Author: artoronto

Installation view of Libby Hague, Alone Together. Courtesy of the artist.

Loop Gallery’s two current exhibitions idiosyncratically address issues around memory and recollection.

Libby Hague’s Alone Together takes an abstract approach to materially manifesting ideas around memory and universality. The artist’s assemblages are colored in a saccharine and child-like palette of electric blues, vibrant reds, and vivid oranges, creating an essence of aesthetic harmony. These delicate quasi-sculptures are constructed with ephemeral materials and resemble recognizable settings such as public zoos and childhood playgrounds, giving the pieces an abstractly nostalgic appearance. The artworks are connected along brightly hued rhizome boards placed on the floor, physically bridging these disparate settings and images together. The viewer immediately encounters Hague’s work upon entering the gallery, effectively enabling them to move around the exhibition space and contemplate the context of these peculiar objects.

Installation view of Libby Hague, Alone Together. Courtesy of the artist.

Libby Hague, Alone Together. Photo: David Saric

Libby Hague, Alone Together. Photo: David Saric

Libby Hague, Alone Together. Photo: David Saric

Hague’s exhibition conceptually unifies individuals through the universality of memories and their emotional relevance. The artist deliberately strips her assemblages of any strictly autobiographical references in order to allow a more universal and collective pondering on the ubiquity of memory and recollections.

Sandra Smirle’s String Theory: Potential Probabilities sees a multi-disciplinary approach to visually capturing her experience as a resident aboard a 120’ tall ship exploring the beauty and mystique of the Arctic. Smirle aligns a series of scenic prints along the walls of her exhibition space in conjunction with video footage of her excursions around this remote territory. The artist provides an intimate and personal retrospection of her time spent abroad, forming a privileged look into an enigmatic and seldom-explored terrain.

Installation view of Sandra Smirle, String Theory: Potential Probabilities. Photo: David Saric

Sandra Smirle, String Theory: Potential Probabilities. Photo: David Saric

Where Smirle’s exhibition presented her particular representation of a significant voyage, Hague’s quirky-looking constructions focus on broader themes and are less specific.

David Saric

*Exhibition information: December 6 – 28, 2014, loop Gallery, 1273 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours:  Wed – Sat 12 – 5, Sun 1 – 4 p.m.

Featured image: Libby Hague,  Alone Together. Courtesy of the artist.

December 21, 2014 / 2 – 4 p.m.
Rakoczi Villa
747 St Clair Ave West, Toronto (near Bathurst)

Hungarian Visual Artists of Canada (HuVAC) is celebrating fifteen years of creating art with a book launch this next Sunday December 21.

The book is an album of works by more than fifty artists produced over the last decade and a half. 

HuVAC consists of a group of artists who joined together to promote their work, interest and participation in contemporary visual arts, to encourage each other and to hold exhibitions in Canada and abroad. Among the members are painters, sculptors and photographers who work in various media. Some are professionals who make their living from their art; others have occupations unrelated to art and for them, it is solely an activity of love. For all of them, the brush, the chisel or the camera are means to express their ideas and feelings or to record their unique personal observations.

HuVAC artists believe that art builds bridges between people, generations and nationalities. The beginning of HuVAC was the millennium celebration of the foundation of the state of Hungary in the year 2000. As part of a series of events held in Toronto area, thirty artists of Hungarian background staged three successful exhibitions, two in Toronto and region and one in Budapest.

December 13, 2014 / 7 – 11 p.m.
Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts
984 Queen Street West, Toronto

Gallery Chair Joseph Muscat calling off ticket numbers

“Oh, that’s me!” claimed one of the guests for Propeller Gallery’s third annual Off The Wall fundraiser and gala. Her ticket number had just been called and she was now able to choose any artwork hanging in the gallery to claim as her own.  The raffle style event sold tickets to participants for the chance to claim one of nearly sixty displayed artworks.

Gallery Chair Joseph Muscat is calling the first ticket number while Gallery Administrator Arianne DiNardo (in middle) is looking for the winner.

Member and Chair, Joseph Muscat opened the event with a brief introduction thanking members for their continued support and explaining the event, in which guests would have only sixty seconds to choose their artwork after their number had been called. With such random chance it is often that “people don’t get the work they have their heart set on,” he said to me. Muscat had three works of his own up for grabs.

