Tag Archives: Toronto galleries

URBAN GALLERY HOSTS CENTENNIAL COLLEGE’s ANNUAL STUDENT SHOWCASE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Each year, Toronto’s Urban Gallery hosts Centennial College Studio Arts program’s 1st year students exhibition and with the current Covid-19 crisis hitting all the galleries and public art installation locations so hard, Urban decided to upload a Facebook “gallery” show for the students (follow them on Facebook.com/UrbanGalleryTO)  The works are hung on the gallery walls for anyone wishing a private viewing – contact them via www.UrbanGallery.cagallery gallery3Thanks to Lisa Binnie, MFA, FAS Program Coordinator and Professor in the Fine Arts Studio & Photography Programs, the students were able to organize this year’s show so that their works can be showcased online, building support for their future careers.  Metamorphosis is the theme of this year’s Fine Arts Studio student exhibition, and it will change the way you look at art!  Metamorphosis is not only the theme, but also describes the transformation these emerging artists will experience during the Centennial College fine art program, and continue throughout their lives. Below is a selection of the works on show (installation runs until March 28) so please visit the gallery’s Facebook page frequently to view the various paintings and multi-media works uploaded daily.RavenMaducdoc-Facade-2020 gallery5 CarreraChung_Coda-2020 copy LuZhang-Glow-2020 gallery6 gallery10 ChristaBellewang_Saprophyte-2020

Urban Gallery is located at 400 Queen Street East in downtown Toronto, and is one of the city’s leading independent galleries offering artists catered opening and “meet the artist” receptions. If you have any questions or if you’d like booking information, please contact gallery director, Calvin Hambrook, at info@urbangallery.ca  Until social distancing or self-isolation concludes, Urban Gallery will continue running online gallery events for your safety and convenience.AnneKim_YouAreMore-2020 MYMYMY_Acceptance-OldSkin-2020 AleksandraRodneva-ThereStillWillBeLife-2020 RobertStephenson_Decisions-2020 SidiaAtabales-Schnitzler-Grandma-2020 WeijiaSu_HeartRebirth-2020 YuJunOh-MyInnerSide-2020Thank you for supporting Canada’s emerging artists!

TORONTO ARTIST JUDITH McKAY UNVEILS SOLO SHOW “HIRAETH” @ URBAN GALLERY

Running throughout the month of November, Hiraeth is thesolo show featuring stunning and colourful contemporary landscapes and “tree portraits” presented by JUDITH McKAY at Urban Gallery, 400 Queen St East in downtown Toronto.20181110_132357The Toronto artist explores fantasy as a means of finding peace in a frenetic world. Trees are her allegory for the endless pursuits of modern life: rooted, yet branching out to reach the sky.20181110_132237

20181110_132301Largely self-taught, Judith’s style is free-flowing. She uses both thick impasto and fluid colour to achieve movement and boldness. Fearless about colour, she uses a vibrant palette, applying interference and iridescent paints to achieve surrealistic effects. Her style is constantly evolving via frequent participation in workshops and exhibitions, as well as studying the techniques of other artists.

Judith (below L) was joined by her husband Rob Sylvester (below R), and her daughter Shannon (below C) came in all the way from New Jersey to celebrate the big opening reception!20181110_134458The gallery looked bright and welcoming on such a grey Saturday – and soon the guests started pouring in, admiring all the canvases….20181110_144400 20181110_142700 20181110_141442

20181110_132308 20181110_132620 20181110_145817ARTIST’s STATEMENT: Hiraeth (here-eye-th) is a Celtic word that means a wistful longing for a place to where you cannot return. A place that perhaps never was. The desire for a sense of peace and belonging are emotions I seek to capture in my work. Such desire can often turn to frustration when the real world doesn’t live up to fantasy, and so I depict trees, firmly rooted yet dancing in the wind, to symbolize resiliency as we continue to seek our true home, despite adversity. For this exhibition, I chose a vibrant palette and the use of high gloss medium and reflective paints to create an ethereal effect, as if awakening from a beautiful dream that quickly evaporates and eludes us. The pieces selected for display are meant to truly express what Hiraeth means to me.   ~ Judith McKay

I had the opportunity of chatting briefly with Judith prior to opening the doors of the gallery and she kindly shared with me her process and inspirations, especially for this collection….

