Category: News Archive

Toronto’s first Art Battle of 2015 saw over 400 keyed-up art lovers packed into the historic Great Hall on Queen Street West for January 20th, a Tuesday night of competitive live painting. The monthly Art Battle event features sixteen artists; fourteen are selected prior to the event while the remaining two are pulled from the night’s audience as “wild cards”. Each artist is given brushes, acrylic paint, a blank canvas, and just 20 minutes to create the painting worthy of a win. The Art Battle competition begins with two groups of 8 artists. The artists have one round of painting to prove that their talent deserves a place in the final round. The audience decides which two artists from each group will paint on in the final round by placing electronic votes through their smartphones. The top 4 artists compete in the final round which determines the champion for the evening.

Olga Kirnos of group one

Ford Medina of group one

Plucking at the audience’s heartstrings is the key to success in this competition; spectators’ electronically casted votes determine which painter will take home the win. Artists paint to secure themselves a cash prize and a spot in the Toronto city-wide finals to be held this summer. This month’s voting produced a tie in the final round; artists Mark Liam Smith and Vick Niresh shared the glory.

The painting that won Mark Liam Smith his spot in the final round of four painters

The audience selected this piece, by Vik Naresh, as a favourite during the final round. Naresh tied with Mark Liam Smith as Art Battle champions of the night

Watching Art Battle unfold from the wings is exhilarating; deep house pulses as the crowd forms a slow-moving tornado of anticipation that circles the platform elevating the artists and their canvases. There are as many smartphones out and recording as at any concert you have ever been to. Necks are craned, laughter is loud, drinks are shared, and camera flashes abound- all while the timer counts down. This is certainly not your average studio experience.

The painters of group two

At some point, everyone at an Art Battle competition wonders what it is like to be up there on that platform with that blank canvas. With this curiosity in mind, I (E.K) introduce top finalist, Mike Rachlis (M.R). Rachlis is a Toronto based oil painter, OCAD graduate, and first time Art Battle competitor. His gestural paintings won my admiration.

E.K: What did you do to prepare for Art Battle prior to the competition?

M.R: I prepared for only one round not expecting to win.  I did some sketches in charcoal and paint to try to establish an idea of a composition based on photos I had taken of myself.  I had this fear of getting up there and not having any idea what to paint. The second round was on the spot. After having made a composition on the fly, if I were to do Art Battle again, I wouldn’t prepare beforehand.

E.K: What are you feeling/thinking/doing in the 5-10 minutes before the competition begins?

M.R: I was unbelievably nervous before, so I was just trying to stay calm and create some sort of a plan for how to start the painting.  I spent the five minutes beforehand with my girlfriend trying not to over think everything and just relax so that my hand would stop shaking and I could paint.

Mike Rachlis’ efforts during the first round.

E.K: In Art Battle, you have only 20 minutes to complete a painting amid a large crowd. How did your artistic process differ during Art Battle versus in your studio?

M.R: The largest difference is that painting in the studio is a triathlon of painting, looking, and thinking, while Art Battle is an all-out sprint to get the painting done as quickly as possible.  In twenty minutes you barely have any time to even think.  I ended up going into a state that is easiest to describe as auto pilot; it’s like trying to get your hand to connect straight to your brain. You don’t have to make a decision about how the painting is going and then continue to paint; it just has to happen right as you think it.  When I work in the studio, I’ll paint frantically and then take just as long to sit back and look and think about where the piece is going.  In Art Battle, this is not an option.  I also work exclusively in oil paint so the switch to acrylic was noticeable. But that was a quick adjustment. 

E.K: How did the audience’s presence affect you?

M.R: I hate painting in front of people, so to have 400 people walking around and staring at me was nerve-wracking to say the least.  It actually made me focus on my painting because I didn’t want to stop at any point to take notice of the crowd.  

E.K:  You had your ear buds in during painting. What were you listening to?

M.R: I have pretty eclectic music taste. I made a really random playlist for Art Battle.  It was mostly really energetic music ranging from punk stuff (Dead Kennedys, Bloodhouse) to southern rap (Young Jeezy) and some 90’s drum and bass.  I was just looking for loud and fast.  

