Author: artoronto

Shaun Downey, In the Afternoon, 2014, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches. © Shaun Downey / Courtesy of Bau-Xi Gallery

Have you ever felt lonely and empty in your own home?

When I visited Bau-Xi Gallery, in the middle of March, this painting really moved me above all others. I think that many of us could relate to it. The woman in the painting seems to be dressed for an occasion. She has been waiting for something – perhaps for someone – feeling sad, lonely, and left behind. Maybe she was with someone the night before. It is “In the Afternoon” and she is definitely waiting. Her facial expression captures an emotion of loneliness – she is not frowning but she seems to be totally alienated in this lovely bedroom.

The details in this canvas really capture the emotions that the artist wants to convey. The bold shadows used in the room to make it look dark, the highlights in the window to show a ray of sunshine coming in – emphasizes the emptiness and darkness of the room. She is not looking towards the light that’s coming in, but searching for something in the darkness. The room seems to be very empty, almost as if it is a representation of how she feels inside. The use of browns and whites gives the painting a very subtle look.

Still, she sits waiting.

Rumaisa Baqa

If you enjoy the prospect of revisiting your childhood sense of wonder while picking your way through the vibrant, unadulterated dreamscape of an artist’s imagination, visit Souther Salazar’s Attic Transmissions at Narwhal.

Souther Salazar, Spare Parts, 2015, acrylic, ink, crayon, and collage on wood panel, 31.5 x 13.5 x 2.5 inches, framed.

While living in Scrapper’s Attic, Salazar developed a method of piecing together his fragmented doodles to form larger systems by tuning in to his own frequencies of intuitive, creative inspiration. Thus, we have Attic Transmissions. Each system of overlapping narratives has been contextualised and splashed enthusiastically onto single surfaces, illustrating spur-of-the-moment adventures. Salazar layers mixed media and found objects in his energetic collages and paintings.

Souther Salazar, Little Wild Ideas, 2015, watercolor, ink, and collage on paper, 11.5 x 8.5 x 1.25 inches, framed

His work is full of wildly playful doodles and sketches, similar to what you might have expected to find in your own high school notebooks from math class. But the way that the wild and varied images are brought together, maintaining a visual balance and context while continuing to appear spontaneous, is masterful and unique. Everything is harmonious. As reflected in his artworks, Salazar has managed to navigate the landscapes of his imagination and memory with ease, archiving dreams, impulses, experiences and fragments of thought into cohesive systems.

Souther Salazar, Look Again, 2015, acrylic, ink, crayon, and collage on wood panel,  24.5 x 18.5 x 2.5 inches, framed.

I find Salazar’s work to be nostalgic of the illustrations in picture books I used to read as a child. Like Salazar’s artwork, images were meant to spark the imagination and transport viewers to a land of escapism. The narratives of his work are anything but nailed down. When I see “Some Forgotten Corner of the Universe”, I don’t know if I am viewing a giant galactic space turtle or an exploratory underwater mission. And that is the beauty of it. When exploring an image with a childlike sensibility, things don’t need to make sense in one solitary way and there are no boundaries. Multiple narratives can unfold simultaneously in a piece, somehow still appearing connected to one another. In Salazar’s artwork, I enjoy stories that unfurl all over and all at once. His goal of getting me back in touch with my ability to access childlike curiosity and wonder was definitely realised.

Souther Salazar, Some Forgotten Corner of the Universe, 2015, acrylic, ink, crayon, and collage on wood panel, 61.5 x 37.5 x 2.5 inches, framed.

This is art that is not afraid to be fun, and I love that.

Souther Salazar, Edge of Remembering, 2015, acrylic, ink, crayon, and collage on wood panel, 25.5 x 37.5 x 2.5 inches, framed

Souther Salazar, Attic Transmission, 2015, acrylic, ink, crayon, and collage on wood panel, 25.5 x 25.5 x2.5 inches, framed

Text and photo: Emily Kovacs

*Exhibition information: March 28 – April 25, 2015, Narwhal, 2104 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 6 p.m.