Guests before the drawing event.

Guests before the drawing event with “Lilith” by Heather Gentleman in the background.

Guest before the drawing event looking at (from left to right) James Bourke’s work, (from top) “Harbour and Jetty” by Janet Read, “Slats” by DNA Dodds and “Tale of an Unknown City” by Janet Read.

Guest before the drawing event looking at (from left) “Harbour and Jetty” by Janet Read (top), “Slats” by DNA Dodds (middle) and “Tale of an Unknown City” by Janet Read (bottom), “Lake Ontario no.10” by Janet Hendershot (top), “Happy New Year” by Gwen Tooth (bottom), “New York Conversations II” by Dan Nutell (top), “Perseverence” by Gabriella Casineanu (top), “Space Raft Takes Off!” by Andres Vosu (bottom), “Dreamer” by Maria-Teresa Hernandez and “Carefree” by Garth Scheuer.

Guest before the drawing event in front of (from left to right) “Dreamer” by Maria-Teresa Hernandez and “Carefree” by Garth Scheuer.

However, for Frances Patella, whose ticket was called first, luck was certainly with her. She chose Harry Enchin’s “Bay and Front 1930/2011”. As she called out her choice, audible sighs could be heard among the crowd. Enchin’s photograph was one of the most popular pieces at the event; its manipulated composition juxtaposes Toronto’s historic past with the bustle of the 21st Century.  This was Patella’s second year at the fundraiser event, luckily she was happy with her choice both years. Patella commented that this year’s fundraiser had a great choice of artworks and was very organized, evidence I could witness for myself.

Harry Enchin, “Bay and Front 1930/2011”.  

It seemed that the Propeller Gallery’s gala was quite successful and guests seemed happy with their purchases. With the gallery’s impending move in the New Year, member support is crucial for their mission in supporting their community and their artists. The gallery will host a Gala opening at its new location, 30 Abell Street, in the Artscape Triangle Gallery Lofts Building, on January 17th, 2015.

Brinae Bain

Dan Kennedy, “Erosion of a Mineralogist (Time Hunter)”, oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 104 x 84 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

In Dan Kennedy’s latest endeavor, Erosion of a Mineralogist (Time Hunter), he has created a series of paintings that are clearly inspired by western history’s theory of evolution, mineralogy, and other aspects of science.

A lot of these pieces are eerie underground worlds – which may possibly be mines – painted in colorful, but flat colours. They are filled with wandering characters from the 1700-1800’s, buried skeletons, big heads, ghosts, and more. It’s all very haunting, busy, but at the same time noiseless. Kennedy has added a layer of heavy typography as well, that give allusion to various things, and give a better understanding of each element within the piece. The most prominent allusions to me are Darwin’s theory of evolution of man, and the evolution of plants. There may be some biblical references to add to this topic, with characters such as Noah, and words like “Heaven” and “Kingdom of Love”.

The centerpiece of it all, named after the exhibit itself, is found in the middle of the entire arrangement of the series. Like a few other pieces, it appears to be divided into three parts: below ground, above ground, and the heavens. It is massive, and pulls you in for a while. You might examine it like an unfinished puzzle; there seems to be a set of stories going on that correlate with each other.

 Dan Kennedy, “The Stratigraphy of James H.”, oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 104 x 84 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

There are recurring characters between the pieces, such as Snow White, for instance, and Kennedy’s depiction of Noah. “The Stratigraphy of James H.” has many layers too but not as complicated as the “Erosion of a Mineralogist (Time Hunter)”.  In the underground a skeleton like figure is floating between minerals and the world “SURVEY”. 18th century Mineralogist and Theorist James Hutton kneels in the middle studying a mineral that might give him a “First Theory” as written beside him. Snow White looks over him and a Monopoly like figure poses – as God in the Heavens – in the top of the painting. The surface of the artwork is very busy. There are many words, pictures of minerals, plants, water falls and stars among other things. “SLEEP” and “EROSION” are the two outstanding words, meaning perhaps that erosion happens while you sleep or this whole vision is just a dream involving past and present, reality and illusion. The colors are beautiful and involve a large palette from warm oranges through earth colors to cold blues.

Dan Kennedy’s paintings are intellectually complicated and you can learn a lot just carefully looking at them. The exhibit is intriguing, not only because of the intricacies in each painting, but also because they are visual interpretations of parts of western history – done in an ghostly ethereal way.

