Lisa Klapstock, 3** Crawford Street, 2001. Image: dianefarrisgallery.com

1. Lisa Klapstock: Depiction

October 18 – November 3, 2007

At the Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver

Lisa Klapstock uses photography to investigate the complexity of visual perception. By varing the depth of field, Klapstock explores the camera’s role in the enhancement or alteration of how we view and experience our surroundings.

The resulting images are stunning panoramas that mimic the ways in which our minds perceive objects in space and time –experiences that photography has been attempting to replicate, mediate or control since its invention.

In November, Klapstock will be showing her video works, Ambiguous Landscapes and Field Studies: Exposure and Focus, in a two-person show with Paulette Phillips at the Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris.

Lisa Klapstock, 2 Montrose Avenue (Threshold Series) 2001-02. Image: jesssicabradleyartprojects.com

For more information on Lisa Klapstock, please check out the artist’s website HERE.

2. Shared Propulsion Car: Michel de Broin & overgrown: Janet Morton

October 24th - December 8th, 2007

Mercer Union Centre for Contemporary Art, Toronto

Michel de Broin accepting the Sobey Art Award

Artist talk by Michel de Broin: October 24th @ 7:00pm

The just-announced winner of the 2007 Sobey Art Award, Michel de Broin presents Shared Propulsion Car, an ‘86 Buick Regal stripped of its engine, suspension, transmission and electrical system and outfitted with 4 independent pedal and gear mechanisms.

The vehicle retains the illusion of the mass-produced luxury automobile, but is reduced to a shell that now has a top speed of 15km per hour.

Michel de Broin, Car body, pedals and gears, 2005. Image: micheldebroin.org

Presented in the gallery as a sculptural work, the car is accompanied by a video of the work in action. Periodically it will leave the gallery space and passersby will be invited to help pedal the car through traffic.

Janet Morton creates a dense ivory mass of plush tangled vines a foot deep, clinging to the back gallery wall. With monochromatic materials varying in tone and texture, the artist creates a seductive wall garden.

Janet Morton, Untitled (Domestic Interior) (2000). Photo: Sarah Quinton

Visit Michel de Broin’s website HERE, and his gallery HERE

More on Janet Morton HERE.

Janet Morton, Untitled (Domestic Interior) (2000). Photo: Sarah Quinton

3. A behind-the-scenes tour of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Image: montreal.com

The Museum is inviting Montrealers to a free behind-the-scenes tour on Sunday, October 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The self-guided tour can include the Museum’s reserves, or storage areas, and conservation labs, as well as the Museum’s three pavilions and the Erskine and American Church, which will be incorporated into the Museum’s new Pavilion of Canadian Art.

This tour will enable visitors to discover the wide variety of jobs involved in the preparation of a museum exhibition and the importance of this behind-the-scenes work, which is essential to the development of the collection and the presentation of exhibitions.

For more information, please check the Museum’s website HERE.

1. Two Half Reasons - One Night Only: A special event with Oliver Husain

TONIGHT: Thursday October 18th, at 8pm

Gallery TPW, Toronto

A work by Oliver Husain. Image: husain.de

Two Half Reasons - One Night Only is a participatory event with German artist Oliver Husain. It’s a social cabaret/art opening/exhibition experiment on wobbly stilts.

Click HERE for Husain’s website.

For one night only audiences will encounter each other through the lens of film, decoys, sweet decoration, eclectic hats, and an abundance of potential.

For more information about tonight’s event, please click HERE.

2. Major Survey of work by Roy Arden at the Vancouver Art Gallery

Intertidal, Roy Arden, d’Elegance #1, 2000. Image: exporevue.com

The exhibition runs from October 20, 2007 to January 20, 2008.

The exhibition includes more than 120 photographs, five video works and a recent Internet project. The work covers Arden’s career the early 1980s to the present.

Roy Arden presents four distinct phases of the artist’s career: the evocative colour portraits and urban details from the series Fragments, produced in the early 1980s; the multipart works incorporating archival images that first brought Arden widespread acclaim during the late 1980s; his photographs produced since the early 1990s that trace the social and economic history of Vancouver and its suburbs; and his recent video and Internet-based projects.

