomenon even further by giving a three-dimensional texture to an otherwise flattened technology; it compels you to reach forth and feel the pixels, rather than just seeing them. The tones of blue and white represent differences in the land elevation as they would be captured by the satellite. Through her clever manipulation of the mediums, Heffernan gives character to technology that many today would simply take for granted.

Linda Heffernan 1, Map F, view from the front (left) and view from the side (right), acrylic on canvas, 48″ x 48″

In contrast, Kim Stanford’s Trichotillomania distances itself from the intricacies of modern technology, instead embracing “repeating yet divine banalities like other people’s dirty socks.” Her works consist of assemblages of mundane materials, such as socks, wire, and broken branches, reworked to create unique objects in of themselves. They lose their corporeal form and purpose to become something unrealistic – fragments of a surreal scape – but still originating from routine practices.

Kim Stanford, My Favorite is Pinky-Purple, root, socks, tape, natural gemstones, rickrack, acrylic paint and medium, glue,  19″ x 14″ x 10″

Her work, “My Favorite Color is Pinky Purple,” consists of overlapping layers of patterned socks, encased in  a layer of sugar glaze to harden the fabric and suspending them in certain positions while emitting a subtle sheen to highlight the colors. Strands of wax-covered roots protrude from the openings of the socks, as if in the process of being reclaimed by nature. This work, along with the rest of her exhibition, “is inspired by her routine of plucking unwanted facial hair every day after day after year.” Visualizing this prosaic activity and suspending it in mid-air, the outcome is almost ethereal, like a manifestation in a dream. The other works, consisting of gem-encrusted wood and branches bound in blackened sugar wax, contribute even more to the notion of an illusory landscape. What was once seemingly insignificant assumes a new alien form. Looking at them, one can recall the nightmarish scenes depicted by artists like Dali, Miro, and Ernst, except here the possibilities are much more open-ended. They are more components of a landscape, giving the viewer a degree of interpretation in visualizing their own surreal world.

Kim Stanford, The Evolution of Microtactics, wax, wire armature, dimensions variable & You Have to Pull Yourself Out By the Root, root, steel, vinyl ribbon, natural gemstones, acrylic paint and medium, glue, 14″ x 9″ x 8″

Text and photo: Simon Termine

*Exhibition information: September 12 – October 4, 2015, loop Gallery, 1273 Dundas Street West, Toronto, (three doors west of Dovercourt). Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 5, Sun 1 – 4 p.m.

 

Guests at the Opening Reception. Courtesy of Yumart

Gallery Director, Yvonne Whelan. Photo: Sunny Kim

In the basement of 401 Richmond there is an atmospheric gallery space, Yumart’s new place. Gallery Director, Yvonne Whelan sits at her desk with soft jazz playing, welcoming visitors to her inaugural exhibition at the new location: Tim Deverell’s solo show. It is the perfect music to accompany the art since Deverell’s works carry a deceptive musicality through his vibrating and eclectic use of colour.

Installation view. Photo: Sunny Kim

Installation view. Photo: Sunny Kim

Amidst the faint new paint smell large and small works are hanging on the walls by Deverell, some paintings but mostly collages. As always, the works are numbered starting from the entrance. “Berkeley #3” is a small collage with fancy, colourful marks. Whether the background music was chosen with the works in mind or not, we feel that the music flows from and through these works. “Berkeley #3” carries a tone suggesting that the collage was spontaneously done during a song, but a closer look reveals that it could not have been a spontaneous making. This small work is covered with little pieces of cut-out images that exemplify the tediousness present in most of Deverell’s works. However interesting are the cut-outs, the most fascinating is the way they were cut and the empty spaces in between them. The ideology of found images become void here with the absence of the image while nonetheless reminding us of its presence.

Tim Deverell, Berkeley #3, 2015, 9 x 8 inches, gouache/collage on paper. Courtesy of Yumart

“Ways of Being” is perhaps the most indicative of Deverell’s style. From a distance, this piece radiates a sense of comfort, with its bright colours and flowing movements. However, what hides underneath is violence, sexuality, corporeality and the word ‘curator’. There is always a layer of deception with nice things to hide the ugliness of the world. Perhaps this is Deverell’s attempt to curate the world as he sees it.

Tim Deverell, Ways of Being, 2015, 29 x 17.5 inches, oil/collage on canvas. Courtesy of Yumart

In Deverell’s collages are hints of futility, dissatisfaction, and messiness. His paintings are more resolved, more confident, more internal, and perhaps more personal. Rather than portraying his external surroundings like in his collages, “Dense Square” exist more as an independent and internal source of energy and emotion. Not necessarily a positive emotion per se, but it seems to be more focused. It is a small 10 x 10 inches square with thick application of paint. Looking at it, we get a similar feeling as looking at a box full of crawling insects – the paint constantly moves, causing physical and visceral discomfort. It draws our eyes in deeper and deeper, until looking at it becomes a kind of meditation. “Dense Square” contains everything possible, all the colours and marks – so it seems that nothing exist outside of the painting.

Tim Deverell, Dense Square, 2007, 10 x 10 inches, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of Yumart

Yumart has succeeded in keeping the comfort of its former location, while moving to a larger and more approachable space. The new gallery is a wonderful place to explore the emotions of Deverell’s pieces. It is easy to forget about time here, and lose yourself in Deverell’s works since they have an enveloping presence with their own time.

Installation view with guests. Courtesy of Yumart

Sunny Kim

*Exhibition information: Tim Deverell, Collage Paintings, September 10 – October 3, 2015, 401 Richmond Street West, Suite B 20, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 6 p.m.

Karen Harding with her bronze sculpture, Galaxiana

Opening Reception: September 10, 2015 / 6:30 p.m.
Canadian Sculpture Centre

Accomplished sculptor Karen Harding’s retrospective exhibition of works in bronze, encaustic and mixed-media explore inner reality through outer allusion / illusion.

Guests

Masks by Karen Harding. Photo: Peter Virün

The Canadian Sculpture Centre was packed on that warm Thursday evening by fiends of Karen Harding and sculpture lovers. Peter Lisinski, Pastor, Advent Lutheran Church gave Opening Remarks and introduced Karen at her show.

From left to right: Rosarie & Peter Lisinski, Pastor, Advent Lutheran Church and Susan & Bill Dunsmoor, CEO, All-Weld – who fabricated Karen Harding’s 8ft stainless steel sculpture , “Jubilee Peace Globe” for the Advent Lutheran Church, Don Mills.

As she wrote in her artist statement, “Magical, mystical masks invite us into the world of imaginary beings while examining the complexities of the underlying persona. Although historically, masks have been used to hide or to disguise, they can be made to render whole or complete that which appears divided. Thus is achieved a harmonization of the dichotomy of the individual beyond what the world sees and knows of us.”

Karen Harding with friends

Photo: Judi Michelle Young

*Exhibition information: September 9 – October 2, 2015, Canadian Sculpture Centre, 500 Church Street. Gallery hours: Tue – Fri: 12 – 6, Sat: 11 – 4 p.m.

**Note: Karen Harding will be part of Canadian Art Gallery Hop on Saturday, September 26, 2015 and will give an Artist Talk at 2 p.m.