Joséphine Mwanvua

*Exhibition information: November 8 – December 18, 2014, Edward Day Gallery, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Mon – Sat: 10 – 6 p.m.

Opening Reception:December 6, 2014 / 2 – 6 p.m.
Festive Reception: December 11, 2014 / 6 – 10 p.m.
Project Gallery

Nearly 850 artworks by over 100 artists currently hang on the walls of Queen Street East’s Project Gallery. The Deck the Walls exhibition features a salon style arrangement showcasing works of different sizes, mediums, subjects, and style. With works of art spanning from floor to ceiling on nearly every one of Project Gallery’s walls there is certainly a lot to take in.

Project Gallery Director Alex Buchanan with guest

Watercolorist Vera Bobson, one of the showing artists, had nine works hanging around gallery. Bobson commended the salon style showing, as it allowed her to experiment with smaller scaled paintings. It is surprisingly easy to both spot works, like Bobson’s, and get simultaneously lost in the myriad of worlds depicted by the Deck the Walls artists.

Watercolor Landscape by Vere Bobson.

The exhibition runs until New Year’s Eve, and is definitely worth a visit, if not two.

Brinae Bain

*Exhibition information: December 6 – December 31, 2014, Project Gallery, 1109 Queen Street East, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Fri: 2 – 8, Sat – Sun: 12 – 6 p.m.

December 13, 2014 / 7 – 11 p.m.
Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts
984 Queen Street West, Toronto

Off the Wall is a gala event with a twist: Donated works of art are hung in the gallery for a two-week period in early December. On the final night of the exhibition – December 13th – we hold our annual ticketed gala event, Off the Wall, a fun night of food and drink. Ticket numbers are randomly drawn and the ticket-holder has sixty seconds- just one minute- to select an artwork to take Off the Wall !! December 13th will be a night of food and drink, great art and atmosphere, with the excitement of the live ticket draw, and the action of particpants as they claim their work. Come out and support the gallery, get warm, and have a great time.

Artworks will be exhibitied at the gallery December 3 – 14, ticket buyers have this time to become familiar with the artwork prior to Off the Wall.

Imagine having an original work of art for the holidays for just $125.

Wiew the art work online http://propellerctr.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=95f75a83d03b2e566d9df6d53&id=8eb2ebdcf8&e=56b841fb20

The TICKETS:

One (1) Ticket for Off the Wall Gala — $125 – get this reward now

Redeemable at Gala Event Sat., Dec. 13th. Take ONE (1) original piece of art home with you, Off The Wall.

Three (3) Ticket for Off the Wall Gala — $300- get this reward now

Redeemable at Gala Event Saturday, Decemeber 13, 2014: Take THREE (3) original pieces of art home with you, Off The Wall. * 20% saving on

Buy Your Ticket to the GALA EVENT by clicking here http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/off-the-wall-tickets-13251394277?aff=eorg.

*Exhibition information: December 3 – 14, 2014, Propeller Gallery, Queen Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat: 12 – 6, Sun: 12- 5 p.m.

 

Opening Reception: December 4, 2014 / 6 – 9 p.m.
401 Richmond Street West, Toronto

The crowd was buzzing with festive spirit. Hallways welcomed visitors with artisanal merchandize, supplementing the profusion of gorgeous artworks on sale at the galleries. Beyond the exhibition space at Open Studio guests were granted a peek at printing machines and the production process. Here and there, holiday lights were gently offsetting the serene gallery lighting, adding a colorful touch to the space.

Gallery 44 celebrates its 35th anniversary with Wall to Wall, a sale and exhibition of artwork created by Gallery 44 members. In honour of their anniversary, they have invited all members, past & present, to participate, featuring over 120 framed and unframed artworks for sale. There were also specialty cocktails, cupcakes, and polaroid holiday portraits at the opening party. The exhibition and sale continues to Saturday, December 13, 2014.

The Artist Proof Sale in Open Studio provides art lovers with an exciting opportunity to purchase original, one-of-a-kind fine art prints, at prices ranging from $50 – $400. Hundreds of original works of art—including screenprints, etchings, lithographs and relief prints—will be available over the course of the sale. An amazing variety of artistic styles and types of work will be available by both established and up-and-coming artists from around the country.

