Tag Archives: Canadian artists

URBAN GALLERY hosts new show ‘HUMANIMAL” featuring soft sculptures & paintings by ZOE CHANGEUN SON

I’d like to intro you to exciting Korean-Canadian artist ZOE CHANGEUN SON (below), whose show of mythical beasts portrayed in soft sculptures as well as paintings, is now on exhibition at URBAN GALLERY, 400 Queen St East, Toronto, running until Feb 13/16.HUMANIMAL showcases the wee creatures that are 3D portraits of the beasts in her imagination. Scary, weird, humourous and bizarre, the felt and cloth critters are displayed flying across the gallery wall and some mini beasties are on a central table – I just had to say hello (bottom picture).

Nancy from Snapd Newspaper dropped in to cover the artist’s reception and was busy snapping away (below) Zoe’s paintings show the same imaginative spirit, featuring all manner of whimsical humans with “special” powers and appearances. I was intrigued by the snowy bunny-like androgynous being below, titled “Someone’s Portrait #1″….…as well as “Someone’s Portrait #2”, featuring this moose/boy belowAlso shown are a series of mandalas and imaginary beasts, painted in acrylics on canvas or wood. Aren’t these extraordinary? The fabulous Kaspara Albertsen (below, right) ably assisted with gallery hospitality – a photographic artist herself, she knows how to motivate the staff as well as her fellow artists.The rest of the gallery staff and management were in attendance and joined Zoe for photo opps, below. L-R: Calvin Hambrook (gallery director), Kaspara, Zoe & Allen Sugar (curator)I encourage you all to go see where the wild things are over the next 4 weeks…check out the gallery’s website for hours and directions: www.urbangallery.ca

ARTIST LINDA LANGERAK INTRO’S ME TO SUPER WONDER GALLERY, TORONTO

What an unexpected pleasure to receive a last-minute invitation to join contemporary artist Linda Langerak last night at the super cool Super Wonder Gallery at 876 Bloor St West, Toronto. The gallery was hosting a show inspired by Rorschach, featuring multiple local artists’ work incorporating the Rorschach inkblot concept and Linda was one of the participating artists (below) with three distinct pieces on show. lankyratcreations.com What an explosion of colour! I was blown away by the number of pieces cleverly curated by Daniel Anaka, also an artist himself…and very cuddly, too! (see below)

Photo courtesy Linda Langerak

Below are a few of my fave works that really stood out, and I encourage you all to drop in to see the show yourself – Rorschach runs until Friday Nov. 27th. I must admit there were two pieces that really resonated with me….what do you think of these?

Relianece by Freya Kazemi

Bull Painting 1 by Thelia Shelton. Photo courtesy Linda Langerak

I ran into artist Kris Hamilton who has recently moved to Toronto to pursue her painting career and I loved the two pieces she showed me here..Linda intro’d me to several of her fellow artists whose work also hung on the walls -here’s the handsome and talented Paul Dolgov….And below, here’s the fabulous Gaya Kairos….Meet Michelle Dinelle (below) all colour coordinated with her art…And here’s the super suave Ricardo Silva…So come take a virtual walk thru the gallery with me and enjoy more stunning works…

I caught Linda snapping away, capturing some of her friends’ works….Big THANK YOU to gallery owners Christian Aldo (artist & event booking) and Kevin Bushman (operations/bookings) for hosting such a grand event and supporting local Canadian artists. Super Wonder Gallery is also available for event bookings (live entertainment shows, corporate events, private parties) and is fully licensed so check out their website for details. www.superwondergallery.com

URBAN GALLERY HOSTS OFFICIAL LAUNCH FOR “DON’T BE AFRAID OF COLOUR” BY NANCY-JANE PRICE

Tonight marked the official launch for local artist NANCY-JANE PRICE‘s latest painting series “Don’t Be Afraid of Colour” at URBAN GALLERY, 400 Queen St East, Toronto www.urbangallery.ca