When walking into Ryerson Image Center’s Burn With Desire exhibition the viewer is immediately faced with the colorful iconic silkscreens of Marilyn Monroe famously done by Andy Warhol. Hanging across from Warhol’s pop-prints is Richard Avedon’s famous black and white print accompanied by several Gene Daniels’s images of Monroe at the 1962 Golden Globes. This first room, entirely devoted to the Monroe and her glamourous lifestyle, conflates the commercialization of Warhol’s images with the reality of Hollywood.

The Entrance to Burn With Desire with Collection of Marilyn Monroe silkscreens by Andy Warhol, 1967

Portraits of Marilyn Monroe by Richard Avedon (left) and Gene Daniels (right)

Glamour, the subject of RIC’s exhibition, is evident not only in the featured images of Monroe, or the prints of Annie Leibovitz and Edward Steichen, but also in the production of the images. Titled Photography and Glamour, I would argue that photography is as much the star as Marilyn herself. In his 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Walter Benjamin wrote, “In photography, exhibition value begins to displace cult value all along the line…. It is no accident that the portrait was the focal point of early photography. The cult of remembrance of loved ones, absent or dead, offers a last refuge for the cult value of the picture.” Photography became a tool to capture the stars, to immortalize them. The veneration of the celebrity was a crucial facet of twentieth century photographers, even in the fictionalized film stills of Cindy Sherman.

Still from Warhol’s Screen Tests, 1965 (left), Unknown Artists Portraits of celebrities (center) and Nan Goldin, Kathleen at the Bowery Bar, 1995 (right)

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Stills, #14, #50, #10, 19, 1978

On loan from the Art Gallery of Ontario, five Cindy Sherman untitled film stills accompany the images of famous celebrities. In her fictionalized narratives Sherman takes on the role of a Hollywood starlet. Representing the narrative of glamour, Sherman represents the women pictured across from her.

Mickalene Thomas, Sandra: She is a beauty, 2012 (left) and Portrait of Qusuquzah, 2008 (right)

Paired with Burn with Desire, the RIC’s second exhibition, Anti-Glamour is set as a foil for the decorated celebrities in the main exhibition. Anti-Glamour features contemporary works that challenge the decorated adornment of celebrities. Rebecca Belmore’s Fringe (2008), one of the gallery’s most powerful images, hangs isolated near the wall text. A woman lies on her back with a deep gash; her wounds bring the viewer back into the real world representing the violence against aboriginal women throughout time.

The Entrance to Anti-Glamour

Ange Leccia, Nymphéa, 2007, video still (left) and Works of Jo Spence (right) 

Rebecca Belmore’s Fringe, 2008

What Anti-Glamour seems to do then is contrast glamour with reality, providing grounding for the unattainable lifestyles featured in Burn with Desire. Both shows at the Ryerson Image Center feature strong photographic works of women with agency, yet at two polarities, forcing the viewer to face reality with the cult images of glamour past.

Text and photo: Brinae Bain

*Exhibition information: Burn With Desire: Photography and Glamour and Anti-Glamour: Portraits of Women, January 21-April 5, 2015, Ryerson Image Center,  33 Gould Street, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue, Thurs & Fri 11 – 6, Wed 11 – 8, Sat & Sun 12 – 5 p.m.

Contemporary British painter, printmaker, and avid collector Howard Hodgkin has described the collecting of fine art as both “a way of being” and “an illness.” His first encounter in 1964 with a sixteenth century Indian painting left Hodgkin lovesick for the country’s vibrant culture, history, and land. Annual visits to India ever since have elicited an impressive personal collection of works from the Mughal Empire, a vast number of which are currently making their North American debut at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

Durbar of Akbar Shah II, Delhi, India, 1820–30, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. The collection of Howard Hodgkin © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

In Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin, works are organized thematically to underscore the various components of Indo-Persian society, culture, and religion. A series of royal portraits, such as the above painting of Jodhpur’s Maharaja Bakhat Singh, highlight the preeminence of such rulers of the time. Here, the Maharaja— a Hindi term translating into Great King— is portrayed in the classic profile position while his garments and surroundings boast of rich hues, gold embellishment, and floral motifs. Such elaborate decoration is characteristic of Mughal art, appearing throughout much of Hodgkin’s collection.