The Artist Proof Sale is an excellent opportunity for those who are looking to start or add to their art collections. It’s also a terrific way for those who are looking for original holiday gift ideas or who prefer to shop locally to check items off gift lists while also supporting a worthy cause.  The exhibition and sale continues in the gallery and online (http://www.openstudio.on.ca/events/artist-proof-sale-2014/) to Saturday, December 20, 2014. Gallery hours: Tue – Sat, 12 to 5 p.m.

Elena Iourtaeva

Installation view of Tony Calzetta, Love Ditties. Photo: Walter Willems. Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

When first approaching Tony Calzetta’s Love Ditties drawings, I was unsure of what to make of the colorful and fantastical pieces before me. Representations of industrial vehicles, cloudy skies, and other-worldly landscapes are paired with titles reminiscent of 1980s pop lyrics.

“If Your Heart Aches…” features a yellow muffler-shaped object; animalized with legs, one wearing a brown boot, the object expels orange gaseous clouds. It is uncertain what this structure is suppose to represent, what it is suppose to be doing. This ambiguity characterizes the majority of Calzetta’s pastel creations. In the gallery the drawings hang uncovered, as such, their material impressions become visible to the naked eye. The paper warps under the weight of the pastels, the heavy graphite carves into the background, and the pastels have layered, all creating a deep awareness of tactility. Calzetta’s images beg to be explored; they create an environment that appeal to the senses. I wanted to (perhaps after donning a hazmat suit) walk over the pink ground in “Nemmeno una Lacrima (Not Even a Tear)”, fly the plane through the blue green sky of “So I Don’t Have to Dream Alone”, and traverse the stormy waves of “You Can’t Take That Away From Me”.

Tony Calzetta, “If Your Heart Aches…”, 2014, oil pastel, graphite and gouache on paper, 35 x 39 inches. Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

Tony Calzetta, “Nemmeno una Lacrima (Not Even a Tear)”, 2014, oil pastel, graphite and gouache on paper, 30 x 38 inches. Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

Yet, I found that I most wanted to be on the yellow submarine in “I Found My World in You!”. “So we sailed up to the sun ’til we found the sea of green, and we lived beneath the waves in our yellow submarine,” it is with these Beatles lyrics echoing in my head that I found myself transposed. It is the whimsical nature of “Yellow Submarine” that reflects the playful nature of Calzetta’s images. The bright bold colors and fun shapes invite the viewer to approach these machines, rather than fear their unknown mechanics.

Tony Calzetta, “I Found My World in You!”, 2014, oil pastel, graphite and gouache on paper, 29 x 40 inches. Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

What I believe to be the most interesting of Calzetta’s show is “You Make My Heart Sing” (2003). The largest of the pieces, this stunning scene was done completely in grayscale. Like separating pastel from one of its most characteristic features, color; the scene completely isolates the viewer from the harlequin world otherwise depicted. Did this work, with similar fictional machinery, swirling clouds, and dirty sky, set an evolutionary president for today’s pieces? It seems so.

Tony Calzetta, “You Make My Heart Sing”, 2003, oil pastel, graphite and gouache on paper, 53 x 74 inches. Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

The works, almost diorama like in nature, present the viewer with a brilliant fictional world (or worlds) for one to explore. Corrado De Luca, of De Luca Fine Art, spoke to me about the artist’s hesitation revolving the project, but confirmed that the show had been a success, a fact I found unsurprising.

Brinae Bain

* Exhibition information:  November 15 – December 6, 2014,  De Luca Fine Art / Gallery, 217 Avenue Road, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat: 11 – 6 p.m.

Featured image: Tony Calzetta , “You Are So Beautiful”, 2014, oil pastel, graphite and gouache on paper, 30.0 x 42.0 inches.  Courtesy of De Luca Fine Art / Gallery

At a varied stage in our life we learn the trick of saying something we mean but drenched in humor. So as to say, “I went there, but I’m having fun.” Currently Pari Nadimi Gallery runs the exhibition Punchline by artist Sarah Farndon, an artist whom, seems to have this approach perfected. Farndon’s work consists of comical semi-realistic busts of noted political figures made entirely out of polymer clay (a medium the artist has been familiar with since childhood).

