Archive for October, 2010

Seen at the Toronto International Art Fair…

There was quite a good vibe at the art fair in Toronto this weekend. While Toronto’s fair pales in comparison to those in Miami or London or New York, it’s less useful to compare them, and better to focus on the fantastic young Canadian talent to be found. Mike Bayne, Untitled, from the series God, Shelter, Oil Painting and Hockey,
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Go Go Gagosian: Lunch with the FT

I adore the Financial Times weekend edition, particularly its feature Lunch with the FT. Larry Gagosian. Image: nymag.com Last week, in case you missed it, mega-dealer Larry Gagosian, who was No. 1 in Art Review’s recent Power 100, had lunch with the FT’s art critic, Jackie Wullschlager. He comes across as surprisingly humble, for a man succeeding at art-world domination,
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Women, Art, Celebrity

Some thoughts on the role of women in the visual arts: American artist Barbara Kruger makes the cover of W magazine’s Art issue, via the famous-for-nothing Kim Kardashian. The opening line of the article goes like this: “Kim Kardashian can’t sing, act, or dance, but she’s found the role of a lifetime in the fine art of playing herself.” Image:
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Loved: Guillermo Gomez-Pena & James Luna in Performance

Last night we went to a performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, who we had seen a few years ago at MOCCA and blogged about HERE, this time together with the American First Nations artist James Luna. Guillermo Gomez-Pena with curator Philip Monk. Image: VoCA La Nostalgia Remix is the last in a series of projects called The Shame-man meets El Mexican’t,
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Get with the Program, Canada Council

This evening, members of the Toronto arts community gathered at the Four Seasons Centre for an “open reception” hosted by the Canada Council. The Toronto arts community, listening to speeches. Image: VoCA Luckily, I arrived late, mid-way through the interminably dull speeches in which speakers bandied about terms like ‘synergy’ and other corporate boardspeak. My first impression was that this
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Hot New Design Firm: Reigo & Bauer

Check out my profile of the young design team Reigo & Bauer, in the current issue of DesignLines magazine. The Toronto couple has renovated a Deco-style building into a number of apartments, retaining many original details. They make the most of the space in their tiny apartment, which opens onto a fantastic roof deck. And they have set up their
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The New “IT” Curators…

A friend of VoCA recently drew my attention to this article in the Independent. So-called “It” curator Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld. Image: iwanttobeariotfeld.com The It curators: A new breed of young socialites are selling art is about the likes of Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, son of French Vogue editor and eternally glamorous woman Carine Riotfeld, Vito Schnabel (son of Julian) and Tyrone Wood (son
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Alberta Art Scene Heats Up: Part Two

Harold Klunder, Invisible Plans ( Yellow Self-Portrait), 2007-2010, Oil on canvas. Image courtesy TrépanierBaer and Guy L’Heureux. 4. HAROLD KLUNDER – NEW WORKS – AT TREPANIER BAER New paintings by one of Canada’s most highly acclaimed painters, Harold Klunder go on view at Trapanier Baer Gallery from October 16 – 13 November. You’ve gotta love his self-portraits, no? I think
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Alberta Art Scene Heats up: Part One

You may not imagine too much of a happening art scene when you think of Calgary, Alberta… Wednesday Lupypciw, Lucky Charmz Clubb (video still). Image: stride.ab.ca …but you’d be wrong. There’s a good art scene in Cowtown, as you can tell by a quick browse of VoCA’s ‘Calgary’ link, on the category sidebar on the left of the screen. Here’s
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Nuit Blanche Toronto 2010: Your Thoughts?

Did you go to Toronto’s “All Night Contemporary Art Thing” – Nuit Blanche this year? What did you think – Did you LOVE it or LOATHE it? Fujiko Nakaya’s fog installation at philosopher’s walk at Nuit Blanche 2006. Image: topleftpixel.com The organizers blocked of Yonge Street – was this a good thing? How did the art fare? Better or worse
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