@ The Power Plant

The Power Plant Gallery is presenting two exhibits from December through till March 14, 2012.

Coming After is a collaborative exhibit featuring both local and international artists. The works focus on queer time.
Entertainment: Selections from Midcentury Studio features the works of artist Stan Douglas

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Gifts By Artists

"Join us at Art Metropole to warm yourself by the delightful glow of artist books and multiples at our annual Gifts By Artists exhibition and sale. Discover and purchase great works by some of our favourite artists. These carefully selected affordable artworks make perfect gifts for the lucky people on your list—or excellent additions to your personal collection. Find a special gift for your friends, loved ones & yourself."

When: Gifts By Artists is running from December 10-23, 2011 + January 4-28, 2012.
Where: Art Metropole is located at 788 King Street West 2nd Floor, Toronto.

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For more info and to preview some of the gifts, click away:

http://www.artmetropole.com/popups/exhibits/exhibits_11/gba_11/gifts_by_artists_2011.html

Zine Zone @ XPACE

You are soooooo invited to XPACE's second annual Zine Fair!

Just in time for the holidaze, pick up great handmade items from local artists. There will be zines, comics, bookworks, prints, knit and crochet items, crafts aaaand incredible edibles. etc etc etc! neat stuff.

Also to delight your senses, musical stylings by:
DJ taz's_mom_butters_ (Sarah Butterill)
DJ AS IS (Cameron Lee)
MC Escher (Arielle Gavin)

COME on down! We got what you need.



 

PIN UP @ Mercer Union

December 15, 2011 - December 17, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday 15 December, 7 PM
Where: Mercer Union at 1286 Bloor Street West, Toronto.

PIN UP
Front Gallery: A Fundraising Sale of Limited Edition Posters by Artists
Back Gallery: Archival Show of posters from the collection of Michael Parke-Taylor

Call for Proposals/Submissions for XPACE/IMAGES Festival Curated Exhibition

Deadline: January 9^th, 2012

Open call: XPACE/IMAGES festival is seeking proposals from Undergraduate and Graduate student artists working in and responding to forms of media. Proposed work should suggest a relationship with technology, communication, time-based or new media while considering the space in which it will occupy.

Submissions may include, but are not limited to:

-       video art, sound art (recorded or appropriated)
-       performance (documented or live)
-       animation
-       web-based or internet art
-       computer graphics
-       interactive art
-       sculptural installation
-       robotics
-       biotechnology

Electronic submissions only. Send to vdziuma@uoguelph.ca

Deadline: January 9^th, 2012

ArtBridges Contest

Collage Party - this Saturday - @XPACE

Hear ye Hear ye!

*image by Ray Johnson

Borderline

p|m Gallery is showing Amanda Clyne's solo exhibit, "Borderline."
On exhibit from December 8, 2011 to January 28, 2012.

p|m Gallery statement:

"Images breed images in me." – British painter Francis Bacon

Inspired by fashion and the history of painting, Clyne’s work examines the image as a mirror of our desires. Amidst today’s cultural fascination with beauty and persona, her paintings critique our digital obsession and question the consequences for human intimacy. 

Hey Students: Call for Submissions

The Canadian Art & Design Student Alliance (CADSA) is placing a call for submissions for a cross country Show Exchange including all students from: SUNSCAD, ACADSA, OCADU, and ECSU. Get your work toured AROUND THE COUNTRY!

CADSA Exhibition Exchange is a terrific opportunity to have your work on display for a week on the ACAD campus and a week on the NSCAD campus. The work will be experienced by a variety of members from the ACAD and NSCAD community. Submissions will now be accepted at the OCAD SU office, 51 McCaul st.  The first exhibition will be at ACAD from January 29^th- February 4^th in Gallery 371. Then the work will travel across Canada to NSCAD and will be in the 2^nd exhibition in March.

Submission Guidelines:      

Collage & Mail Art Party @ XPACE

Hear ye Hear ye,

CUT AND PASTE your way to fame, right this way,

XPACE will be hosting an afternoon of Collage and Mail Art making this Saturday. Totally broke for the holidays? No problem! Make something special to give to your people, or send some REAL mail to friends and family far away. We will provide some scissors, glue sticks, paper and source material, as well as envelope templates and stamps!

We will be screening 'How to Draw a Bunny' a documentary about the legendary collage and mail artist Ray Johnson. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



We encourage you to bring:

MAGAZINES, BOOKS, PHOTOCOPIES, FOUND GARBAGE, FABRIC, GLUE STICKS, EXACTO KNIVES, SCISSORS, ENVELOPES, PAPER etc

*Value Village, Salvation Army, the Toronto Reference Library used book store (at Bloor and Yonge), St. Lawrence Antique Market and garage sales are all great places to find magazines and books to cut up!