Nancy-Jane’s first passionate encounter with colour occurred while she was still in kindergarten. She was to fill in a single pane of a stained glass window design on a piece of brown paper. She chose the most beautiful shade of magenta her young eyes had ever seen, carefully filling in the space. But when the teacher noticed that Nancy-Jane hadn’t started at the bottom, she was summarily removed from painting duties. That memory runs deep. She continued her love affair with colour in public school and colour has stayed with her ever since, mostly through dress and home decoration. Five years ago, after various art classes focused on traditional drawing and painting, she decided to “loosen up” her style, and signed up for an ongoing studio class where she concentrates on non-objective painting in acrylics with an emphasis on intuitive sense of colour. Artist statement: Colour, space, juxtaposition, design; the mystery in the way it works, the joy of being alive…

Here’s Nancy-Jane (below left) with KJ Mullins, Publisher of www.Newz4U.netAnd here’s artist Linda Langerak (below left) with Wayne Abell of UrbanSource Catering, and KJ Mullins

Visit www.Facebook.com/UrbanGallery to take a virtual walk thru the gallery (video)

DON’T BE AFRAID OF COLOUR

Paintings by Nancy-Jane Price. Show runs until Sat. September 26, 2015

A GRACE-FULL ART SHOW IN TORONTO

I was thrilled to attend last night’s launch party for the new KELLY GRACE art exhibition and sale hosted by the lovely folks at Eleven Hair Salon at 11 Irwin Ave in downtown Toronto.

I’ve been a fan of Kelly’s for a few years now, ever since discovering her at one of the big art shows in Toronto where I purchased one of her unique miniature as a gift for one of my filmmaker clients (picture of an old-school moviegoer kid eating popcorn). I’ve been waiting to find the perfect picture for my own wall ever since. There were so many cool pics to choose from last night….if you’re a fan of the Wizard of Oz, you’ll love her Oz collection (below)… all the characters and Toto, too!

And Kelly’s friends are all featured in her various lifestyles collections – well executed illustrations of everyday life that are so much fun and real conversation pieces….

Several of her picture subjects were in attendance when I arrived early – and of course we all made a beeline for the bar…..shampoo, blow-dry and a merlot, please!

The salon itself was fun to check out…and everywhere I looked, the mirrors reflected Kelly’s art. Cool, eh?

Mikah Styles does wigs for Toronto’s glitterati and movies so if you’d like a cut, colour or wig styled, visit them at http://www.mikahstyleswigworld.com/

Well, I finally found the Kelly Grace artwork that just HAD to come home with me…a stunning pop-portrait of another Kelly…Grace Kelly (below), so I did my bit to $upport this local artist and now Princess Grace is here with me waiting to find the perfect spot on my office wall.

If you’d like to check out Kelly’s work, visit her website: http://kellective.com/ or better still, come on down to Eleven Salon at 11 Irwin Avenue (a few blocks south of Bloor, west off Yonge) where Kelly’s show runs through end of May.

URBAN GALLERY’S LATEST SHOW “EVOKE” CERTAINLY DOES PROVOKE!

Last night I attended the opening reception for EVOKE, Urban Gallery‘s current show featuring painter LINDA LANGERAK and sculptor SANDRA BILAWICH.

It’s the perfect antidote to the grey miserable unseasonal weather we’ve been experiencing here in Toronto – the bright colours explode off the canvasses and the tactile sculptures engage and amaze gallery visitors.

Linda (below) showed off a riot of colour and movement in her latest work and it was fun to stand in front of each piece and look for hidden images.

Journalists from Novella arts/lifestyle magazine (www.novellamag.com) also enjoyed the artwork and here they are, Tanya and Bojana, with Linda (below)

Sandra also enjoyed meeting the Novella ladies (below)….

and showing her work to other gallery visitors….

Sandra’s work included metal and marble carvings of nature, some of which you could actually spin on their stands…

….as well as some humorous pieces incorporating musical instruments (below)

Internationally renowned flutist Ron Korb dropped in and was fascinated by the vintage flute inside the skeletal “judy”….

..and Ron also enjoyed meeting Erik Chong (below), another artist who recently showed his work at Urban Gallery, who dropped by to support Linda and Sandra.

I caught gallery curator, Allen Shugar (below), here proudly watching the guests stroll through the gallery, viewing all the pieces he laid out for the artists.