Maharaja Bakhat Singh of Nagaur, Jodhpur,Rajasthan, India,ca.1735, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. The collection of Howard Hodgkin © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A string of action-packed paintings from the Rajasthani court illustrate riveting epics and myths set in lush palace gardens. Intricately designed, these works of art encourage the viewer to bury his or herself into the historic narrative each painting offers. A sequence of portraits depicting elephants in violent combat (a sort of pastime for the Mughals), small yet impactful paintings of flora and fauna native to the land, and works which explore the cultural and spiritual implications of music, account for some of the other themes the exhibition explores.

Maharaja Raj Singh and His Elephants, Sawar, Rajasthan, India, 1710–15, brush drawing with pigment on paper. The collection of Howard Hodgkin © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

There is something truly remarkable about experiencing Hodgkin’s collection in this particular gallery space. Perhaps it is the way in which the sun’s rays stream through the museum’s hexagonal skylights, or the dim echoes of Persian poetry which resonate from the permanent collection below. The exhibition exudes certain je ne sais quoi, inexplicable even for Hodgkin, “In Indian painting I have found much that for me could be found nowhere else, but I cannot tell you what—I can only metaphorically wave my arms at the pictures—and say ‘look!’”

From left to right: A Court Beauty, attributed to Chokha, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1805–10, opaque watercolour with gold and silver on cotton cloth. Botanical Study of a Composite Flower, Mughal, northern India, ca. 1630, opaque watercolour on paper. The collection of Howard Hodgkin © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Standout doorways brilliantly painted to resemble the traditional Mughal arch invite visitors into an adjoining gallery space. Inspired by India: Paintings by Howard Hodgkin features eight contemporary works which highlight the artist’s some fifty year communion with India’s diverse geography. His enticing works serve as abstract interpretations of land, sea, and the changing of seasons.

Howard Hodgkin, Autumn in Bombay, 2010–14, oil on wood. Photograph by Sean Weaver, The Aga Khan Museum ©Howard Hodgkin, 2015. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.

Hodgkin’s works are spirited, characterized by invigorating colour applied wildly to the support. Despite their rather modest scale the paintings are unruly, showing an utter disregard for the confines of the frame. His 2014 oil painting entitled ‘Indian Summer’ demonstrates Hodgkin’s boundless passion for a land that is so dear to him.

Howard Hodgkin, In the Garden of the Bombay Museum, 1978-1982, oil on wood. Photograph by Sean Weaver, The Aga Khan Museum ©Howard Hodgkin, 2015. Private Collection, Switzerland

Dynamic works of intaglio printed on Indian khadi paper are also included in the exhibition. Such pieces of art demonstrate the impact India has had on Hodgkin’s work, not only thematically but in his utilization of authentic materials.

Hodgkin’s expressive pieces, in combination with his majestic collection of Mughal paintings, work cohesively to offer visitors two distinct but equally relevant perspectives of a culturally rich nation.

Vanessa Zeoli

*Exhibition information: Visions Of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin and Inspired by India: Paintings by Howard Hodgkin, February 21 – June 21, 2015, The Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive at Don Mills and Eglinton, Toronto. Museum hours: Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

April 9 – 18, 2015
Various locations in Toronto

Established in 1987, the Images Festival is the largest festival in North America for experimental and independent moving image culture, showcasing the innovative edge of international contemporary media art both on and off the screen. Images has presented thousands of vanguard media-based projects in its 28-year history and is committed to an expanded concept of film and video practice: Alongside film and video screenings (ON SCREEN), the festival presents groundbreaking live performances (LIVE IMAGES), media art installations (OFF SCREEN) in local galleries and new media projects by many renowned Canadian and international artists. Images provides audiences with an annual extravaganza of contemporary moving image culture.

For detailed information for events and exhibitions please go to http://www.imagesfestival.com/calendar.php.