Happening at XPACE Cultural Centre at 58 Ossington,
on Saturday, December 10th from 1pm to 6pm.

Interview with Laura Paolini

Laura Paolini's recent work, I'm Tired of Being Fucked, is being featured in XPACE's Window Space. The artist explores some of the undesired aspects of a creative lifestyle and the absurdity of struggling for ownership, or an ideal.

To watch a video of the Window Space exhibit, click here.

Here is an interview between Gwendolyn Bieniara and Laura Paolini...  

Photorama 2011

XPACE's next-door neighbour, Gallery TPW, is hosting their annual Photorama fundraising event. Celebrating their 25th anniversary, this year's event will host a range of works by both established and emerging artists. Sales from the fundraiser will go directly into the gallery's operations and programming, as well as supporting local artists and culture in Toronto.

For more information on the event and to view some of the works present, click here.

When: December 2 - December 10, 2011
Where: 56 Ossington Avenue Toronto



 

Relief Needed

Xenia Benivolski is heading a relief strategy in response to the STATE OF EMERGENCY at Ontario reserve of Attawapiskat. XPACE will host a collections assembly of donations to be sent to residents in need on the reserve.

Air Creebec and True North Aid have donated transport to the site.

More information regarding this can be found here and here.

We can ship anything so anything from the following list will be helpful:
-non-perishable food.
-clean blankets, preferably new
-winter sports equipment
-board games
-clean clothing
-children toys
-boxes: if you bring something, bring a box with it for shipping!
-medical supplies, first aid supplies
-electric heaters

The collections assembly will occur on Sunday December 3rd and Monday Dec. 4th. Contributions can be dropped off between 10am and 4pm.

Thank you for your support.

"Ineffable Plasticity" @ MOCCA, part II

Here is our second look at some of the artists featured in MOCCA's current exhibition, "Ineffable Plasticity," with a focus on Toronto artist, Susy Oliveira.

[caption id="attachment_2202" align="aligncenter" width="512" caption="Susy Oliveira, Petal Piece (2011)"][/caption]

MOCCA's most recent exhibition, "Ineffable Plasticity" examines the role of nature in our lives and takes the stance that "all human attributes and activity are an expression of nature...an unstoppable force that governs and defines us, challenging the notion that anything could be construed as unnatural, whether psychological or physical."

Susy Oliveira's work addresses this often complicated relationship between what we consider "natural" and what we consider artificial. She uses "unnatural" elements, like the chromira prints and foamcore that make up her sculptures, to represent the "natural," simultaneously addressing humans' repeated efforts to control and reproduce nature. The pieces at the MOCCA all reference traditional notions of nature, either by using photographs of plants, or in the case of Petal Piece, reproducing the structure of a flower. These elements, however, are shaped and sculpted into harsh, 3-D, geometrical forms that jut out, with sharp angles, towards the viewer. What results is a hybrid of technological and biological impulses that aptly address humans' contemporary relationship with nature, in an age of genetic modification, biotechnology, and amplified efforts to both alter and contain the world around us.

 

Opening at LE Gallery Tonight

Thys Scyence Maie Not be Taught to Every One is showing at LE Gallery. Pop in tonight for their Opening Reception from 7pm to 10pm.

Ineffable Plasticity @ MOCCA

Some of the XPACE crew went around the corner last week to check out The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art's most recent exhibition, "Ineffable Plasticity." Here is the first in a short series of posts about some of the work in the show!



Jordan Laura James Maclachlan, Unexpected Subway Living (2010-2011)

Toronto-based artist Jordan Laura James Maclachlan creates a chaotic subway train filled with an array of figures, from a woman giving birth and an ape mating with a lemur, to a baby holding a gun and a man performing open-heart surgery. Her emotionally-charged piece is based on her take on everyday life: “complex, contradictory, exquisite, and oftentimes tragic.” The chaos and detail put into every inch of the 10ft+ work keeps us engaged and each new visit promises the discovery of a detail overlooked the first time.



 

 

Once More With Feeling

"Once More With Feeling presents a series of paintings and sculptures that explore the body as a canvas for the narratives of relationships. Each artist works through familiar and unfamiliar territory in the discovery of the nature of his or her own relationships with themselves and others. Interested in the physical and emotional endurance of the body, the artists weave narratives based on their own life experiences to show moments of complete alienation and total joy."

Showing at OCAD's Transit Space until December 9th.

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A Full Frame After Party II

Ryerson run photo zine Function, Maximum Exposure and the Ryerson Student Lecture Series are teaming up and hosting quite a bash!

It's an after party for all of the holiday shows/sales/fundraisers in the city and a great way to spend a Thursday night!

