Observations
Writing on exhibitions, artworks, and artists whose work has informed my thinking. These posts are responses to encounters with contemporary art and an extension of the same attentive looking that informs my studio practice.
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Detail to Attention
Eric Busch and Harry Wagter at GUM Gallery, Meaford Detail to Attention, at GUM Gallery in Meaford, brings together photographs by Eric Busch and wall reliefs by Harry Wagter in an exhibition that asks viewers to slow down and look carefully. Though their methods differ, both artists work at the point where recognition gives way…
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Caroline Larsen at General Hardware
It’s so much more than landscapes and flowers. In Caroline Larsen’s show A Traveler’s Garden at General Hardware Contemporary, you’ll encounter vibrant gardens — florid and full of life — but that’s merely the pretext. What these paintings are about, is not so much the subject matter, but rather the process, craft, and creative experimentation within the…
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Hugh Alcock: Listen! at Gallery 1313
The title of the show is “Listen!”. That’s listen with and exclamation mark. It’s what you say when you’re asking others to focus. Listen! In this case is not so much about hearing as it is a call to pay attention. Paying attention is at the core of Hugh Alcock’s work. He produces large intricately…
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Brian Boigon at Christie Contemporary
At first glance, Brian Boigon’s work can be quite puzzling. It will require a deep dive into interconnected ideas before you can make sense of the individual pieces. So, get ready to play detective or archaeologist as you try to piece things together. But don’t worry, the effort will pay off. As you work to…
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Up Close at Art Toronto
Around ten minutes into my walk through the Art Toronto show it struck me how lucky we are to live in an age of artistic plurality. There is no dominant theory; no historical arrow of progress along which art is meant to strive. Artists are free. Free to explore any intellectual or aesthetic avenue that…
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Kate Wilson at General Hardware
Imagine a garden at night: an entirely different place than the day-lit version. Flowers have closed their petals. The birds are gone. Even the insects are different, replaced by nocturnal moths and other strange creatures. You might find moonflowers that open only in the dark. This is not familiar territory. Do you belong here? With…
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Kal Mansur at Myta Sayo Gallery
Installation view of All that Glitters Isn’t at Myta Sayo Gallery Light, as much as colour and form, is central to Kal Mansur’s art. The glow of reflected colour, the diffusion of detail through translucent surfaces, as well as the play of shadows are all integral to the impact of his work. Kal Mansur, Search, acrylic on panel…
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NetherMind – “Elegy”
This fall, contrails converge on yet another COP where promises are sure to be broken, and targets missed. We’ve learned that there is no longer any way to keep global warming under 1.5 C. Extinctions are increasing, habitats are shrinking. The exhibition by the artists’ collective NetherMind at Saint Anne’s Anglican church “…mourns the destruction of…