Openings / Events
Thursday, February 26th, 2015
Matthew James Cangiano: The Will to Power
Competition weighs in heavily on the societal minds and aspirations of the collective contemporary North American psyche. Those of us living in a position of moderate economic good fortune exist concurrently with rapidly changing technology and the ability to share and distribute information at exceptionally accelerated speeds. We are taught from a young age that acceleration means, very simply, to go faster, and that by doing so, we must find something to compare our speed and success to. What was once a display of strength and success that needed only to be made to a moderately sized community or network, now has the potential to be projected and reach farther than ever before, thus expanding the virtual and physical territory available for conquest.
Cangiano employs the aesthetic tropes of classic machismo imagery to create a visual exploration of an uphill power struggle between a single person’s capability to achieve great success while pitted against similar efforts on the part of millions of other bodies that also conspire for power, and why traditional representations of what it means to be the strongest, most powerful or simply THE BEST have begun to lose potency.
Text by Inez Genereux
6PM – 8PM
Birch Contemporary
129 Tecumseth St, Toronto,
Ontario M6J 262
EVENT PAGE
Chloé Desjardins: The Sculptor’s Studio
The Sculptor’s Studio brings together a selection of recent works by Desjardins that are the result of several years’ worth of sustained research and practice. Having previously worked with techniques to reproduce specific forms of packaging (bubble wrap, cardboard boxes), the sculptural results of which trouble the distinction between ‘workaday’ and ‘art’ objects, Desjardins continues her exploration of the often romanticised value of ‘artistic labour’ through the imagery and symbols of an archetypal studio, particularly, that of a sculptor. Representations of fixtures such as a worktable (simplified almost to the point of a sketch), tools and materials (a pallet, scissors case and a pile of plaster) and sculptures of casting moulds reflexively turn the material process of sculptural creation back on itself. Together these works create a microcosm, independent of time and reality, which serves as a meditation on both the creative process and the germination of artistic ideas and forms. However, a deliberate formal blurring makes it difficult to ascertain how the works are made or what precisely they represent. Rather than a continuous narrative, an assorted collection of forms, processes, and materials is presented; all white—almost ghostly—the works are less a representation of specific physical forms, and more a materialization of the idea of such forms.
6PM – 8PM
Birch Contemporary
129 Tecumseth St, Toronto,
Ontario M6J 262
EVENT PAGE
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
February is the month of Valentine’s day and yes “Love is in the air!” and the Aces are creating artwork inspired by the feeling. Sex, family, romance, friendship, love for nature, etc… so much love everywhere. What Is Love to them? how do they see it or how do they want to represent it and show it?
Come check it out at the end of this month the Thursday 26th of February 2015 starting at 7pm.
7PM – 11PM
416 Gallery
404 queen east, Toronto,
Ontario M5A 1T3
EVENT PAGE
DYLAN MACAULAY
Hidden diner within a convenience store.
Stools, styrofoam cups and a laminate counter top.
The ketchup, the vinegar, the napkins, the salt, the pepper, the sugar.
Bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, french toast, pancakes, burger, fries, BLT, clubhouse.
Don’t order the steak.
Juice comes from a vending machine.
The coffee is sludge. Open at 6AM.
All day breakfast.
A ma and pa greasy spoon kind of thing.
7PM – 10PM
Jr. Projects
1446 Dundas St. W,
Toronto, Ontario
EVENT PAGE
Krista Buecking: MATTERS OF FACT
Buecking’s continued investigation into the products (and consequences) of neoliberalism reemerge here in her latest installation. Titled MATTERS OF FACT, she appropriates the recurring motifs of neoliberalism in order to interrogate its value and efficacy. For this exhibition, Buecking presents a suite of drawings executed in coloured pencil, depicting computer-generated gradients. Layered on top of these drawings are solid graphics painted directly on the glass of each framed drawing. These graphics literally float on their shaded voids and borrow from the visual language of modernist abstraction, economic infographics, and models from early childhood education. Accompanying the drawings is an audio “soundtrack” composed from sounds drawn from teenage melodramas, infomercial stingers and lead-ins, self-help seminars, and canned music. Watching over the installation is a wall mounted clock—its numbers stripped away—and a reminder, perhaps, of the division of time and of the anxieties of time spent or wasted, and wonders: what exactly are we being sold?