One of Roy Arden’s Fragments, Kevin Hatt (#1). Image: presentationhousegall.com

Fragments, composed of a series richly-coloured cibachrome images, is considered Arden’s first mature body of work. Taken with a twin-lens Rolleiflex camera between 1981 and 1985, the series navigates the somewhat romantic world of the young artist in Vancouver–his friends and travels, as well as various corners of Vancouver’s urban landscape.

Click HERE for Roy Arden’s website, where you can watch his video piece The World as Will and Representation.

Roy Arden, Solar, 2005. Image: monteclarkgallery.com

Arden is represented by the Monte Clark Gallery. Please click HERE.

Art Review magazine has published it’s annual Power 100 - a list of its picks for the most powerful people in the international art world (with last year’s ranking in brackets).

Note that former AGO director - now MoMA director - Glenn Lowry is at number 4.

French fashion magnate François Pinault, also the owner of Christie’s auction house. Image: cbc.ca

01. François Pinault (1)
02. Larry Gagosian (2)
03. Sir Nicholas Serota (3)
04. Glenn D. Lowry (4)
05. Eli Broad (6)
06. Damien Hirst (11)
07. Charles Saatchi (7)
08. Jay Jopling (19)
09. Steven A. Cohen (32)
10. David Zwirner (16)
11. Sam Keller, Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, Annette Schönholzer, Marc Spiegler (5)
12. Brett Gorvy & Amy Cappellazzo (12)
13. Jeff Koons (10)
14. Iwan Wirth (14)
15. Michael Govan (33)
16. Harry Blain & Graham Southern (54)
17. Matthew Slotover & Amanda Sharp (8)
18. Tobias Meyer & Cheyenne Westphal (23)
19. Richard Serra (73)
20. Daniel Birnbaum (31)
21. Marian Goodman (15)
22. Marc Glimcher (18)
23. David Geffen (New)
24. Don & Mera Rubell (29)
25. Dakis Joannou (27)
26. Richard Prince (28)
27. Matthew Marks (77)
28. Thomas Krens (80)
29. Lisa Phillips & Richard Flood (New)
30. Ann Philbin (92)
31. Paul Schimmel (21)
32. Agnes Gund (New)
33. William Acquavella (76)
34. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan (New)
35. Simon de Pury (34)
36. Barbara Gladstone (24)
37. Dominique Levy & Richard Mnuchin (53)
38. Frank Gehry (58)
39. Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (New)
40. Bernard Arnault (New)
41. Robert Gober (36)
42. Sadie Coles (35)
43. Victoria Miro (26)
44. Thomas Hirschhorn (42)
45. Chris Kennedy (New)
46. Donna De Salvo, Shamim Momin & Chrissie Iles (30)
47. Eugenio López (37)
48. Julia Peyton-Jones & Hans Ulrich Obrist (46)
49. Jerry Speyer & Katherine Farley (New)
50. Gerhard Richter (17)

For space considerations, VoCA has re-printed the top 50. For the rest, please click HERE

Yayoi Kusama. Image: yayoi-kusama.jp

NOTA BENE: Check out the October issue of Art Review magazine - with Yayoi Kusama on the cover - for my review of the Power Plant exhibition Auto Emotion: Autobiography, Emotion and Self-Fashioning.

Alex Janvier, He Found the Loop. Image: alexjanvier.com

Paintings by Alex Janvier, one of Canada’s most influential Aboriginal artists are on view at the Art Gallery of Calgary,
to January 5, 2008.

Complementary to the theme of this year’s 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art: Living Utopia and Disaster, Janvier’s work presents a unique approach to political concerns through his signature style of curvilinear, gestural painting strokes, abstract imagery and biting political commentary.

Alex Janvier, Blue Flag. Image: alexjanvier.com

This exhibition is in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Walter Phillips Gallery at The Banff Centre for the Alberta Biennale.

Alex Janvier, Many Seeds Flower. Image: alexjanvier.com

For more information on the artist, please click HERE.

Michel de Broin, Revolution, 2003. Image: micheldebroin.org

Born in 1970 in Montreal, Michel de Broin lives and works in Montreal and in Berlin.

Through a collection of witty, playful objects and actions, his work is also serious, in that it seeks to escape the constraints imposed by society.

