October 28 - November 28 Textile Agenda

 Dorothy Caldwell  In Place: new landscapes

September 29 - October 30, 2011

 David Kaye Gallery
1092 Queen Street West
(entrance on Dovercourt)
Toronto, Ontario M6J 1H9

It is that time of year again in Toronto. The Fall season is up and running. there is a few days left to do yourself a favour and go and see Dorothy Caldwell's recent work at David Kaye Gallery before hitting the TIAF.

 The Toronto International Art Fair (TIAF) October 28th through 31 will have a number of textiles to view as always and finding them is easier if you are looking for them. Have faith even if the current art market like every thing else is feeling the "Current Economic Pinch" there are a number of art dealers who represent and stand behind a number of amazing textile based makers and artist whose careers are built on their use of textiles.

Here an eager young "Sales Clerk" welcomes you to "Everything Must Go" wearing an apron by An Te Lui "Distribution of the Unsaleable" 2010, workers apron in embroidered denim, one of three models, each in a limited edition of 37.

Last years special project Everything Must Go was in intriguing and entertaining commentary on the fine arts market place curated by fashion designer Jeremy Laing. Of this years four special projects The Art Game by Kent Monkman curated by Steven Loft promises to entertain even if you don't know his work. If you do and wonder what textiles have to do with his work I would argue that his use of costume in performance, photography, painting to play with stereotypes and debunk the status-quo wouldn't work half as well if every body was naked and leave it at that.

Over the past 5 years I have looked forward to seeing certain galleries  such as Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery London/New York www.r-h-g.co.uk  who have introduced the Toronto public to the paper college work of  Peter Clark, the subtlety shocking crocheted work of artist designer Kate Jenkins. Donya Coward who does elaborate embellished textile piece work and Australian artist David Bromley a painter who embroiders portions of his work.

Inside the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery Booth at the TIAF Oct 4-6 2008

Peter Clark Sunny Side, Mixed Media, 2007, 135 x 82 cm (53.1 x 32.3 ins)

While closer to home Art Mûr from Montreal, who in 2009 brokered the sale of Cal Lane's Oil Drum piece to the  Art Gallery of Ontario and in 2010 introduced Toronto to the taxidermy work of  French contemporary Surrealist artist Sarah Garzoni will be at this years event.

Tufted Pig and Topodermie 2003 digitally printed garments Images are close up details of human flesh, nipples, hair, moles and scares. this photo was taken at the gallery in Montreal during Sarah Garzoni : Corps étranger January 8 - February 26, 2011 (read about this show in febuary 2010 blog post http://fibrequarterly.blogspot.com/2011/02/montreal-1102-2011-sarah-garzoni-corps.html
 [don't look for a French to English translation of Topodermie it is Topography and Taxidermy squished together ]

Cal Lane Plasma Cut  Steel Oil Drums, 2008 photographed at the 2009 TIAF 

 Cal Lane , whose work has been seen in Toronto several times, I first encounter her in the group show Frey the co- curated exhibition at the Koffler Centre and Textile Museum of Canada  which I reviewed for the British  magazine Selvedge [issue no.14]  You can read about her recent site specific lace inspired out door steel sculpture "1,000 Gallon Oil Drum " created for "Lace in Translation" exhibition at the Design Center at Philadelphia University in the recent issue  fiberARTS magazine Nov/Dec 2009.

that is just a quick look at the TIAF the opening night party is in less then 18 hours away.
to see photographs of what was happening at last years TIAF check out my facebook album
TIAF October 28, 2010

bunnies by Yshia Wallace Image fro Gladstone website 

upArt Contemporary Art Fair

Thurs Oct 27 to Sun Oct 30, 2011
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West, Toronto

OTTAWA

"Tapestries" 
Thoma Ewen, Krystyna Sadej, (from Canada)
Ewa Bartosz Mazus, from Poland
Thomas Cronenberg (American living in Germany

October 28 to November 30 2011
City of Ottawa, the Centrepointe Theatre Gallery, 
101 Centrepointe Drive
Ottawa, On

The City of Ottawa will host an artist talk "Textile Art in Europe Today"
by Thomas Cronenberg from Germany on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 7pm. (Room 1A in the Ben Franklin Place complex, 101 Centrepointe Drive)

CAMBRIDGE 

Lyn Carter, Model for Columna. Photo: Peter Legris.

