In the Studio this week...

Opening: STUDIO HUDDLE - Makes Sense on the Body

Located in a beautiful, historic loft building at 97 Niagra in downtown Toronto, Studio Huddle is an artist-run space, dedicated to the craft-based arts. Comprised of a group of talented crafts-people as well as former Harbourfront Centre craft artists-in-residence, Studio Huddle works towards connecting the public with emerging artists who explore and push the boundaries of their medium. They do this through education, exhibitions, collaboration and ongoing experimentation within their practices.
The gallery and resident artist studios provide support to Canadian artists, and public access to emerging contemporary craft-based art.
Here is an invite to their upcoming exhibition Makes Sense on the Body curated by Melanie Egan as well as a preview of the exhibition catalog.

Studio Huddle
97 Niagara St. Toronto
Nov. 8th - 25th, 2012
Opening Reception: Nov. 8th 6-10 pm 2012.

We'd like to thank all the designers participating in this exhibition. Anu Raina, inspired by new beginnings saturated with colour; Eric Petersen who pays homage to the hip-hop urban experience; Victoria Yez whose nature inspired works hearken back to the glamour-days of the1940s; Stephanie Fortin + LABEL who ingeniously blend historical hand-techniques with contemporary chic; Malcolm Halley for his street-savvy, sartorial style and Grant McRuer who epitomizes industrial elegance.

Copyright © 2012 STUDIO HUDDLE,  All rights reserved. STUDIO HUDDLE 97 Niagara St. Toronto, ON m5v 1c3 Canada

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

Textile Museum of Canada: reDesign 2012

This past August, I was invited by the Textile Museum of Canada to re-imagine and reDesign one of the classic Eames DSW-style chairs in support of Museum's second annual fundraising event reDesign 2012. 

Over the course of the past week, the Textile Museum has slowly been unveiling each of the 40 chairs in anticipation of the upcoming auction. 
Here is a sneak peek at my contribution to the auction, some of my favorite reDesigns and more information on the event. If you are interested in purchasing a ticket to the event, you can find more information here.

 

Lace felt chair

Industrial felt pattern, hand-cut & paint.

BMO Financial Group 

reDesign 2012

Presented by the Textile Museum of Canada

Wed. November 7th 2012. 6:30 - 9:30pm

Hazelton Lanes, Oval Square - Lower level

87 Avenue Rd. Toronto 

The Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) will present its signature fundraising event and gala, BMO Financial Group reDesign 2012, on Wednesday November 7th, 2012 in the courtyard of Yorkville’s Hazelton Lanes. Developed by the TMC, the second annual reDesign event supports creativity, ingenuity and re-use to produce stellar art and design objects. Forty leading Canadian artists, designers and architects including Thrush Holmes, Jeremy Laing, David Dixon, Hariri Ponterini Architects, Barr Gilmore, and Comrags have been invited to reimagine and refurbish identical Eames-style chairs, generously provided by MORBA, to be sold at this year’s silent auction. reDesign is a cornerstone of the TMC’s annual fundraising activities. 

“The Textile Museum of Canada has been amazed by the generosity and innovation of all participating,” said Executive Director Shauna McCabe, “There has been no limit to the creative brilliance the artists bring to the task of transforming these iconic designs. The resounding enthusiasm of the city’s creative community and the overwhelming public response to the unique interdisciplinary styles that result have made reDesign one of our most important events.”  

reDesign challenges Toronto’s most celebrated talent to construct inspired, collectible designs. This year’s iconic Eames-style furnishings will be transformed by creators Lizz Aston, Bruno Billio, bookhou, Brothers and Sons, Castor, Joy Charbonneau, Farley Chatto, Johnson Chou, Comrags, Creative Matters Inc., Rob Diemert, David Dixon, Stephanie Fortin, Fugitive Glue, Barr Gilmore, Charlene Gilmour, Grant Gilmour, Hariri Ponterini Architects, Grant Heaps, Adam Herst, Hoax Couture, Thrush Holmes, Jeremy Laing, Levitt Goodman Architects, Dennis Lin, MADE, Graeme Marrs, Amanda McCavour, Derek McLeod, MORBA, Tina Morgan, Camal Pirbhai, Meghan Price, Joel Robson, Patricia Roy & Amy Piccinni, Kathryn Walter, Kevin Weiss, Gareth Wilson, and Pam Woodward.

Johnson Chou

Levitt Goodman with 
Hot Pop

Grant Heaps

Dennis Lin

Joel Robson

MADE

Opening: Ed Pien - Lost Souls

Although there isn't much information about this exhibition online, if you are in the greater Toronto area, I highly recommend checking out Ed Pien's Lost Souls at Birch Libralato Gallery.