Installation view with Sarah Farndon, Vlad, 2014, Polymer Clay, 9″H x 4″W x 3.5″D

Punchline is a solo show, and it is hard to imagine it as anything else. The pieces simply offer up too much vitality to be shown any other way. Upon entrance to the gallery stands a bust of our infamous mayor of very recent past, Rob Ford.  Ford’s bust is represented in no academic glory, but instead is shown head thrown back in a fit of hysterical laughter, and in good company. The exhibition is a mélange of notable political figures who bare no political affiliation to one another but whose commonality is in their representation, all in full-tilt uninhibited laughter.

Sarah Farndon, Rob, 2014, Polymer Clay & Glass, 12″H x 5″W x 5.5″D  

Gallery owner Pari Nadimi is careful to point out how all the busts are fastened to the walls with a pipe that looks as if to come from a sink; a subtle but intensifying element. What does this pipe represent? What is it channeling to the political subject? Political statements are not something that the artist is concerned with. Sarah Farndon states “Punchline is definitely meant to be more satirical than political, and my work is always meant to raise more questions than give answers. I want the viewer to make up their own mind about the politicians and leaders that I have depicted, and why it is that they are all laughing.  I purposely depicted politicians with a wide range of political views, because I did not want my own political views to show in the work. I did not want to appear to be making a solid political statement.”

Sarah Farndon, Un, 2014, Polymer Clay, 8″H x 4″W x 4″D

Farndons does such a good job of representing her busts as characters whose presence is not looming or highbrow. The pieces extend from the wall and reach at about chest height; part of the experience is staring down at these busts and visually dissecting them. Do we feel closer to these political figures as we witness them in this semi-detached comical mimicry? Our presence may feel dominating if they had not been represented engulfed in ecstatic laughter.

Sarah Farndon, Angela, 2014, Polymer Clay and Mixed Media, 11″H x 5″W x 6″

Sarah Farndon, Barack, 2014, Polymer Clay, 20″H x 9″W x 9.5″D

This stretches itself further into the art sphere, example being: when considering the artist, the institution, the critic, the viewer, there has been and will always be a constant battle in the art world to see who is coming out on top. Who has the final verdict? And who is the “butt of the joke?” Who depends on whom? This age-old battle that encompasses the art world is again brought up in Pari Nadimi’s gallery space. Who has the final laugh?

Text and photo: Kate Pendergast

*Exhibition information: November 13 – December 20, 2014, Pari Nadimi Gallery, 254 Niagara Street, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 5 p.m.

Carol Wainio in fron of her painting, Weather Events, at the Opening Reception on November 14, 2014

Dropped from the Calendar is a series of generally large-scale acrylic paintings where Carol Wainio successfully manages to combine several themes and motifs. First and foremost, the style itself is heavily inspired by 19th century works of literature, such as the fables by the Grimm Brothers, and literary criticisms from writers like Charles Baudelaire and namely Walter Benjamin. One of her many chosen quotes by Benjamin includes:

Where there is experience…certain contents of the individual past combine in the memory with material from the collective past”. “Rituals, with their ceremonies and their festivals…kept producing the amalgamation of these two elements of memory over and over again. They triggered recollection at certain times and remained available to memory throughout people’s lives.”

Carol Wainio, Les Cailloux Blancs, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 120 inches

Benjamin’s writings emerged during the Industrial Revolution, where the development of new technologies consequently hastened people’s lives, requiring an individual’s constant anticipation and awareness of their surroundings. The introduction of machines allowed for unyielding productivity and relentless manufacturing of newer and newer products, essentially desensitizing and “disenchanting” the individual. Those whimsical stories of old lost their emotional impact once modern society provided endless amounts of distractions.

Carol Wainio, Lost, 2014, acrylic on canvas , 78 x 60 inches

Fairy tales were among those most affected by the societal shift into the Industrial Age. Corporate entities and advertising agencies used iconic characters like Puss n’ Boots and Hansel and Gretel to appeal to the naiveté of younger audiences and to the nostalgia of the older generation. Ironically, stories that primarily emphasized scarcity through the humble and desperate lifestyle of the protagonist(s), like Hansel and Gretel, were now associated with excessive consumerism. As such, dynamic cultural shifts have occurred rapidly over the recent century, causing traditional human patterns to have a more outward impact, particularly towards the physical environment. This is why many of her paintings feature discarded trash and erupting oil derricks; with new behaviours comes a necessity for new generational responsibilities. Childishly-rendered representations of oil wells and the four seasons that are prominently featured in several of the paintings also demonstrate how recently-developed cultural attitudes revolving around excessive lifestyles become ingrained at a very early age, as would whimsical fairy-tales in earlier centuries.