Michel de Broin, Entrelacement 2, 2001. Image: micheldebroin.org

Michel de Broin, Solitude, 2001. Image: micheldebroin.org

Michel de Broin, Opacity 2, 1997. Image: micheldebroin.org

Go to the artist’s website HERE.

Read more on the win HERE.

de Broin is represented by Galerie Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain in Montreal. Click HERE for the gallery’s website, and more information on Michel de Broin.

Shary Boyle, 2005. Image: sharyboyle.com

The Sobey Art Award is now in it’s 4th year. It is a $50,000 prize awarded every year to an artist 39 years old or younger who has shown their work in Canada in the past 18 months.

A panel of curatorial advisors from each of five regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies and the North, and West Coast), develops the list, consisting of five artists from each region. The panel then meets and chooses one representative from each region to be included on the national shortlist. The panel selects the winner.

The award, previously a bi-annual event, has now gone annual.

BRIAN JUNGEN won the first prize, in 2002. Click HERE for more on Jungen.

Brian Jungen, Untitled, 2006. Custom painted Vaughn 5500 Pro goalie mask. Image: artmetropole.com

JEAN-PIERRE GAUTHIER won the next prize in 2004. Click HERE for more on Gauthier.

Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Tribute to a Barking Dog, 2004. Image: jackshainman.com

ANNIE POOTOOGOOK won last year. Click HERE for more on Pootoogook’s work.

Annie Pootoogook, Windy Day. Image: burdickgallery.com

WHO WILL WIN THIS YEAR’S SOBEY ART AWARD?

The 2007 shortlisted artists are:

JEAN-DENIS BOUDREAU – Atlantic region. Read the artist’s blog HERE.

A work by Jean-Denis Boudreau. Image:jboud.blogspot.com

MICHEL DE BROIN – Quebec. Check the artist’s website HERE.

Michel de Broin, the model, installation and final product of Superficial, 2004 in Alsace, France.
Image: micheldebroin.org

SHARY BOYLE – Ontario. Check the artist’s website HERE.

A projection piece by Shary Boyle. Image: sharyboyle.com

RACHELLE VIADER KNOWLES – Prairies and the North. Check the artist’s website HERE.

Rachelle Viader Knowles, You Pull Me Apart, 2005. Image: uregina.ca

RON TERADA – West Coast. More on the artist HERE.

Ron Terada, Concrete Language, 2006 (Photograph). Image: catrionajeffries.com

Why is the Sobey award significant to you?

These prizes are helpful for collectors when looking at artist’s work.

It means, first that a number of art professionals from the artist’s region think highly enough of the artist’s work to recommend him or her for the longlist, and second that the deciding jury have weighed this artist’s work off against a selection of Canada’s most interesting work.

A prize like the Sobey adds critical weight to the artist’s work and gives the artist much needed money to produce more work.

The winner will be announced tonight, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Stay tuned to see who wins.

Kate Moss at the Frieze Art Fair, 2006. Image: faz.net

The Frieze Art Fair in London is on now:

Read about one of the biggest contemporary art events in the world, HERE, and take a virtual tour, courtesy of the Guardian, HERE.

Claudia Schiffer at the Frieze Art Fair, 2006. Image: faz.net

Read Waldemar Januszczak from the Sunday Times on why the Frieze Art Fair is the hippest place to be, right HERE.

Jude Law at the Frieze Art Fair, 2006. Image: faz.net

Is power relevant when it comes to something like contemporary art?

Read the article from the Wall Street Journal HERE.

Stay tuned for previews, interviews and more on Toronto’s upcoming international art fair - TIAF - that runs October 25 - 29, 2007.

Visit TIAF’s website HERE.

From the pages of Wallpaper magazine, to art-filled boutique hotels like Ian Schrager’s new Grammery Park, to Tom Ford’s new shop on Madison Avenue furnished with artworks from his personal collection, these days it simply won’t do to have a home void of art.

Yet for the new homeowner, selecting and hanging art can be a daunting task. As with fashion, trends come and go, what’s in one year is out the next. And as with fashion, many of the old rules no longer apply.

Artist Julian Schnabel’s interior design for the Grammercy Park Hotel, New York City. Image: nytimes.com

To help you navigate the waters, we’ve provided some tips on what to consider when you’re starting out. We also address some concerns you may have about adding art to your home. It’s easier than you think!