Text and photo: Emily Kovacs

6”×1”×36” Rough-cut slab, 28 × 20 inch archival pigment print, 2013

The theme of ‘wood culture’ and a rather multifarious display of their functions circulate in Susana Reisman’s photographic exhibition, Standardizing Nature: Trees, Wood, Lumber.  The eclectic photo series display through the transition of tree to lumber, an order by which nature is transformed to the composite wood. The wood in some of the photographs is neither standardized nor naturalized, but a peculiar representation of the idea.

The surface of the rugged slab is partially painted white with an unpainted section in the size and form of a standardized lumber. This piece of wood leans against a backdrop of a white wall, which visually emphasizes on the unpainted surface of what it looks to be a common piece of lumber. Reisman standardizes the wood by de-naturalizing its visual form through painting part of it, while not painting the rest, creating two different shapes in one.

Although it is a rough slab, the first thing we notice is the unpainted shape of a standardized lumber. Through this piece, Reisman distinctively expresses how we recognize the conventional matter in a material rather than in the natural form.

Eun Byul Jo

*Exhibition information: Standardizing Nature: Trees, Wood, Lumber, September 12 – October 18, 2014, Gallery 44 | Centre for Contemporary Photography, 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Sat 11 – 5 p.m.

Katzman Contemporary
86 Miller Street

Katzman Contemporary is the new iteration of the former Katzman Kamen Gallery and the original Leo Kamen Gallery. With a critical directorial vision, refined mandate, and new location, Katzman Contemporary is growing and expanding from its original ethos and roster of artists to include new visions and international exchanges.

Jeannie Thib, Catch, 2004

Katzman Contemporary first exhibition is JEANNIE THIB: Imprint
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 1, 3 – 6 p.m., Remarks at 4:30 p.m.

Jeannie Thib led an outstanding career. She was an integral part of the Katzman Contemporary roster, an inspiration and influence to the artistic community, and an irreplaceable friend to many. In the spirit of her remarkable artistic contributions, Thib’s career will be celebrated at the inaugural exhibition of Katzman Contemporary on February 1, 2014.

Accompanying Thib’s work will be artistic responses by four contemporary artists, Randy Grskovic, Shelley Miller, Meghan Price, and Pete Smith, as a tribute to her artistic legacy.

Imprint features seminal works from multiple eras of Thib’s career to offer a holistic instance of her practice and artistic ethos. Many of the included sculptural and wall works have not been shown in Toronto, and never together in this context.

Exhition dates: February 1 – 18, 2014, Katzman Contemporary at 86 Miller Street. Gallery hours: Tue – Thurs 11 – 5, Fri 11 – 7, Sat 11 – 6 p.m.

Opening Reception: January 9, 2014, 8 – 11 p.m.
Gallery 1313
1313 Queen Street West

ECO ART 2014 explores a number of environmental concerns such as air quality, urban sprawl, water quality and nature preservation. Artists have long filled the role of social activists expressing their concerns about issues important to them. In this exhibition they also mirror the concerns of today. The artists featured in the exhibition include Ghanesh Da, Heather Ahn, Carmen Lee, Dason Pak, Anna Snyder, Lindsay A. Veh, Jenny Li, Paul Brandejs, Arthur Ostrowski, Ruth Hartman, Daniel Sun, Stefan Herda, Adam Filek, Gregory Robin, Tibor Bedi, Katlin Brough, Sandra Herman, Catharine Somerville, Valerie Sabaliauskas, The Department of Biological Flow and Vjosana Shkurti.

The ECO ART Exhibit opened just as things were starting to warm up in Toronto having experienced a cold spell that some could argue was a result of the erratic climate patterns caused by global warming. The annual exhibit true to its traditions contained a variety of expressions drawing our attention to different environmental concerns.

Gregory Robins (left) and John Wiles with their sculpture Whale Coffin.

As you enter the gallery you see the work of Gregory Robins and John Wiles called Whale Coffin. The large sculpture of a whaling ship with a whale in its belly effectively makes its point. A very different sculpture installation by Arthur Ostrawski titled Industrial Migration covers the gallery floor with plastic fish lying on a bed of steel.