Carol, Wainio, One Evening, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 120 inches

Wainio’s paintings are often incredibly large in physical size, as are the decrepit landscapes that she masterfully depicts. Her paintings are rich with imagery corresponding with 19th century traditions in both literature and art: the Victorian patterns often seen in the contemporary textiles and fashion now adorning the birds, the solid-lined crosshatched illustrations such as those found in the children’s books and cartoons, and the visual cues from the Grimm fairy-tales or other such literature. However, contrasting the lavishness of the earlier 19th century, the colors remain faded and muddy while the introduction of unfamiliar subject matter (i.e. cars, tires, etc.) as well as completely abstractive brushstrokes surround the only identifiable figures, thus eliciting a sense of deterioration of the landscape. In the work entitled One Evening in particular, she retains the decaying landscape but replaces the intricate Victorian patterns and depictions of children with traditional introductory phrases from the century, most emphatically “one evening in the month of…” that is clearly visible in the centre of the work. Though it is slightly different from the others, it still holds the same themes of developing cultural attitudes attributing to the human ecological impact.  It is through the broad juxtaposition of the dystopian landscapes and the gentle innocent presence of children that allow Wainio’s pieces to convey such robust emotional connotations that is unique to her artistic style.

Text and photo: Simon Termine

*Exhibition information: November 14, 2014 – January 10, 2015,  Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 11 – 5 p.m.

Karine Giboulo in front of HYPERland at the Opening Reception, November 15, 2014

Montreal artist Karine Giboulo exhibition, HYPERland, at the Angell Gallery introduced viewers to bold and colorful sculptures that commented on the ‘hyper’ society that we live in today, a time of global extremes and excesses.

Installation view

The first piece the viewer confronts is Pain Killer (2014), a powerful work that criticizes the Western World’s abundant reliance on prescription medications. The rest of the show is just as political as that first image, challenging everything from excessive consumerism, capitalism, power, and our ever-growing dependence on technology.

Karine Giboulo, Pain Killer, 2014

The exhibition’s title piece, HYPERland, is centered in the main gallery, and offers a complex gradient view of consumerism and the abuse of power. The pyramid-like structure is topped with scenes of nature; the utopian scene features green hills, a vibrant rainbow, and lively animals. The natural world, what is given to us as free, is often marketed to the consumer as a product to buy into. I think that this is what Giboulo’s piece hints at. Below the plexiglass encased nature scene is a grey structure, resembling a built architecture. The building holds at its apex a boardroom of wealthy business types, below them are the white collar workers who monotonously serve their bosses above. The next level comments on society’s dependence on commercial necessity, the Nestlé formula scandal, and the treatment of the elderly. The lowest level, and yet the most visually appealing, is the inner room of a third-world factory. Dozens of women sew together a zebra printed fabric for consumption in the West. However, it is the back of the sculpture to have the biggest social impact; here, at the very bottom, we find a scene dedicated to the living conditions of rural Africa. Several characters sit in tents in a barren wasteland; these figures are completely isolated from the ‘urban’ structure that houses the others, they are exterior to the developed world.

Karine Giboulo (second from right) discussing HYPERland with visitors

Karine Giboulo, HYPERland, 2014, Detail

All of Giboulo’s works confront issues that we sometimes take for granted; it’s almost odd that these whimsical clay figures can instill such a social critique. Giboulo cites that her work is inspired by her travels; her live experiences have allowed her to try and reflect the configuration of our effervescent world. A large part of her work is about viewing, how Westerners view the world and each other, and how others view us. This notion is clear in her Savage Beauty (Self-Portrait). The white woman captures the zebra as a a marvelous oddity and the local native captures the woman in the same way. In a comical fashion, Giboulo criticizes much of what we have learned to take for granted.

Karine Giboulo, Savage Beauty, 2014

The exhibition includes eight of Giboulo’s colorful sculptures and several detail photographs, which create not only create a dialogue between works, but also highlight important details of the much larger structures. I believe that Giboulo accomplishes a great deal with her vibrant and comical figures. Her work presents the viewer with entertaining, thoughtprovoking situations that reflect on, what have become, society’s standards.