7PM – 9PM
Susan Hobbs Gallery
137 Tecumseth Street, Toronto,
Ontario M6J 2H2
EVENT PAGE
a home for [ _ _ _ _ ]
What is a home for you? Come in, take your shoes off, explore, partake, and experience what 20 artists envisioned and then created in this cozy 3 story house.
There will be drinks…..and maybe tartare…..
So we encourage you to grab a drink and get cozy and curious.
From everyday life to family matters, to campfire stories, this house is jam packed with creativity from several mediums of art.
8PM
627 Richmond Street West
EVENT PAGE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, 2015
Alex Fischer: 1, 7, and 6000
On the occasion of Alex Fischer’s fourth solo exhibition with O’Born Contemporary, he problematizes the “single image” by its very conversion into multiple, nearly identical forms. A digital original is here reproduced as 1 digital print, 7 large oil paintings, and 6000 small acrylic paintings. Through this multi-modal exhibition, Fischer deliberates on the nature of art with its value systems and capitalist patrimony.
Current agricultural trends demonstrate that when tomatoes are grown, the aim is to direct natural processes, taking agency over evolution. Like all biological species, the tomato plant contains a genetic copy of itself inside every cell of its being. Repetition and versioning are as much a rule in agriculture as they are in human life. Conversely, uniqueness and independence of mind are selling points when it comes to art. There is an established value in originality.
6PM – 9PM
131 Ossington Avenue,
Toronto
EVENT PAGE
bu tt ro ll (‿ˠ‿)
⧂
trolls,
trollops &
trolly~dollies
…FUN FOR THE TROLL FAM¡LY !!!
8-Eleven
233 Spadina Ave.,
Toronto, Ontario
EVENT PAGE
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015
Lyse Lemieux // Meryl McMaster | in-between-in-between
Katzman Contemporary’s latest exhibition – in-between-in-between – celebrates the correlations between dance and visual gesture; in particular, the physicality of the body in the generation of graphic imagery. For her premiere showing in Toronto, Vancouver based artist Lyse Lemieux shares a recent overview of her whimsical, bodily drawings, works on paper, and wall installations that consider the process and materiality of her practice. As a precursor to her upcoming shows of new work, Meryl McMaster presents six rare outtakes from the original performances that comprise her In-Between Worlds series, offering alternate poses and close-ups of her choreographed gestures. Contextualized together, the works of both artists underscore the relationship of the body in the creation of visual spaces.
2PM – 5PM
Katzman Contemporary
86 Miller Street, Toronto,
Ontario M6N 2Z9
EVENT PAGE
Divadale Project: A Trespassing Event
In the third edition of SpaceSeries Divadale Project is an art event that is taking over a destitute property before its demolition. It is a terrain vague that is given a new definition by the concentration of works created by artists who are recognized for their sharp and witty expressions. Sean Martindale, Pascal Paquette, Cindy Blazevic and PA System, each represent, make and narrate slices of Toronto’s urban landscape in form of graffiti, murals, sculpture and photography. They are individuals who are literally and conceptually painting and making the visual iconography of Toronto’s urban culture, but they are also emblematic of the cultural renaissance that the city is going through as its massive army of condos grow in numbers and heights. In Divadale Project they have treated the house no different than found surfaces of the city they usually work with and took advantage of every possible architectural element as a blank canvas.
6PM – 8PM
82 Divadale Drive,
Toronto, On
EVENT PAGE
SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST, 2015
Sunday Scene – Aisha Sasha John
Aisha Sasha John is a poet and dance improviser. In collaboration with BookThug, she has published THOU (2014), Gimme yr little quiet (2012) and The Shining Material (2011). Aisha earned an Honours BA in African Studies and Semiotics from the University of Toronto and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph.
She will provide her response to the current exhibition The Unfinished Conversation: Encoding/Decoding.
2PM
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
231 Queens Quay West, Toronto,
Ontario M5J 2G8
EVENT PAGE
THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH, 2015
Adam Filek: Pockets Lined With Basalt
Adam Filek’s practice uses the mediums of live and documented performance, using the body as a tool within his work to synthesize a connectivity with the viewer, convey connectivity with the self, and explore the physical and mental limits of the body. His current work focuses an injection of the soul into landscape and object, using absurd gesture and repetition to depict a body placed in a state of purgatory.