Arthur Ostrawski, Industrial Migration

Winnipeg artist, Tibor Bodi took a look at the fast food industry’s use of disposable containers and recreated them using  more traditional glass and porcelain moulds. Carmen Lee also used photographs she took with her camera phone to depict disposable objects such as coffee cups and then using an Galaxy S Pen to create illustrated  messages on them.

Carmen Lee with one of her works

Medicated by Valeria Sabaliauskas, an Ottawa artist, is a book installation using an old set of children’s encyclopaedias with representations of endangered animals in the centre cut out portion in the books. She reminds us that if we continue our path of treating the earth the way we have then one day our only experience with animals will be in books.

Valeria Sabaliauskas, Medicated

Vjosa Shkurti examines our experience with artificial light from technology in her video work Sundown. The video is a playful interactive performance between a candle and a light bulb.

 Vjosa Shkurti, Sundown

Stefen Herda’s The Litmus Tests uses various organic dyes and household chemicals reacting with paper to create his video work. The results are an ever changing canvas of chemical reactions creating abstract forms. Video maker, Adam Flex’s work I will Grow Tall starts with a solitary figure crouched naked in the wild. As the title says, the figure gradually rises and with arms out stretched.

Adam Flex, I will Grow Tall (left)

Jenny Li is originally from Shanghai  and she depicts the air pollution preset there with her three oil on canvas paintings including one titled Little Sister.

Jenny Li with Little Sister

The installation by The Department of Biological Flow titled Mon Santos! My Farmville is Burning takes a different approach and uses poetry, video and objects to create its message.

The Department of Biological Flow, Mon Santos! My Farmville is Burning

At the opening new friendships were formed as the artists talked about each others work and artistis methods. And of course they all shared their common concern for our environment.

Now if someone can just explain what’s up with the weather ?!

Text and photo: Phil Anderson

*Exhibition dates: January 8 – 19, 2014, Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen Street West. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun 1 – 6 p.m.

Opening Reception: September 19, 2013, 6 – 8 p.m.
Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art
401 Richmond St West, Suite 124,

Entering 401 Richmond is always a delight, seeing eclectically dressed, fast talking creators zipping in and out of the massive cultural hub. But tonight artists, writers and enthusiasts wandered in to celebrate the opening of Trade Marks, a group exhibition featuring four young contemporary indigenous artists.

Betty Julian, curator of the show, opens the reception by giving a brief introduction to the themes discussed in the multi-media exhibition. Julian highlights the use of symbolism and the emphasis on mark making when discussing the theme of indigenous interaction in modern day Canada. This is evident in Keesic Douglas’ work where by using the point blanket to stand in for the tradition and conflict that exists between the Indigenous people and the Hudson Bay Company respectively. Douglas uses photography to comment on the trade relations and its corresponding inequities with a minimalist language.

Keesic Douglas’s interaction between traditional textile and old-rye Whiskey to highlight the divide between customs and commodities

Keesic Douglas busy in conversation describing the distinct stripes of the point blanket and their connotation in his photograph

Symbolism is also present in Nigit’stil Norbert’s work where she uses a stencil inspired by her grandmother’s Gwich’in needlework to make a mark on urban spaces. This leads to a fantastic new lens through which to look at Toronto.

Norbert intersects two separate symbols of urban living and Indigenous handiwork to create a new space. One of my favourite works of the night

 Nigit’stil Norbert displaying her work

Meryl McMaster interprets mark-making by creating a sculpture made out of paper swallows cut out of North American history books. Then she moves within this swirl of paper birds. The large scale triptych is fascinating and immediately grabs your eye and very successfully elicits a sense of movement within the photographs.

Meryl McMaster standing by one of her beautiful photographs, Murmur

The fourth artist of the collective is Bear Witness who was not present at the opening. In his audio element in the show, his spoken worlds and sound piece summons you into the gallery and makes you feel like a cherished part of the community; much like the numerous Indigenous gatherings he’s appropriated.

The show is open from September 19^th to November 23^rd with plenty of interactive events including a curator’s talk on September 28, 2013 at 2 p.m. and the Image Native Art Crawl on October 18, 2013. Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, 401 Richmond St West, Suite 124,  Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 12 – 5 p.m.

Text and photo: Aliya Bhatia