When: December 1st
Where: Double Double Land, 209 Augusta (Kensignton Market)
Time: 10pm
Website: www.function.ryerson.ca
$5 cover and $3 beers

Go out, support a fantastic publication and have great time!

Some Inspiration From Dan Sternof Beyer

As winter sinks and the air gets colder it gets a lot harder to want to go outside. If you've got the November (soon to be December) blues, Dan Sternof Beyer has made a collection of his public art ideas into a PDF that you can see HERE on thehinge.net
There's tons of great ideas on there, some a little more complex than others, but at the very least, we're hoping this will inspire you to either get involved in some public art projects or come up with an idea of your own!

The Gang Takes a Field Trip II

Eh bien. What's this? After leaving the Meredith Keith Gallery, the gang stumbled upon a lovely little print shop. Just east of Landsdowne, "Someone" has relocated their Cabbagetown printing studio to Dundas West. Deborah kindly answered our questions while we browsed through prints, posters, and invitation cards, weaving in between the printing presses nestled within the shop.

Someone's Studio is located at 1691 Dundas Street West, Toronto.

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The Gang Takes a Field Trip I

Nothing beats a Thursday afternoon field trip. In a bout of spontaneity, the XPACE gang closed shop for an hour and headed to the Meredith Keith Gallery to check out "Sweet Asbestos" by Montreal-based artist Cythia Girard.

Girard makes a sociopolitical statement of Canadian right-wing conservative politics through her pieces that combine various media, ranging from sculpture to painting to quilting. If you'd like to read more about her project, visit her blog at http://sweetasbestos.blogspot.com/

Sweet Asbestos is running from November 18 to December 22, 2011
The Meredith Keith Gallery is located at 1695 Dundas St. West, Toronto.

 

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OCAD Gets Festive

OCAD had it's annual gingerbread house competition this afternoon. Here's a few of the entries to satisfy your sweet tooth.

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Dying Breed

The OCADU Student Gallery is hosting an exhibition titled, "Dying Breed" featuring a series of analogue photography by various artists.

"'Dying Breed' features six photo-based artists who are working in a medium they fear will soon be extinct: analog photography. As film types are discontinued, printing papers become less accessible and analog cameras are only available for purchase used, the methods favoured by these artists are fading into the past. While few still hold a passion for film, Rosemary Flutur, T. Reilly Hodgson, Dimitri Karakostas, Matt Moreland, Laura Nowak and Ashley Van Der Laan consider their analog processes a labour of love that they don't plan on giving up any time soon."

On exhibit from November 17 to December 10, 2011.

OCADU Student Gallery is located at 285 Dundas St West, just east of McCaul St.

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A Declaration from Broken City Lab

I think this is a declaration that we can all get behind!  Thanks Broken City Lab!

XPACE's Opening Reception

Here are a few photos from Friday night's Opening Reception @ XPACE.
It was a great turn out and a great display of works by artist Kuh Del Rosario, Suzanne Caines, Steven Beckly, Lanie Chalmers, and Laura Paolini.

Check out the exhibits, on display until December 10th.

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What is Work Worth?

TFG's Bridge dinner on Internships and the value of work has been postponed.  We will keep you updated about the new date.

Toronto Free Gallery Presents
THE BRIDGE DINNER SERIES: WHAT IS WORK WORTH?

A dinner & talk about working for free in the cultural sector
This is the sixth talk in the Toronto Free series: The Bridge

When: Wednesday November 23, 2011
Dinner & Talk: seating at 7 pm

Where: Toronto Free Gallery
1277 Bloor Street West
416-913-0461

$15/person for dinner (vegan) & talk (meaty)

Seats are limited. Please contact amber@torontofreegallery.org to reserve your spot.    

Opening Reception @ XPACE

Join us for an Opening Reception on Friday, November 18 for our Window Space, Main Space and XBase exhibitions.

When: November 18 - December 10, 2011
Where: 58 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Drinks and snacks will be served, with the artists mingling and available for conversation.



WINDOW SPACE:
artist: Laura Paolini
title: 'I'm tired of being fucked.'

MAIN SPACE:
artists: Suzanne Caines, Steven Beckly and Lanie Chalmers
title: 'Love in Translation'

XBase:
artist: Kuh Del Rosario
title: 'Synthetic Phenomena' 

What does Jeff Koons have to do with the XPACE Window Space?

Above: Laura Paolini's I'm Tired of Being Fucked, 2011; below: Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog, 1994-2000

This month, from November 18th, XPACE's window space will be showing a piece by Toronto artist Laura Paolini that references artist Jeff Koons' attempt to sue San Francisco gallery Park Life, and Toronto design company Imm-Living for copyright violation. Imm-Living manufactured a pair of bookends that look like dogs made from children's party balloons, which Koons claimed copied his series of sculptures that also imitate the shape of dogs made of balloons. His pieces are, however, in a much larger scale, and made of shiny metal. The irony is that Koons is known for reproducing versions of images from mass culture and other people's work, for which he has been sued four times.  Here is a little more information about Koons' long history of suing and being sued for copyright.