Karine Giboulo, Berthe Aline, 2014

Karine Giboulo, Homeland Security, 2014

Karine Giboulo, Killer Whale, 2014

The exhibition will be at the Angell Gallery until December 20th; it is an excellent chance to see Giboulo’s work outside of Montreal.

Text and photo: Brinae Bain

*Exhibition information: November 15 – December 20, 2014, Angell Gallery,  12 Ossington Avenue, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 5 p.m.

Churches have many paintings. They tell stories from the Bible and some do it better than others. The subject of a painting was given, until the end of the 19th century, content was limited to figures, landscapes and still-lifes. With the emergence of Modernism in the 20th century, artists began to choose their own content; the concept of the work became an integral part of the art and the artist now is free to choose it. What one does is as important as how one does it.

Jae-hong Ahn, Golem, 2014, oil on canvas, 30.5 x 23.5 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

After growing up and being educated in South Korea. Jae-hong Ahn came to Canada at the age of 16 and later graduated from OCAD University. While tracing back the origin of his fascination towards the notion of division and separation, he visited South Korea and recognized that he needed more than a place of nostalgia and personal history. In 2011 Jae Ahn left for Leipzig, Germany, in order to be close to the painters he admired, the so-called New Leipzig School. This is a style born of the need of the East Germans to assert themselves in an atmosphere of victory and takeover by the West after the re-unification. It draws heavily on the traditional concepts of German painting: strong contrast of light and dark, precise linear drawing, complicated composition and dramatic emotional emphasis. Good examples for this method are the works of Dürer, Grünewald and Cranach up to Beckmann and Otto Dix. Jae Ahn has assimilated these influences as well as those of a more recent generation.

Jae-hong Ahn, To Settle The Score, 2012-14, oil on canvas, 159 x 99 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

With his painting The Buglers, the two roof areas at the top where a man and a woman move in opposite directions out of a spiraling form set the tone of action that is risky and could end up badly. The red compliments the light and lime greens that emerge from the dark umbers. The content is set as much by Ahn’s use and choice of colour as by the theatrical scene of the painting. In Privileged Infidelity the diagonal is used to a great effect, emphasized by light tones and earth colours on a dark ground. The cart makes a strong diagonal movement made even stronger by the diamond shape above and off centre, which is dominant but takes its place within the totality of the work. The Junction’s, the emerald green lion on white arrests the eye and guide it to focus on what the animal is looking at. This time the lower half sets the tone and we are lead to contemplate what is above. The Drain makes its point directly with silver greys inside of both the lighted and shaded area of the painting’s subtle modelling. Then in the right there is a tiny patch of yellow and white – but of course it is a figure.

Jae-hong Ahn, The Buglers, 2014, oil on canvas, 54.5 x 60 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

Jae-hong Ahn, Junction, 2014, oil on canvas, 72.5 x 59.5 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

Jae-hong Ahn, Drain, 2013, oil on canvas, 55 x 60 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

Ahn invites the viewers to interpret these paintings according to one’s own feelings. The meaning is deliberately vague as are the titles. As Ahn outlines in his artist statement, “My earlier fascination with figuration and empty interiors with traces of human presence have evolved with a gradual emergence of the themes related to the idea of division. Currently working in Germany, [a place that is widely perceived as having conquered separation and division], my goal is to create more methods and perspectives to observe this phenomenon, which have been ever so common throughout history.” What distinguishes Ahn’s work from his contemporaries is his desire to communicate through figurative painting. It is a language and a method of making art often described these days as being out of touch, too traditional and lagging behind new media. Yet it continues the superiority of painting in our flip culture as if to challenge the new media.

Jae-hong Ahn, Di Domenica, 2014, oil on canvas, 54.5 x 60 cm. Courtesy of Articsok Gallery.

Jae Ahn is rising to this challenge. He presents us with not only ponderous works of art but art which is unexpected and, above all, with aesthetic surprises. They could be the contemporary replacement of the old glass windows of churches in telling stories of separation and division.

Prof. David Evison, Universität der Künste Berlin

*Exhibition  information:  November 13 – December 13, 2014, Articsók Gallery, 1697 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 6 p.m.