Pockets Lined With Basalt is an investigation into the passive action of carrying a stone in the pocket, how it’s presence weighs the body down, and how the simple pull of gravity causes the body to descend ever so more closer to death.
6PM – 9PM
1082 Queen Street W
EVENT PAGE
Greg McCarthy at Gallery 1313 Window Space
The window box show, curated by Lisa Anita Wenger, examine traditions in Canadian photographic history and the role of William Notman’s Photos in shaping images of Canadiana. The show will coincide with the opening of the OCADU Sculpture and Installation thesis show That Was For This, so come out and support the SCIN thesis class while you are at it.
7PM – 10PM
Gallery 1313
1313A Queen Street West,
Toronto, Ontario M6K 1L8
EVENT PAGE
Nebularity
The pervasiveness of the abject in contemporary art proves that transgression has more to offer than short-lived shock value. For thirty years the abject has continued in the mainstream art sphere as a perturbing thematic that threatens mortality and incorporates bodily fluids. While other types of transgressive art have become accepted and even institutionalized, the presence of abject art remains undertheorized. The question endures: why is abject art still so provocative?
Nebularity presents an updated lens to reconsider the experience and display of abject art in the twenty-first century. Three contemporary artists – Louis Fortier, Jessica Joy, and Kim Stanford – employ abject tendencies that elicit emotional engagement and strong reactions. By confusing boundaries, imposing intimacy, and deteriorating conventional forms, these works demonstrate that the abject is not just another genre of art but a practice of continually challenging structures of subjectivity and knowledge.
7PM – 9PM
60 McCaul Street (Brinks Building), Toronto
EVENT PAGE
AAESTHETIC
A all black collection of one of a kind thrifted and imported Korean pieces, ranging from accessories to apparel. Collection NOIRE captivates elements of design, texture and androgyny. Items will price from $40 and up. Art will be exhibited by local artist Gillian Yan-Wen Chang www.gilliantchang.com.
3PM – 8PM
Artscape Youngplace, Studio 107,
180 Shaw Street Toronto,
ON M6J 2W5
EVENT PAGE
SUBMISSIONS
STREET TALK PROJECT
Deadline: March 20, 2015
Inspired by the Take Back the Night movement and the #yesallwomen campaign, The Street Talk Project will consist of a public art project and exhibition at Whippersnapper Gallery addressing how female and trans bodies navigate the city of Toronto, and the socialized sexism that governs bodies on a day-to-day basis. Street harassment and sexual violence are real concerns for women and trans persons inhabiting public spaces in Toronto. Using humour and subversive public signage, The Street Talk Project will bring attention to the ways in which public space is navigated differently by different bodies. The Street Talk Project coordination and logistics will be carried out by a collective of ten Humber Arts Administration and Cultural Management students.
Additional Information: LINK HERE
FILE #01
Deadline: June 15, 2015
We welcome proposals for both chapters and case studies from academics, photographers, artists and other visual practitioners. We are seeking for contributions that deal with a wide range of issues in connection with the impact of computing communication processes on the internet within the production and reception of Art.
Additional Information: LINK HERE
CEDAR RIDGE CREATIVE CENTRE: SUMMER RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Deadline: March 31, 2015
The Cedar Ridge Summer Residency is a program run by Toronto Arts & Culture Services at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre. The residency is a legacy project of the City of Toronto’s Cultural Hotspot project for South Scarborough and welcomes one visual artist during centre hours for the months of July and August culminating in a September exhibit of the resident’s work in the Cedar Ridge Gallery. The residency offers a working environment that supports the artistic process for emerging and mid-career artists.
Additional Information: LINK HERE
Nuit Rose (Play/Space)
Deadline: March 31st, 2015
The Throbbing Rose Collective is holding an open call for proposals from artists, art collectives, curators and cultural organizations to participate in NUIT ROSE 2015, a queer-focused contemporary art and performance festival. After a great debut at last year’s WorldPride celebrations, Nuit Rose returns for a second year onSaturday, June 20, 2015, with the theme Play/Space, as an official event of Toronto’s Pride Festival.
NUIT ROSE offers a space for Canadian queer artists and international artists to showcase their work. This celebration of LGBTQ culture will engage local audiences and visitors from around the world with site-specific exhibitions, installations and performances. Toronto is home to vast and diverse LGBTQ communities. We strongly encourage artists and organizations that reflect this diversity to apply.
Additional Information: LINK HERE