Upcoming Submissions Deadlines at Artist-Run Centres Across Canada!

There are lots of deadlines coming up soon for artists' proposals and project proposals at artist-run centres across the country. We thought we'd compile a list of these deadlines and spaces as well as list the centres that take submissions throughout the year. Just in case you're looking for something to do over the holidays.......

Call for submissions: Gleaner December cover-art

The Gleaner Community Press is a local independent press that serves
Toronto's west downtown communities with two monthly newspapers, The
Annex Gleaner and The Liberty Gleaner.

Every holiday edition, the Gleaner features community and
holiday-themed artwork on our December covers. They are currently
looking for submissions reflecting this theme.

TYPE on Queen

Located on 883 Queen Street West TYPE is one of two book stores in Toronto (the other at 427 Spadina Road) specializing in art/design/culture reads. As well as mushroom chairs, Lego architecture, and a children's section in the back with neat illustrated stories and toys.

Check out their website for events, flyers, and photos.

Art Metropole!

It is always a good time to go to Art Metropole. The space specializes in selling multiples made by Canadian and international artists, and is a great way to buy your own piece of affordable art or give them as gifts (in time for the holidays perhaps?). Founded in 1974 by members of the Canadian conceptual artist group General Idea, it has since been an artist run cultural center hosting lectures, events, and exhibitions.

Located on 788 King Street West. Art Metropole is a fun engrossing place to visit, so go check it out!



 

DANCE YOUR PANTS OFF!

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XPACE will be hosting an UNDERWEAR DANCE PARTY* for the closing reception of Lindsay Denise’s “Dancing With Myself & Others,” which has been on display for the past 4 weeks.
Attendees are encouraged to participate in the exhibit through exhibitionism and share their groovy moves. DJ FoodCourt will take the lid off your id and dish out the dirty dance-pop ditties you secretly crave. Feast on guilty pleasures from across the decades as we launch the bedroom dance party into XPACE.

FEATURING:

OCADU Hip-Hop Collective, I.B. Scene to kick-off the night with a freestyle throw-down! Starting at 8:00pm.

OCADU Zine Collective will be selling zines made by OCAD U students, showing samples of the zines from their library, and teaching people how to make a quick book with just a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and a pair of scissors.

*Dress code is definitely not mandatory! Wear what makes you comfortable!

When: Friday November 11 -  7pm-11pm
Where: XPACE Cultural Centre @ 58 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Good Intentions

Monday's feeling a bit bland?
Stop by Type Books tonight where Jon Sasaki is launching his humourous catalogue "Good Intentions."

"Good Intentions is the first monograph on this dryly hilarious and ever-hopeful artist's multifaceted practice. Through his videos, objects, performance and installation, Jon Sasaki investigates an eternal optimism that is filled with the trappings of failure. Alternatively absurd, hilarious, and tragic, Sasaki's works are about perpetually trying ... really, really hard. Beautifully designed by Lauren Wickware, the publication includes full-colour illustrations and critical essays by curators Ann MacDonald, Crystal Mowry and Ben Portis, looking at themes of failure, pathos, comedy/tragedy and risk as found in Sasaki's romantic conceptual works."

When: Monday, November 7 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Where: Type Books at 883 Queen Street West

New Phenomena

Alexandra Mackenzie's solo exhibition, "New Phenomena" is showing at Gallery at 129 Ossington from November 2 to 26, 2011.

"Alexandra Mackenzie’s drawings unfold their intricate details like the hieroglyphs of an advanced urban society, diagramming the grotesque aspects of life and death, and the unexplainable nature of the universe. Expertly drafted, her work explores both the material and non-material worlds, coupling flesh and blood with fantasy, ritual with repetition, and creates a sense of balance and symmetry within the chaos."



Where: 129 Ossington Avenue, Toronto.
When: November 2 - 26, 2011.

Stormy Hands @ XPACE's External Space

Join us at XPACE's External Space (located in the Jim Meekison student lounge to the left of the cafe and Great Hall at OCADU) for an artist talk by Sarah D'Angelo, and screening of her two claymation videos: It Speaks to Me and her most recent, Stormy Hands.


Stormy Hands will be unveiled at the talk, and will continue to be screened for the month of November. The videos will be accompanied by an essay by Xenia Benivolski, about the works.

For more information, check our website:
http://www.xpace.info/externalspace/it-speaks-to-me/