If you would like to see Judith’s gorgeous, lush paintings, visit www.urbangallery.ca for gallery hours and directions, and follow Judith on her Instagram account: @judithmckayart

Hiraeth runs now until Nov. 30th at Urban Gallery, 400 Queen St East, Toronto.

Thank you for supporting Canadian artists!20181110_132455

 

TORONTO ARTIST JOHNY DELUNA READY TO LAUNCH SOLO SHOW “SPONTANEOUS LEVITATION” THIS THURSDAY

With a final few brushstrokes left and the selection of which painting goes where on the gallery walls, Toronto contemporary artist JOHNY DELUNA is just a few days away from launching his exciting new solo show, “Spontaneous Levitation”, at the Art Square Gallery, 334 Dundas St West (opp. the AGO).

I caught up with Johny over the weekend and asked him to share some last-minute thoughts on his new show….

As your solo show, Spontaneous Levitation, draws closer, how many new works of art will be represented at the show?  I will be showing about 10 new works from this year and about 15 works from prior years.img442From where have you drawn inspiration for these new canvases?  The genesis of most paintings starts with one small event or observation My inspirations come from observations of the human condition.  I try to depict the fragility of our lives, the unusual effects of random events, the consequences of our behavior.  It seems that issues rarely disappear they simply re-emerge in a modified form. I want to articulate these ideas in a new and fresh way, so I let the work express itself intuitively. Sometimes I don’t recognize the finished piece as mine. (No Free Lunch, below).No Free Lunch 36x48Can you share the story behind one or two of these new masterworks? The piece titled Eating Spaghetti With Scissors (below) is based on our need to add unnecessary complexity to our lives. Perhaps this complexity gives us comfort, the feeling that our life is richer and better.  I think we mistake motion with progress and quantity with quality.  When we can’t answer an important question with a straight answer, we fake it with circuitous logic. We vigorously defend this opinion with a mind numbing jumble of half baked ‘truths’, opinions, rumors and petty biases. We end up ‘going to the wall’ defending these opinions; opinions that that we don’t fully understand ourselves.Eating Spaghetti With Scissors acrylic on canvas 34 x 48What would you like gallery visitors to come away with after viewing your work?  I hope people will find the show to be very fresh, humorous and thought-provoking.  I hope the works will speak to each person in their own way. I hope visitors will encourage their friends to visit the show as well.art squCome meet Johny at his opening reception and view his provocative large-format paintings (acrylic on canvas) this Thursday June 8th (6-9pm) at Art Square Gallery, 334 Dundas St West, Toronto. Show runs until June 19th.

 

URBAN GALLERY HOSTS IN MAGAZINE’S PRIDE TORONTO LAUNCH PARTY

IN Magazine is Toronto’s premier LGBT glossy magazine and last night, Publisher Patricia Salib and her colleagues hosted a party to help launch this year’s PRIDE Month (and introduce the office PRIDE Guide) at URBAN GALLERY, catered by sister-company URBAN SOURCE CATERING. And what a fun party it was, too.20160601_18212920160601_18084120160601_182608(0)Sponsored by TD Bank, guests posed at the photowall, including Gallery director Calvin Hambrook shown here (below L) with Patricia and TD’s Regional Mgr of LGBT Business Development, Al Ramsey20160601_183633The delicious hors d’oeuvres circulated constantly…..20160601_180054 20160601_180131…and they disappeared just as quickly!20160601_181141Here’s Maria Khan (below L), Mgr of Talent Acquisition Strategies at Scotiabank who brought her colleagues to support IN Magazine. They’re posed in front of the beautiful paintings by Kirk Sutherland who’s exhibiting at the gallery during PRIDE month – his opening night party is tonight so I’ll share more of Kirk’s work with you later.20160601_180800Also in attendance, M.A.C. Cosmetics representative Drew Bowden who cut such a dashing figure in the crowd, esp. alongside friend Sharon Deebrah of Toronto City Planning (lower pic)20160601_18182120160601_181846More fabulous guests and IN Magazine folks and speeches….20160601_18314720160601_18272620160601_185622Thanks to the hard-working gallery and catering staff, and to Kelly who worked the door, checking the guest list and greeting everyone with her charming smile!20160601_181601 20160601_185832