First, you will need to assess your space. Is it classic or modern? Large or small? How high are the ceilings? Are the furnishings large and boxy or fine and delicate? Is the room light-filled or cozy and dark? What kind of natural lighting have you got?

Next, assess your personal style. Do you prefer cutting-edge contemporary art? Colourful paintings? Prints? Photography? If so, what do you like images of? Do you like folk art? Do you buy art on your travels? In short, what are your interests?

Traditional Mexican ceremonial dance masks. Image: irisartes.com

If you already own the art, then great. If not, you might want to begin by visiting some galleries. See below for a list of some of Toronto’s best. They will be able to advise on framing, mounting and protecting your art from humidity, dust and sunlight.

Once you have a feel for the space and the type of work that you like, think about balancing rather than matching. Large walls can benefit from more dramatic pieces, while small spaces can handle more delicate artworks in tighter groupings, like prints or watercolours in slim frames. Black and white photography can look crisp and masculine, while mid-size oil paintings in gilt frames tend toward a classic look. And remember, dark artwork in a dark space will be, well, dark. And vice versa.

Country Rock by Peter Doig (after a scene familiar to anyone who has driven up Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway).
Image: contemporary-magazine.com

Finally, don’t be too precious with art - it only makes your interior seem untouchable. Yes, you should frame your children’s drawings and have them hanging in your living room, just be sure that they stand up – visually – to your other masterpieces. (You’ll find that lot of children’s art does.)

A painting of fireworks by a child. Image: show.me.uk

Having art in your home is all about creating a space in which you feel comfortable and that reflects who you are. Any individual touches, no matter how ‘improper’, will make your environment unique to you, and, after all, that’s what good style is.

SOME EXCELLENT TORONTO GALLERIES:

Photography:
Stephen Bulger Gallery - please click HERE
Jane Corkin Gallery - please click HERE
Monte Clark Gallery - please click HERE

Painting:
Odon Wagner Contemporary - please click HERE
Gallery Moos - please click HERE
Angell Gallery - please click HERE
Nicholas Metivier Gallery - please click HERE

Cutting-edge contemporary:
Jessica Bradley Art Projects - please click HERE
Diaz Contemporary - please click HERE
Susan Hobbs Gallery - please click HERE
Birch Libralato Gallery - please click HERE

Prints/multiples:
Art Metropole - please click HERE
Elizabeth Legge Fine Antique Prints - please click HERE
Stuart Jackson Gallery (Japanese prints) - please click HERE

This article first appeared in the Fall 2007 Toronto issue of Royal LePage e-newsletter by Kathleen Slater.

ONE TO WATCH: ADAD HANNAH

Adad Hannah, Traces, 2007 (video still). Image: Courtesy the artist

Montreal-based artist Adad Hannah makes video installations in which the videos appear to be still, when in fact they are videos whose subjects hold their poses…sometimes. The work holds the viewer - who is expecting some forward movement - in suspense.

VoCA caught up with Hannah after his installation Traces had been deemed one of the most successful installations at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche. He also exhibited Recast and Reshoot, based on Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Burghers of Calais at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery in Montreal during Mois de la Photo, 2007.

Continue reading →

MARCEL DZAMA

A drawing by Marcel Dzama. Image: sobeyartaward.ca

Marcel Dzama was born and raised in Winnipeg. He made his name as one of the founding members of the Royal Art Lodge, an artist collective formed in 1996 by six students at the University of Manitoba.

The group would collaborate on artworks, each adding his or her own elements.

Although Dzama is now an international sensation, he is still a member of the group. Please visit their website HERE.

Read an article from the New York Times on Dzama HERE.

Dzama is now represented by David Zwirner Gallery in New York. Click HERE for the gallery website.

BRIAN JUNGEN

Brian Jungen is an artist from Vancouver, with Swiss and Dunne-za First Nations roots.

He made his name with a series of sculptures called Prototypes of New Understanding, which were aboriginal masks assembled from parts of Nike Air Jordans.

Brian Jungen, Prototype for New Understanding #16, 2004. Image: makezine.com

He has also exhibited an enormous, whale skeleton made from generic plastic lawn chairs.

Brian Jungen, Shapeshifter, 2000. Image: mocoloco.com

Brian Jungen is represented by Catriona Jeffries Gallery in Vancouver. Please click HERE for the gallery website.