In Jennifer Murphy’s fifth exhibition at Clint Roenisch Gallery, she collaborates with Eli Langer, to exhibit their new series in a harmonious fashion. The Toronto and California based artists were inspired by a trip to the Institute of Mentalphysics, located in Joshua Tree, California. The Institute is a 700 foot long building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his son Lloyd in 1946, and was named the Caravansary of Joy. Mentalphysics is based on philosopher Ding Le Mei’s philosophy that the mind created reality. Murphy and Langer carry out the idea with their compact cohesive pieces, dispersed in a rhythmic way throughout the gallery.

Clint Roenisch Gallery is conveniently split up into two spaces. The smaller front gallery houses Langer’s approximately tabloid sized paintings. At first glance they appear abstract, but distinct shapes form when given time. Muddy patches of colour, light washes and brush textures adorn the paintings. Each one mostly different, yet uniform and hung in a straight queue on the right side of the wall, with the exception of one that hung lower.

Eli Langer, Feminine Figure, 2015, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

On the opposite acute angled wall, three paintings hung by hinges. The hinges were placed behind the paintings, letting the paintings protrude out on the left side, approximately 30 degrees away from the wall. Angled works in an angled wall, creating an obscure effect. They appear to be floating off the wall. Reminiscent of open windows. If the mind created reality, then these paintings must be a reminder that our eyes are windows.

Eli Langer, Apothecary, 2015, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

Installation view, Eli Langer, Caravansary of Joy. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

The light and colourful abstract figures are a departure from Langer’s better known dark and reduced colour palettes. The exception being a solitary work, hung at the end of the room, near the entrance to Murphy’s collages, a black canvas with sparse blue and white gestures.

On the adjacent wall towards Murphy’s exhibit, hangs a large framed collage of women with flowers. What follows is an assortment of rhythmic assemblages, wrapping all four walls, breaking at the door frame. The pieces flow in a rhythmic wave.

Murphy’s collages consists of connected lines with contrasting elements. Her common vocabulary that she has exhibited before, is a selection of foxes, snakes, birds, flowers, leaves, mummies, and vintage portraits of women. She finds these glossy clippings in various books and magazines, avoiding the internet. The images are delicately arranged, fusing animals together, or finishing a figure with plants and leaves. Each piece has an endearing style to them, yet carry a diabolical Frankenstein experiment feeling of various natural elements coming together. Regardless of how extreme are the parts, the outcome is strikingly beautiful.

Jennifer Murphy, Caravansary of Joy, detail. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

Jennifer Murphy, Caravansary of Joy, detail. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery 

Jennifer Murphy, Caravansary of Joy, detail. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery 

In the middle of the room, colourful and playful elongated sculptures rest on a slightly elevated, glossy black sheet. Made of crafty supplies like stacked spools of thread, yarn, and painted sticks whose ends sprout double sided flower cut outs. One of them included an old style wooden pallet that an artist might use to paint.

Installation view, Jennifer Murphy, Caravansary of Joy. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

Jennifer Murphy, Caravansary of Joy, detail. Photo: Jimmy Limit. Courtesy of Clint Roenisch Gallery

Jennifer Murphy and Eli Langer have created their own natural inspired reality in Roenisch’s space, inviting strangers to explore and investigate their  intricate pieces. They are closely marrying themes of craft and painting, letting the context of the gallery bring it to a fine art level.

Tetyana Herych

*Exhibition information: March 19 – April 25, 2015, Clint Roenisch Gallery, 190 St. Helens Avenue, Toronto.

Graven Feather was established in 2011 and is currently run by artists Erin Candela, who comes from a background in painting and illustration and Pam Lobb, whose specialization is print making. The cozy gallery is located on 906 Queen Street West and is definitely worth a visit, or two. Graven Feather is a very interactive space for artists. It is not only a place to exhibit art; the gallery also offers retail, artist residencies and workshops including letterpress card workshops, linocut workshops and many more!

Gallery co-founder, artist, Pam Lobb in the workshop area. Photo: Rumaisa Baqa

Graven Feather offers an open call for submissions for artwork. Artists can do a residency for four weeks and are also able to rent the gallery for exhibitions. If you are an upcoming artist, this is definitely a great place to check out.

