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A guide to the best exhibitions and events in the visual arts
Elements of myth and reality are digitally fused into a dreamlike interpretation of the complexities of modern First Nations existence in M: Stories of Women, Niro’s latest photo series. Oct. 14 to Nov. 12. Gallery 44, 120–401 Richmond St. W.
Renewed interest in the modes and materials of abstract painting has launched a fresh cast of artists and visual perspectives on to the Canadian art scene, including the coded “fields of knowledge” of the Calgary painter Bradley Harms. Sept. 29 to Oct. 22, 2011. Angell Gallery, 12 Ossington Ave.
Riddled with hints of geometric abstraction, modernist design and a bibliophile’s passion for the book as both idea and object, Sullivan’s work creates open-ended narrative possibilities that are at once conceptually precise and purposefully oblique. The Toronto artist gets double billing this fall with new drawings and sculptures at Jessica Bradley Art + Projects and “Albatross Omnibus,” a 52-book commission for The Power Plant. Opens Nov. 12/Sept. 23 to Nov. 20, 2011. 1450 Dundas St. W./231 Queens Quay W.
The New York–based photographer, whose series on the mountain cabin hideout of Ted Kaczynski (aka “the Unabomber”) was a standout at the 2006 Whitney Biennial, presents selected works from his decade-long project Animal Logic, which documents the uneasy and at times surreal divide between artifice and the natural world as seen in the stage-set displays at natural-history museums. From Sept. 10 through 24, 2011. Bau-Xi Photo, 324 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON.
The things that we build embody our highest aspirations and basest instincts of survival. They also express our will to establish dominion over territory. “Empire of Dreams” is inspired by what I’ve noticed as a trend among artists and in certain exhibitions recently: examining ways in which we exist within our built environment—our interaction and experience with the spatial, architectural, socioeconomic, technological and, of course, physical and imaginative conditions that shape relationships to our surroundings. You could say that it’s a 21st-century variation on the classical landscape themes. It also happens to be the second of our biennial exhibitions highlighting work by Toronto artists.
David Liss is Artistic Director and Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto. “Empire of Dreams: Phenomenology of the built environment” is on view at MOCCA from June 19 through August 15, 952 Queen St. W.
Vast watery expanses, indeterminate ports of call and an inherent sense of longing set the stage for “a visual meditation on the state of transit in a geographical no man’s land” in the French-Algerian artist’s video work MiddleSea. Until July 24. Prefix ICA, 124–401 Richmond St. W.
The hybrid play of imagined architectural space and found digital imagery informs a suite of new objectbased paintings by the Vancouver artist. June 24 to July 25. Clark & Faria, 55 Mill St.
A group exhibition of 22 Canadian and international artists explores the innate bond and uneasy balance of power between humans and the animal world. On view June 18 to Sept. 12. The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay W.
Fact and fiction merge to activate new historical understandings in this group display organized by New York’s Independent Curators International. With works by an A-list cast of more than 15 international practitioners, including Cao Fei, Omer Fast, Jeremy Deller, Joachim Koester and the Montreal artist Emanuel Licha, the show posits that truth is a malleable social and political commodity best seen with a critical eye on both past and present. To Aug. 29. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W.
The Canadian art icon marks her 100th birthday with the twovenue exhibition “Roughing It in the Bush,” featuring rarely seen hard-edge paintings from the 1960s set alongside her trademark large-scale landscapes. To July 24. University of Toronto Art Centre, 15 King’s College Circle/Doris McCarthy Gallery, 1265 Military Trail.
A reprised version of a 1981 drawing installation by the Conceptual art figurehead Sol LeWitt alongside a collection of LeWitt’s book works concludes Mercer Union’s 30th-anniversary year with a nod to the continued relevance of an ideas-first approach to contemporary art. On view July 10 to Aug. 18. Mercer Union, 1286 Bloor St. W.
Gallery 44’s annual spotlight on emerging photographers provides a key indicator of who and what to watch for in new photographic practices, including this year’s rising-artist contingent of Karen Zalamea, Christophe Jivraj, Aislinn Leggett, Meryl McMaster and Roger Proulx. July 9 to Aug. 7. Gallery 44, 120–401 Richmond St. W.
This year’s theme for CONTACT, “Pervasive Influence,” explores the authority of photography in a society devoted to the image. It asks: what are the illusions that images create, and are they preferable to reality? And how does that relationship transform human behaviour? Art practices today increasingly utilize the codes of advertising, the force of propaganda, the stylization of marketing campaigns—and vice versa. Marshall McLuhan’s theories offer a perfect frame for the theme. His ideas question the social effects of images, mass media and technology, as well as the way one medium of communication relates to, and may ultimately replace, another.
Bonnie Rubenstein is the Artistic Director of CONTACT. The photo festival runs from May 1 to 31 at venues in downtown Toronto.
The explosive drama of international headline news informs a sequence of meticulously staged large-scale photographic tableaux by the Montreal duo. From Apr. 29 to May 22. Nicholas Metivier Gallery, 451 King St. W.
Aquin uncovers poetic beauty in the midst of China’s ongoing industrial boom in his award-winning photo series “Chinese Dust Bowl.” Until Apr. 10. Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1026 Queen St. W.
Talk to take place January 26 at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Canadian premiere of new Marina Abramović documentary to be fêted February 22 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
All our best wishes for the new year to come
Talks by Dan Cameron and Annie Cohen-Solal, free gallery programs among highlights of 2011
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Free exhibition at the Power Plant highlights our nation’s emerging painting stars
Award in Portrait Photography category recognizes Donald Weber's artist project in the Fall 2010 issue
More than 300 GTA teens enjoy free downtown-Toronto gallery talks during this fall’s School Hop
In 2010, at the age of 35, Toronto artist/DJ/promoter/activist Will Munro succumbed to brain cancer. Here, David Balzer reviews the first big survey of Munro’s work, which makes apparent how talented, prolific and perceptive this creator was.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery’s recent Group of Seven show was one of the UK museum’s biggest hits ever, drawing 41,000 visitors. The attention was deserved, writes Sarah Milroy, as the exhibition offered new insights even to seasoned Canadian-art observers.
The Occupy movement has galvanized the way we think about haves and have-nots. But where do artists fit in? As Joseph R. Wolin observes in this review of David Altmejd’s show at the Brant Foundation, context can be as powerful as content in determining the split.
What happens to identity when our relationship to land and language is disrupted? This is a key question raised in “A Stake in the Ground,” an exhibition of works by 25 First Nations artists, curated by Nadia Myre, that’s currently at Montreal gallery Art Mûr.
Our education and careers site has just posted more stories and tips to help students achieve a great winter term. Highlights include a profile of internationally renowned fashion designer Jeremy Laing, a Q&A on grad schools and more.