www.urbangallery.ca

www.urbancatering.com

www.inmagazine.ca

 

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 13/16.20160116_142609(0)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).20160116_144929 20160116_144939

20160116_142155 20160116_142404Nancy from Snapd Newspaper dropped in to cover the artist’s reception and was busy snapping away (below)20160116_142030 20160116_142313Zoe’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″….IMG_7210…as well as “Someone’s Portrait #2”, featuring this moose/boy belowIMG_7211Also shown are a series of mandalas and imaginary beasts, painted in acrylics on canvas or wood. Aren’t these extraordinary?20160116_142011 20160116_142451 20160116_14245720160116_145004The 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.20160116_142821The 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)20160116_142946I 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

20160116_145108 20160116_145120 20160116_145051

 

ZEBUU HOME DECOR STORE OFFERS UNIQUE ACCESSORIES IN GALLERY-LIKE SETTING

When I visited Toronto’s Bloordale neighbourhood yesterday to celebrate the opening of the Dead Dog Records store, I walked past an intriguing store offering unique and incredibly beautiful home decor and art that I just could not resist…so I went inside.

20150926_140306Zebuu, located at 1265 Bloor St West just east of Lansdowne, presents its wares much like a curated gallery – collections of bird carvings from Brazilian artisans in lots of lovely colours grouped together like little birdies on a power line…delicately carved wooden angels flew across the entrance wall, and groups of wooden heads marched across the shelves live Easter Island moai come to life!

20150926_135838 20150926_135721

20150926_140024

20150926_140037Co-owner Craig Williamson explained that he and his partner, Geraldo Valerio, import their home decor, room accents and textiles mainly from Brazil, Turkey and India, all handcrafted by skilled artisans. Check out the stunning copperware from Turkey and the beautifully decorated shears and scissors from Mumbai, India, below.20150926_135902

20150926_135916So many cute little treasures for the wee ones’ rooms as well as the big people…I wanted to play with these hand-carved beasties….20150926_135741…and what kitchen or family room wouldn’t benefit from the addition of these fine home accents?20150926_140134 20150926_135725 20150926_135755Don’t the wooden spoons look like art (above), displayed the way Craig has hung them on the wall? Each is made by hand from native Brazilian hardwoods, ensuring a one-of-a-kind look and feel.

If you’re more into Canadiana, have no fear…Zebuu has lots of lovely goodies for the true blue Canucks, too.20150926_140045 20150926_140139The new website, www.zebuu.com, is still being populated with photos and product information, but you can call them on 647-748-1265 or email: info@zebuu.com 20150926_135656Zebuu is a welcome oasis of art, home decor and giftware amongst a row of unremarkable but friendly neighbourhood cafes, convenience stores and thrift shops.  You will feel welcome and at home so drop in and say hello to Craig and Geraldo, and do tell them I sent you.20150926_140110

 

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

20150910_17535620150910_18313820150910_183135Nancy-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. IMG_4402IMG_442720150910_183116Artist 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.net20150910_175434And here’s artist Linda Langerak (below left) with Wayne Abell of UrbanSource Catering, and KJ Mullins20150910_180646

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, 2015UG-Letterhead-BC