While Graven Feather’s main focus is print making, they welcome artists from all walks such as painting, photography, among other artistic mediums. Currently, the gallery is exhibiting Natalie Draz’s work titled and the city we held together.

Installation view. Photo: Pam Lobb 

The first thing I’ve noticed was that Draz’s work consists of a lot of experimenting, she is not your average artist. She uses mediums anywhere from watercolor on canvas to free hand filament drawing. Her work focused on city landscapes, perspective and “investigates potential parallels between drawing, body and buildings.” A large piece, titled “Inner city”, walks as through a very crowded street in Montreal. The central part is clearly recognizable with a Marche restaturant. The sides are combinations of many buildings, residential and industrial, compressed together in a collage like composition. Originally it was made as an etching – and indeed you can see the delicate lines and aquatint tones – then blown up and transfered into canvas. The artist cut it out, following the outlines of the composition. It is monumental, mounted on the wall – when the wall itself, showing throug the cut out places, becomes part of the composition – a strange mixture of old and modern techniques.

Natalie Draz, Inner City, intaglio digitally printed on canvas, edition of 5. Photo: Rumaisa Baqa

The next, main wall is loosely covered with 3D plastic lines in between two towers. Instead of using a printer pen, Draz used freehand drawing with a heat gun, a very innovative way to use the material and think outside the box. At first I’ve thought, here we are, Montreal and Toronto, connected. Not really, but close enough, since the title is “Telephone Line”. The towers are actually telephone poles and the shadows cast by the lines on the wall smartly display the nature of it: past, going fast, follow the lines of my places is dangerous and so on.

Natalie Draz, Telephone Line, filament drawing. Photo: Pam Lobb

The two pop up books placed in the middle of the gallery are fascinating. They called “Intersections” one is “Montreal” and the other is “Toronto”. Draz started with small watercolor compositions where she combines buildings in an unusual perspective, coming out of the centre and developing their unique characters in a radius. They are very delicate and beautiful. Then again they are enlarged and turned into a different medium to create a pop up book. Apparently for “Intersections” Draz had interviewed people and asked them about their daily routine and commute around the city; where they go, what they see. She considers these pop up books as non representational portraits of people since it is based on their perspectives. After putting on the cotton gloves I started to explore “Intersections: Toronto” with an excitement I felt as a child with pop ups. All the paintings are beautiful, following the watercolors but in a more contrasted way. Draz is really good with scissors, they are many more cut outs, making the pieces richer in their visuality. I try to find some places and buildings I know, I passed by, so they could became part of my own story too. As the artist stated, “Can a building stand in for a memory? Can a body contain a world? Is a place also a text block? For me, a drawing can be an embodiment of my interior world…Grounded in the reality of my recognizable surroundings, the places I inhabit become compilations of myth, truth and reality.”  Indeed, there are endless possibilities for narratives in this show.

Natalie Draz, Intersections: Montreal, pop up book,of drawings & watercolour. Edition of 5. Photo: Rumaisa Baqa

Natalie Draz, Intersections: Toronto, pop up book,of drawings & watercolour. Edition of 5. Photo: Pam Lobb

Graven Feather also has a pop shop for this exhibition as well as a for their own crafts. Prices start from just $5 and Draz’s original, small size works start from $40.

Rumaisa Baqa

*Exhibition information: March 5 – 28, 2015, Graven Feather, 906 Queen Street West. Gallery hours: Thur – Sat 12 – 7 p.m.

I met Judi Michelle Young, president of the Sculptors Society of Canada, at their 500 Church Street gallery on a Tuesday afternoon. I was interested in talking to her about the society and the Canadian Sculpture Centre’s current exhibition of contemporary portraiture, Eyes of March. What I got from our conversation was that and much more. Judi was interested in sharing highlights of the neighborhood’s architectural history, her experience of the evolution of our city’s fashion and art scenes and we discovered so many things in common.

