explorations in toronto art.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably already seen that I wrote a great big preview post on CONTACT Photography Festival for BlogTO last week, just in advance of the festival launch. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to check it out and add your own picks in the comments section!

I managed to make it to the launch party at MoCCA  (as well as my alma mater‘s grad show, Maximum Exposure, at the Gladstone) but other than that, I’ve been completely occupied with the life-overtaking activity of moving to a new apartment. Phew!

On the agenda this week, I’m celebrating my first time being published in print with the launch of Prefix Photo 23: Shadow Plays, on Thursday May 5th. Stay tuned— I’ll be posting later this week again about the piece I wrote for Prefix.

Late this month, I have a few plans up my sleeve for writings on the many CONTACT exhibitions I’m planning on seeing. But before then, I’ll be visiting Vancouver and Victoria, so while I’ll be away, I’ll probably accumulate some good visual experiences to share here. Happy May!

It was a real pleasure to visit Clint Roenisch Gallery a little while ago. Though I’ve peeked in the big front windows over the years (and seen some mighty eclectic work), I’m not sure if I had ever really taken the time to stop in for a more considered visit; sort of embarrassing since I’m often in the neighbourhood. Being neighbours with MoCCA must have some perks, and I bet one of them is the gallery-hopping bunch; Roenisch’s small, rather curious gallery would form a great counterpoint to the museum-y-ness of MoCCA.

I couldn’t help asking about the distinctive hand-lettered text that used to adorn the front window, and I’m glad I did— Roenisch told me a great story about commissioning a new font (Roenisch Regular, naturally) from designer Colin Bergh, who is known around the city for his distinctive posters, and around everywhere else for his great Final Fantasy album covers. I was a bit disappointed at first that the scribble had been wiped away, but when Roenisch gave me his card I saw the text had been immortalized in letterpress. Whew! And its replacement is just as distinctive. The bespoke font is just one of the quirks that make this gallery a fascinating place—the other, of course, is Roenisch’s vision.

My profile on the gallery was posted yesterday on BlogTO; read it here.

Lastly: This piece is my 13th profile for BlogTO. In honour of this auspicious number, I’d love to hear some feedback about the profiles. As anyone can imagine, it’s a challenge to continue writing similar pieces containing similar facts, and I want to make sure I keep the profiles interesting. So riddle me this: What would you like to know about any art gallery?

Luis Jacob’s much-awaited show, Pictures at an Exhibition, just opened at MoCCA. I found the exhibition pretty challenging, especially since Jacob’s work can be pretty opaque, and his practice kind of eclectic. Regardless, I wrote a piece on it for BlogTO which just went up yesterday. Read it here!

A few side notes on this one.. going in, I was determined NOT to repeat the tidbit I’ve heard ad nauseam in the local art media, about how Jacob is so internationally recognized, yet hasn’t received much attention in Toronto, where grew up and continues to be based. Alas.. at the last minute, it seemed essential as a framing device for the review I wrote. Also, I am not responsible for the headline BlogTO decided to use. No hard feelings, of course, and it’s not as though I provided a better one!

Also, this is one of the quickest turnarounds I’ve ever done on an exhibition review. I often have more time, or I give myself more time, to do multiple visits and record multiple impressions. This time, I didn’t have that luxury.. the run of the show is relatively short and I wanted to get the thing up as quickly as possible following the opening. So my review leans more toward the recording of one experience, rather than the measured consideration of bodies of artwork. I’m fine with this; and am pleased with the way I pulled it together after a lot of pussyfooting!

Last note: you might have noticed a flurry of activity with my BlogTO posts. I’m happy to announce I now have my own account and thus my own byline— if you click on my name under the headline, you’ll be directed to the other posts I’ve written on the site. This only works for things that have been posted under my account, so you’ll have to rely on this site to see the older pieces I wrote for BlogTO, before I was ‘officially’ a regular contributor. Just click the tag “BlogTO“.

Since MoCCA announced that they’d be showing David Hoffo’s Scenes from the House Dream, I’ve been anxiously looking forward to seeing it— though I’d never heard of this Western Canadian artist until I saw House Dream at the National Gallery of Canada last winter, his innovative technique and the work’s pervasive sense of malaise and longing had me hooked.

My review of it appears on BlogTO today. Here’s an excerpt:

“Watching the short scenes continuously, there was a feeling of limbo— there is never a resolution, just an action, repeated. In Bachelor’s Bluff, a man stands at the edge of a seaside cliff by a barrier, car parked off to the side. He shuffles along aimlessly, squats down to pick up a stone, and hurls it off the edge like a baseball pitcher. But instead of gaining any satisfaction, he continues to shuffle and pace. The surf continues to roar (Hoffo’s use of sound is very evocative, and important, in the whole installation.)
“One of the most interesting aspects of the piece, and certainly a point of uniqueness, is the visual wizardry that Hoffos uses to create the apparitions in his models. There are televisions around the room, set at precise angles, and the glass in front of the dioramas reflects the image, creating the illusions. It’s relevant that Hoffos reveals the illusory technique. On the way around the exhibition, one could peer around edges to see more of the tricks. I believe this is done to induce different questions; after the initial moments of awe and delight, the secrets are revealed and viewers can stop focusing on “How did he do that?”, and begin to think “Why did he do that?”

Read the full review…

MoCCA also shared some installation progress photos on Twitter— yet another insight into the “how?” of the exhibition..

This is a great opportunity to go and see this Canadian masterwork. Scenes from the House Dream continues until December 31st, 2010, at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen St W. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Sunday 11 – 6 PM.