Ed Pien was Born in Taiwan and migrated to Canada with his family at the age of eleven. His work - which encompasses paper-cut, installation, drawing and video, draws upon a rich combination of both Eastern and Western sources, marrying stories, crafts and traditions from his birthplace with that of contemporary European and North American influences.

One of Pien's water-jet cut metal sculptures has recently been selected by Art Toronto and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art to be commissioned for auction in support of MOCCA and its public programming. This sculpture will set the aesthetic for Art Toronto 2012, which runs from October 26th-29th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and will also be showcased in their 2012 Catalogue.
This is the fourth year Art Toronto and MOCCA have commissioned an artist to produce the Art Toronto MOCCA Benefit Edition.
The piece entitled Leap (2012) will be available for purchase on-site at the upcoming Art Toronto. Below is an image of the work as well as a link to an interview he recently did with Toronto's Artsync. 

Leap, 2012
12" x 21 ¾" x 1/8" inches; waterjet-cut metal; Multiple
Courtesy of the artist, Birch Libralato, Toronto and
Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain, Montréal. 

Ed Pien
Lost Souls @ Birch Libralato
October 20th – November 24th
Opening reception Saturday October 20th 2–5 PM

Canoe, 2012
water-jet cut aluminum; painted, 38" x 59" x 1/2"
 

The Runner, 2012
water-jet cut aluminum; painted, 47" x 78 1/2"

Abandoned, 2012
ink on hand cut 3M reflective material mounted to Shoji paper, 30" x 36"

Opening: //The Annual// @ the Gladstone Hotel

// THE ANNUAL //

Thursday October 25 to Sunday October 28, 2012

// THE ANNUAL // is the Gladstone Hotel’s annual independent contemporary art event, offering an open and fertile ground for engaging and emerging practices. Over the course of four days, // THE ANNUAL // brings together artists, curators, and collectives to present new work and site-specific installations.

// THE ANNUAL // features artists Tara Bursey, Soon Cho, Shlomi Greenspan, Brady Gunnell & Mikhail Mansion, Thea Jones, Maria Flawia Litwin, Isabel M. Martinez, Faye Mullen, Jen Spinner, Laura Taler, and keep it UP guest-curated by Zach Pearl & Caoimhe Morgan-Feir and featuring artists Andrew MacDonald, Johnson Ngo, and Cecilia Tiburzio.

// THE ANNUAL // 2012 is curated by Noa Bronstein and Deborah Wang

Gallery Hours:

Friday and Saturday, 2PM – 10PM

Sunday, 2PM – 6PM

Admission: $5

Programme:

Thursday, October 25 – Opening Reception, 7PM – 10PM, Free

Friday, October 26 – Designers Support the Arts with guest DJ Katey Morley, 7PM – 10PM, $5

Saturday, October 27 – Raw Foo, video art screenings, presented by Zach Pearl, 8PM – 10PM, $5

Raw Foo will feature: Dennis Envoldson, Jennifer Chan, Josh Studham, Mark Kasumovic, Sarah Ann Watson,Sara MacLean, Tracy Van Oosten, with audial/visual performance by Frank Tsonis during intermission

Opening: Jeannie Thib - Expanded Fields

JEANNIE THIB
Expanded Fields

October 20 to November 17
Opening Saturday October 20, 3-6pm

The sculptures, wall works and drawings in Expanded Fields disrupt relationships  between architecture and ornament, between the modern and the decorative.  In these works, decorative motifs become building blocks and ornament is reconstructed  through cutting, stacking and printing, and the use of industrial materials like neoprene,  aluminum, plywood and polystyrene. Three-dimensional form is "extruded up" in layers from two-dimensional design,  suggesting 3D computer renderings and other forms of architectural modelling.  The cube is referenced in several works, as is the sectional architectural drawing.  Modular and grid-based, the works engage with repetition and reproduction.  These features—of both minimalist constructions and historic ornament—are key,  as is the introduction of rogue elements, gaps and alternate strategies into those  ordered systems. As Tila Kellman puts it "Jeannie Thib pursues the idea that ornament is world-making  to its logical conclusion. If ornament can generate meaningful space, then what if  ornament rises into architecture?"  from a text published in conjunction with the solo  exhibition "Compound: Ornament and Seduction," St. Francis Xavier University  Gallery, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, 2009

Stratigraphic Manufactury: 3D printing by Unfold

As you may or may not know, I have been really interested in the possibilities inherent in 3D printing with clay for quite some time now. Here is an example I found on Dezeen of a really interesting project that explores the nuances of this automated process and how 3D-printed objects created from identical digital files can be as varied and unique as hand made objects themselves.