Al Green, Squatting Woman, bronze

The Sculptors Society of Canada is entering its 88th year. The fantastic thing is the inclusivity of the society. Sculptors need not work in a prescribed medium, approach, or subject matter to be considered for membership or being part of group exhibitions like this one. They have not been in their Church Street location for long, perhaps 4 years. It is a lovely space, albeit tiny for the society’s big ambitions. Natural light enters the space through floor to ceiling street-view windows. The gallery’s design is maximizes the modest room; there are two floor levels in the open gallery space.

Elaine Jaques, “V”, aluminous cement

Once a year, the Canadian Sculpture Centre holds a themed exhibition featuring portraiture and figuration. This year’s has been coined, Eyes of March, a theme that is interesting and provoking, yet inclusive of all members. Members submitted two to three pieces each, depending on size and all mediums were  accepted, from traditional stone to whatever else you can think of. Eyes of March features 20 works in wood, stone, bronze, clay, aluminous cement, gypsum cement, and terra cotta by 10 sculptors.

Camie Geary-Martin, Fractured, bronze

Judi tours me around the gallery, offering tidbits of information on the artists and their works as we go. Al Green, who generously sponsors the Church Street location, has three small figurative bronzes in the show. Master carver, Gordon Becker works heavily in the film industry carving props in urethane foam, Judi tells me. The soft, living fleshiness that he evokes in his graceful walnut dancer balanced on her steel and aluminum stand amazes me. At the risk of sounding silly, her clavicle really takes my breath away. I decide that it is my favorite piece.

Gordon Becker, City Dancer, black walnut, steel, aluminum

Camie Geary-Martin is known for working in bronze and the two fascinating figurative pieces in Eyes of March are testaments to why. Her work is downright emotive. Elaine Jaques is showing two sculptures in aluminous cement, one fragmented bust captures my attention and holds it. I am interested in the juxtaposition of raw and polished alabaster in Elizabeth Merei’s pieces. Her Mexican alabaster is nearly translucent and truly glows. In her work, I am reminded why the vibrancy and variance of natural stone never ceases to amaze me. Peter Shoebridge presents two ceramic heads created from life models. One appears to be polished while the other is left rough. They are stunning, with their enthralling evasive gazes and stylised short hair.

Elizabeth Merei, Penelope, alabaster

Peter Shoebridge, Andrea, ceramic

I leave the Canadian Sculpture Centre thoroughly impressed by the society and the array of works that their members have created. There is so much talent, emotion, variation and variety on show in Eyes of March.

Text and photo: Emily Kovacs

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

What Can Art Do for Post-Capitalism?
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / 7:30 p.m.
1286 Bloor Street West

 

Mercer Union is delighted to announce that Suhail Malik and Nick Srnicek will be the guests of our seventh fORUM critical conversation series.

Left Accelerationism proposes that a viable and socially-just succession to capitalism can be established by repurposing the advanced social and technical processes of today’s capitalist development. It argues that the task is more specific than regular claims to find routes out of or against capitalism, usually by turning to small-scale, furtive, or retrogressive alternatives to capitalist domination (organized through discourses of ‘resistance,’ for example), all of which are common enough in today’s ‘critical’ art. The task of Left Accelerationism is, rather, to advance post-capitalism.

In their talk Malik and Srnicek will address whether and how art can contribute to making a post-capitalist future. In particular, what demands does Left Accelerationism make on art (or should it make on art), and why is the currently prevalent mode of contemporary art not even capable of contributing to the construction of post-capitalism?

Suhail Malik is 2012-15 Visiting Faculty at CCS Bard, New York, and Programme Co-Director of the MFA Fine Art, Goldsmiths, London, where he holds a Readership in Critical Studies. Malik writes on political economy, theory, and art’s axioms. His book On the Necessity of Art’s Exit From Contemporary Art is forthcoming from Urbanomic (2015).

Nick Srnicek is a PhD graduate in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He is the author of Postcapitalist Technologies (2016), Inventing the Future (2015, with Alex Williams), and editor of The Speculative Turn (2011, with Levi Bryant and Graham Harman).

This event is free admission.

Opening Reception: March 12, 2015 / 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
University of Toronto / Trinity College, Seeley Hall

Aurore Mathys put on her second art show featuring the work of students from the University of Toronto this past weekend. It was amazing to see how much the show had grown from just last year’s with more pieces of art as well as attendees. 26 students presented their works out of numerous submissions. Each was happy to talk to people with visitors about their work and their excitement for the evening.

