Art Toronto 2013 by Shellie Zhang
This year, Art Toronto 2013 housed over 100 galleries from 13 countries at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. With works ranging from emerging to established artists, new and familiar galleries, the 200,000 square feet of art can be quite intimidating. Here are some of the highlights of this year’s art fair.
The venue can be separated into a few distinct categories. On the east side were the more commercial and big name galleries, many of which were from international locations. However, a lot of money was exchanged this weekend at Toronto’s only international art fair among local galleries. On opening night, Loch Gallery sold $3-million dollars’ worth of art and Mayberry Fine Art bore a red dot on a sale price of $350,000.
Over at the Art Toronto Stage, Julia Dault talked of her own work in relation to her understanding of anti-illusionism and the fluid concept of home. In the past couple of years, the career of this Brooklyn-based Canadian artist has skyrocketed. Recently, her work has appeared in New Museum triennial “The Ungovernables”, Art Basel Miami, and the Armory Show in New York.
Art Metropole’s large bookstore display offered more affordable pieces of art for the average art-collector. Founded in 1974 by the artists’ collective General Idea as an artist-run centre, Art Metropole is a not-for-profit organisation with a focus on the production, dissemination and contextualisation of artist-initiated publication. In keeping with the centre’s mandate, many visitors could be seen walking around with a little piece of ephemera that brightened their day.
Angell Gallery had an extremely vast selection from the works of Kim Dorland to Yigal Ozeri. The gallery is known for featuring artists who employ unique techniques that defy set genres of production, straddle many mediums and produce fantastically exciting results. With their programming summarized at booth 900, their roster shines through as a diverse yet cohesive display.
Stephen Bulger Gallery focused on the work of one artist this year in what was an extremely risky strategy. The concentration on Alison Rossiter’s unique gelatin silver prints allowed for a more intimate and meditative experience amongst the loud and large works of many other booths. Focusing on detail, subtleties, and the artist’s process, Stephen Bulger’s strict selection resulted in the gallery’s distinction.
On the west side of the convention center at the Toronto Next Lounge, Instant Coffee has built a seating area amalgamating and redesigning elements from their recent exhibition Take The Easy Way at MKG 127. Here, artists who participated in Toronto’s Roundtable Residency discuss the works they produced and the benefits of this new local program.
Text and photo: Shellie Zhang
International Galleries at Art Toronto 2013 by Veronica Scarpati
With 20 new international galleries in attendance and over 13 countries represented, Art Toronto brought an exciting mix of contemporary talent to our own back yard, but what exactly drew so many international galleries to Toronto for the first time?
Now in its sixth year, Messum’s has become a regular at Art Toronto, bringing the best of British historical and contemporary art to Canadian collectors.
From Japan to Tel Aviv, repeat exhibitors to first-time attendees, when asked to describe what set Art Toronto apart, the answer was surprisingly unanimous: strong referrals, friendly crowds and—most importantly—interested buyers.
As Yann Bombard, first-time exhibitor from K+Y Gallery, Paris, explained, “Compared to New York or Paris, visitors here seem to have more time—and a genuine interest to learn about our artists.” When I spoke with Bombard, he was simultaneously writing up a sale, interacting with clients, and answering questions from fascinated visitors; with only four days to introduce his varied roster of European artists to the Canadian market, he had to make the most of it.
Yann Bombard (right) introducing Cécile Plaisance’s playful lenticular, Wall Street, to an interested visitor.
Visitors admiring French artist Elisabeth Lecourt’s work at K+Y Gallery. The artist folds vintage maps to create beautiful doll-like dresses.
Among the works Bombard presented at K+Y Gallery, two blue ceramic foetuses by up-and-coming artist Joseph Klibansky were particularly striking. Fresh off a record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s Amsterdam and named one of the “young geniuses of the contemporary art market”, Klibansky—a celebrity in his own right—conceived of the idea for his gold-plated series in order to comment on the relentless reach of today’s material culture.
Joseph Klibansky, Turquoise Evolution, 2013, gold-plated ceramic sculpture.
Eager to expose Canadian collectors to contemporary movements in her own country, Monica Gutierrez, director of Mexico’s The New Wall Gallery was another first-time exhibitor at Art Toronto. Playing on the gallery’s name and mandate, Gutierrez is after new walls on which to showcase her artist’s work, and Art Toronto’s newly developed NEXT section provided just the platform she needed. “I had heard very good things about Art Toronto from other dealers in Mexico,” Gutierrez explained, “so I decided to try it out, and I’ve been surprise by how open and receptive everyone has been.”
Introducing some of Mexico’s most promising artists to the Canadian market, Monica Gutierrez brings a refreshing mix of contemporary names to Art Toronto.
Displaying the work of three up-and-coming artists, The New Wall Gallery glittered with a varied assortment of artworks. Although Joao Rodriguez’s gouache on paper pieces were especially beautiful, Hugo Garza’s series Opus Volo—a series of works created entirely during flight—stole the show.
Hugo Garza, Redondo, 2013, from Opus Volo, c-print, acrylic dibond mount, 80 x 60 cm.
Just steps down the corridor another Mexican gallery found its home, this one celebrating its fifth year in Toronto. It seems international exposure can prove very fruitful—and not just for foreign artists trying to break into the North American market. As Laura Ortiz Vega, one of the artists represented by Estudio Antena explained, among the gallery’s roster of emerging Latin American artists, works by Canadian Catto Houghton also found place on the gallery’s walls. Resulting from a chance meeting the previous year, a partnership was forged between Mexican and Canadian artists, and now, hung alongside Leandro Asoli and Andres Basurto’s work, Houghton’s graphic panels brought depth and dialogue.
A Pan-American assortment at Estudio Antena, as the works of promising Latin American artists hung alongside those of Canadian Catto Houghton.
In a technique developed by the artist, Vega creates expressive portraits using wax-coated embroidery thread instead of paint—a painstaking process that yields luminous, life-like results. 
Catto Houghton, Untitled, 2013, acrylic on wood panel.
With so much talent from around the world, Art Toronto once again proved to be a resounding success. But how does our still nascent fair measure up to its more established and august counterparts? In the words of Messum’s Kristian Day, “Toronto by far draws the friendliest and most interesting crowds and that’s why we’ll keep coming back year after year.”
Text and photo: Veronica Scarpati