Above: objects produced by Antwerp design studio Unfold. 

Photograph by Kristof Vrancken

Stratigraphic Manufactury is a project by Antwerp based design studio Unfold, that explores methods of manufacturing and distributing design in the dawning era of digital production.

Designing a range of bowls and vessels on the computer, each of the digital files have been sent to small-scale producers around the world, who then manufacture them in porcelain using open-source 3D printers. 

"We sent out seven of our designs," said Dries Verbruggen of Unfold. 

They were instructed not to alter the digital files but were free to incorporate personal and local influences and interpretations during the production.  

The resulting objects, which vary according to the type and consistency of the porcelain they used, and the accuracy of the printer, are on display at the Adhocracy exhibition at the inaugural Istanbul Design Biennial.

Verbruggen compared the flaws and idiosyncrasies of the digitally-generated objects to the unique tool marks left by that of the craftsman.

Unfold was founded in 2002 by Design Academy of Eindhoven graduates Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen. You can check out more of their work here.

TORONTO EXHIBITIONS: 2012 World of Threads Festival

Hello all! In the coming weeks, I will be participating in two separate exhibitions as a part of the World of Threads Festival taking place in Oakville and Toronto. The first exhibition I will be taking part in is entitled Interlace, Deconstruct, the Spaces in Between, and will take place at the Telephone Booth Gallery in the Junction. The opening reception is Friday, Nov. 16th, and the exhibition runs from Nov. 14th - Dec 22nd 2012. A great opportunity to pick up some gifts in time for the holidays! Here is some more information on the show and a the invite for each of the Toronto exhibitions:

Toronto: Nov. 9 - Dec. 2, 2012

The Festival has been 3 years in the making and will highlight the work of nearly 200 artists from 12 countries and 8 Canadian provinces. There are 11 curators. We will be exhibiting diverse wall and sculptural pieces and installations in a wide variety of fibre media. We are very excited about the scope, content and quality of the work that will be shown. The Festival is organized by dedicated volunteers Dawne Rudman (Festival Chair & Curator) and Gareth Bate (Festival Curator). Artwork is coming from Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Peru, Spain, UK and the USA. 

The Festival is based in Oakville, Ontario where there are 11 shows. For the first time we’ve expanded into Toronto with 10 shows. Please note the Toronto Festival opens one week after Oakville. All exhibition dates, times and opening receptions vary. The flagship shows of the Festival are the Common Thread International exhibitions. Multiple curators have created exciting shows based on their own unique interests. We also have Independent Exhibitions who have joined onto the Festival. Use our online Exhibition Pages, Events Calendars, Directions and Maps to plan your visit. 

Festival Website | Oakville Exhibitions | Toronto Exhibitions | Oakville Calendar | Toronto Calendar | Directions and Maps | Downloadable Festival Brochure | List of Exhibiting Artists 

| Art Bus Tour from Toronto to Oakville | Festival Facebook Invite

Festival Contact: Dawne Rudman (Festival Chair & Curator) 905 844-6524, dawne@worldofthreadsfestival.com

Textile patterns deconstructed to reveal single lines that trace points of intersection between a thread and a surface.

Manipulating photographs of her own textile work, Lizz Aston expands upon these predetermined patterns. By altering line, shape, volume, repetition and scale she deconstructs these formal patterns in unexpected ways, creating a body of prints and three-dimensional, large scale works.
Noelle Hamlyn is intrigued by the possibilities of textures and fibres to evoke emotion. Believing our sense of touch is one of the most powerful and profound vehicles of human understanding, she is drawn to materials with strong tactile qualities and uses these as metaphors to explore experience.
Taking imagery from Victorian dinnerware and narrative-themed plates, Pam Lobb uses monoprints on fine Japanese papers, combined with fabric, to create layered porcelain-like sculptures. Lace and crochet work are moulded between layers of paper, revealing their texture and emphasizing the intricacy of the patterns

Download the 2012 Festival Exhibition Brochure.

Curator: Canada: Ontario: Toronto: Sharlene Rankin
Artists: Canada: Ontario: Mississauga: Noelle Hamlyn, Toronto: Lizz Aston, Pam Lobb 

OAKVILLE EXHIBITIONS: 2012 World of Threads Festival

Hello all! In the coming weeks, I will be participating in two separate exhibitions as a part of the World of Threads Festival taking place in Oakville and Toronto. The second exhibition entitled De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) is at the Joshua Creek Heritage Arts Centre in Oakville, with an opening reception on Sunday, Nov 4th. The show will run from Nov. 2nd - 18th, 2012. If you would like to check it out, but do not have access to a car, there will be an Art Bus Tour that takes you from Toronto to Oakville. Please be sure to book your seat on the bus as soon as possible, as spaces are filling up fast! Enjoy! 