Shavon Madden, One Leg Short of a Win, wire, plaster, and plexi glass 

Jordyn Stewart, Displace, digital photography

There were a range of mediums from photography through painting to sculpture displaying the interests and apprehensions of these bright young minds. While most of the artists share similar degrees in artistic fields, Caitlin Martin stood out with her major in biology! Nonetheless, her piece “Weight of Love” displayed her passion and gift for art in unique combination with her other interest in anatomy.

Caitlin Martin with her painting Weight of Love (oil on canvas)

University of Toronto’s Trinity College is a lovely space on campus for friends and family to connect in celebration of the school’s budding talent. The fun opening night included wine, snacks, music, and a surprise performing art act.

Performing art act by Alexandra Coulson

Ms. Mathys did an exquisite job of curating this year’s show. The hall has extremely tall ceilings but is not too large a space for the various artworks; however, their final placements for the show made for an engaging and enjoyable experience for the visitors. As a recent graduate from University of Toronto, this show was a great opportunity for me to reconnect with the once very familiar campus and old friends. Congratulations to Ms. Mathys and this year’s artists!

Curator, Aurore Mathys

Text and photo: Carter Brown

*Exhibition information: March 12 – 15, 2015, Trinity College, Seeley Hall, 6 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled,1981.Acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 244.48 x 182.88 cm. The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection. Photography credit: Douglas M. Parker Studio, Los Angeles © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2014). Licensed by Artestar, New York

I sit here in the midst of a powerful vision with a quiet violence, almost reverential…and am in awe. The work of Jean Michel Basquiat is now, not gracing but exploding on the walls of the Art Gallery of Ontario. They are painted-scratched-scribbled-collaged-written with a skill only a child could emulate, a child with the eyes of a sensitive reactionary young man, who in the turn encapsulates the wisdom of age.

Jean Michel examines his subjects – racial violence, black leadership, jazz, anatomy – and reaches into their guts then tears them open and renders them for all to see. One can hear Bird Parker blowing holes in the night, and Dr. King pleading for America to pay its’ debt. He has mastered a painterly manner in his work that has put me in the middle of every piece. Textures of language scratched out to further entice the viewer into query and quandary. His language is clear, and he asks you to examine it with the same diligence as he has done in the making of them.

In his short 27 years he has amassed a body of work ruthlessly diverse and extensive in its’ scope. His aesthetic signalled the beginning of a new painted world – one that finally escapes the bonds of modernism and its’ bastard child post modernism. He has been crowned and has crowned himself master of all he touched. Bang!!!

Kurt Rostek

*Exhibition information: February 7 – May 10, 2015, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue & Thur – Sun: 10  – 5:30, Wed 10 – 8:30 p.m.; Extended Friday hours (5:30 – 8:30 p.m.): February 20 and 27, 2015.

Installation view of Ispirazione Divino, Articsok Gallery, 2015

Articsók’s latest exhibition Ispirazione Divino sees a group of four artists visualizing their individualized inspirations and reflections. Joseph Cach, Ashley Johnson, Mahmoud Meraji and Marcelo Suaznabar’s works address the collective/personal ideas, experiences and recollections that act as catalysts for artistic production. The paintings are visually united through their similarly uncanny subject matter, evoking images of fantastical landscapes, imaginary beasts and other dreamlike compositions. The exhibition nuances the complexity of where an artist derives his inspiration for creating from, and how intuitive the process of fleshing out an idea can be. I spoke with the artists and gallery owners Csilla Csiki and Peter Alexander Por in advance of the March 19th opening in order to further understand the thematic thread woven throughout the show and wax metaphysical on the origins of artistic production.

Installation view of Ispirazione Divino, Articsok Gallery, 2015

David Saric: How did the title of the show come about?

Peter Alexander Por: I thought about what is the source of inspiration for an artist. I’ve tried to come to grips with that question as a student and a serious artist, and the answer escapes me. I don’t think it’s explainable, the sources of feeling is intuitive and totally unique to each artist.

Csilla Csiki: The title came about as we looked beyond style and subject matter and wondering where the inspiration came from for both subject and style.

David Saric: What does the title mean to the artists and how does their work in the show relate to it?

Ashley Johnson: Our culture sees divinity as somehow separate from animals and something that is inherently linked to mankind. I see divinity as something within our environment, and the interdependence between all features within that ecology. Therefore, inspiration is related to one’s own body and its interaction with the species around it.

Ashley Johnson, Cybernate, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Joseph Cach: We as artists observe, see, hear and sense everything that helps trigger creativity. If you find inspiration, you have no choice but to materialize those thoughts on the canvas or any given medium. No matter how painful it is in the beginning, you have to do it. The artist exposes him/herself through their art, opening up their internal thoughts for the world to see, which can be daunting at first, but becomes rewarding with time.

Joseph Cach, The Guardian, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

Marcelo Suaznabar: The title is perfect for the show because we cannot explain where inspiration comes from. It is a magical moment that just comes at the right moment and right place to create a message. The artist uses their individual creative abilities to make a physical connection with these situations and scenarios.

Marcelo Suaznabar, Untitled, 2009, oil on canvas, 36 x 76 inches

Mahmoud Meraji: The theological context of the “Ispirazione Divino” or “divine inspiration” relates to a biblical narrative of creation. We also have a specific narrative that resonates throughout the paintings within the show, sprung from specific ideas and visions that enable our creativity and artistic production.

Mahmoud Meraji, The Painter Family, 2014, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 inches

David Saric: Where these paintings produced specifically for the show, or where they already created and happened to fit within the context of the exhibition?

Marcelo Suaznabar: Some preexisting pieces fit within the exhibition’s theme while others were created specifically for the show.

Marcelo Suaznabar, Staring through Miranda, 2015, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches

Csilla Csiki: It is a combination of the works that we had already fallen in love with knowing the artists’ corpus of works, and trusting them with creating new paintings for the show.

David Saric: How much of an influence do the gallery personnel and the other artists have on the production of pieces for the show? Is it a collaborative or autonomous effort?

Joseph Cach: We can take some suggestions and advice from them, but ultimately we are very strong individuals with a clear vision that gallery owners must trust when selecting us for an exhibition. Ultimately, the artists must be able to tolerate and appreciate each other for a group exhibition to be effective and cohesive.

Joseph Cach, Cover the Universe, oil on canvas, 56 x 52 inches

Mahmoud Meraji: Knowing our previous artistic output, Peter and Csilla chose us for a specific reason, because they know that our individual works and personalities would fit within the context of the show. They work as catalysts for the exhibition and connectors between previously disparate artists.

Mahmoud Meraji, Gift to Heaven, 2014, oil on canvas, 30 x40 inches

David Saric: Describe the process in selecting the artists for the show.

Csilla Csiki: We knew and loved the artists’ works previously and had a vision of selecting them for a group exhibition. We joined them together to create this team of artists, and eventually came up with the title as the contextual glue that binds these creative individuals together.

David Saric: What kind of emotions or feelings do you want to elicit within the viewer when visiting the exhibition?

Ashley Johnson: I would like them to appreciate the process of creating an idea and manifesting it on the canvas while also exposing my innermost feelings and preoccupations. It’s like a personal gift that I am presenting to the viewer.

Ashley Johnson, Reiterate, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Joseph Cach: I think the title makes it easier for viewers to experience the essence of the show, where they can witness works that have a divine and deeply personal relationship with the artist. The viewer is given an intimate and privileged look into our thoughts and inspirations, which will resonate throughout the paintings on display.

Text: David Saric
Photo: Balazs Kralovanszky, Courtesy of Articsok Gallery

*Exhibition information: Group Exhibition:  Ispirazione Divino; Joseph Cach, Ashley Johnson, Mahmoud Meraji and Marcelo Suaznabar, March 19 –  April 25, 2015,  Articsók Gallery, 1697 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 6 p.m. Opening Reception: March 19, 2015 / 6 – 9 p.m.