Oakville: Nov. 2 - 18, 2012

The Festival has been 3 years in the making and will highlight the work of nearly 200 artists from 12 countries and 8 Canadian provinces. There are 11 curators. We will be exhibiting diverse wall and sculptural pieces and installations in a wide variety of fibre media. We are very excited about the scope, content and quality of the work that will be shown. The Festival is organized by dedicated volunteers Dawne Rudman (Festival Chair & Curator) and Gareth Bate (Festival Curator). Artwork is coming from Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Peru, Spain, UK and the USA.

The Festival is based in Oakville, Ontario where there are 11 shows. For the first time we’ve expanded into Toronto with 10 shows. Oakville is the site of our 3 Major Festival Exhibitions: De Rerum natura (On The Nature of Things), Memento mori and Quiet Zone. If you don't drive, join us on our Art Bus Tour from Toronto to Oakville. Please note the Toronto Festival opens one week after Oakville. All exhibition dates, times and opening receptions vary. The flagship shows of the Festival are the Common Thread International exhibitions. Multiple curators have created exciting shows based on their own unique interests. We also have Independent Exhibitions who have joined onto the Festival. Use our online Exhibition Pages, Events Calendars, Directions and Maps to plan your visit. 

Festival Website | Oakville Exhibitions | Toronto Exhibitions | Oakville Calendar | Toronto Calendar | Directions and Maps | Downloadable Festival Brochure | List of Exhibiting Artists 

| Art Bus Tour from Toronto to Oakville | Festival Facebook Invite

Festival Contact: Dawne Rudman (Festival Chair & Curator) 905 844-6524, dawne@worldofthreadsfestival.com

 

 De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things) is a highly eccentric exhibition evoking the collection of a mad 18th century naturalist. All the artwork is dealing with themes of nature, plants and animals. Curator Gareth Bate has observed that environmental work is the most dominant theme in contemporary fibre art. This lush and colourful environment is filled with striking and sometimes bizarre work. The show features the work of 35 artists from Canada, Denmark, United Kingdom and USA. They are working in a huge variety of media. There will be installation, sculpture and 2D work. The title of the exhibition is based on the ancient Roman poem De rerum natura by Lucretius who's rediscovery was a major inspiration for Renaissance artists. Gareth is setting up the De rerum natura  in opposition to Memento mori  his other exhibition at The Gallery at Sheridan Institute in Oakville. That exhibition deals with themes of death, mortality and grief. The work is dark and the polar opposite of life filled work of De rerum natura. All the Memento mori artwork engages with techniques or the aesthetic of fibre, but none of the work is actually made of fibre materials. Gareth is exploring the contrast of fibre/life and artificial materials/death.
Download the 2012 Festival Exhibition Brochure.

Curator: Canada, Ontario, Toronto: Gareth Bate.

Artists

• Canada: British Columbia: Vancouver: Bettina Matzkuhn, Carlyn Yandle, Manitoba: Winnipeg: Heather Komus, Ingrid Lincoln, New Brunswick: Saint John: Sandra Betts, Ontario: Alliston: Amy Bagshaw, Kingston:
  Phillida Hargreaves, Robin Laws Field, Sylvia Naylor, Kitchener: Joanne Young, Mississauga: Pat Hertzberg, Oakville: Sybil Rampen, Ixchel Suarez, Ottawa: Sayward Johnson, Rockwood: Susan Strachan Johnson,Toronto: Lizz Aston, karen darricades, Libby Hague, Jillian MacLachlan, Liz Menard, Leanne Shea Rhem,
  Sheila Thompson,Tweed: Marta Mouka, Quebec: Montreal: Soufïa Bensaïd, Emily Jan, Valérie d. Walker, St-Sauveur: Marjolein Dallinga, Saskatchewan: Meacham: June J. Jacobs.
• Denmark: Copenhagen: Birgitta Hallberg.
• United Kingdom: Liverpool: Sarah Martin.
• USA: California: San Francisco: Chris Motley, Georgia: Atlanta: Leisa Rich, Massachusetts: Somerville: Jodi Colella, Oregon: Philomath: Laura G. Berman, Virginia: Charlottesville: Lotta Helleberg.