Lyn Carter: Columna
November 05 - January 08, 2012
Cambridge Galleries Queen’s Square
1 North Square, Cambridge, ON N1S 2K6

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 5 at 2:30 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, December 10, 2:30 pm

Toronto

Amanda McCavour
Lot #25
Friendship Chair
Polyester/cotton blend bias tape, polyester/cotton fabric

 Thursday November 3 at 6:30 pm at the Gladstone Hotel the Textile Museum of Canada presents  reDesign 2011 a gala evening and silent auction in support of the Textile Museum of Canada



Amanda McCavour, Lot #25,

Using friendship bracelet making and how I used to use this as a way to pass the time as a starting point, I chose to re-design the Textile Museum’s waiting room chair with variations of friendship bracelet patterns using larger bias tape instead of the traditional embroidery floss. Utilizing half hitch knots and braiding to cover the upholstered surfaces of the chair, I hope this piece would reference the repetitive act of making these bracelets and the sentiment of giving these bracelets to someone else.

 If you like this you can view more of the Chairs that have been re-designed a who's who of Canadian design craft and arts on line at the TMC website   re-design 2011

Swag, 2010  by Barbara Sutherland 

Hard Twist 6 – Obsession, Annual Juried Show Of Textile-Based Art
Opening Reception: Fri Nov 25, 2011 6pm-9pm
Exhibition Dates: Nov 25, 2011 – Jan 29, 2012 12pm-5pm Daily

2011 JURORS:
Mary Sue Rankin – Director, Edward Day Gallery
Judith Tinkl, Artist, retired Associate Professor OCAD, Past President OCC
Angela Iarocci – Artist/Designer and Educator
Helena Frei and Chris Mitchell – Hard Twist Curators

to see some images from last years Hard Twist see my facbook album 

One of A Kind Christmas 2010, Hard Twist, at the Gladstone, Holiday Sales,

Live from the from the Kaunas Biennial part two: Down and out of minutes in Kaunas and London

I stop in London on my way to Lithuania, see Big Ben

Down and out of minutes in Kaunas and London

Imagine a world with no internet access and no credit cards. Hour 38 of stop and go walk through the airport to another check in desk travel. As I sit beside a PHOTO-Me booth with my computer plugged in and recharging  at Heathrow  Airport having just missed my flight home to Canada which left from Gatwick I ponder these things. Since I must wait for others with credit cards to rescue me I write. I slouch on the marble floor which brings back memories of the Austrian ETN meeting in 2009 and the marble floors of the Vienna airport,( which I did spend three hours in yesterday but that is a different story for another time) and think, go outside for a smoke and think. Thinking is an interesting process fueled by  accumulated experiences, years of bits and pieces of information some recalled correctly others not, instinct and millions of other things that have been brought into our brains throw eyes, ears, hands, language, written words piles of stuff that keeps passing into it. Thinking is just reorganizing the clutter and perhaps putting it into the file cabinet hopefully to of use at some later date. But I digress which is nothing new. 

Having arrived at Gatwick airport on September 16^th for a brief stay with a friend her husband and 8 month old daughter, while on my way to Kaunas Lithuania for the opening of the Kaunas Biennial Textile 11 and European Textile Network s 16^th biannual conference I had been thinking about repackaging this experience in terms of a travel article along with the review and reports about the event I will write for my own publication and pitch to others. This could be the travel piece.

(to be continued )

This is a statue of a cat in the centre of the pedestrian boulevard that runs through the centre of the "Old Town" of Kaunas. It is one of the most charming Cat sculptures I have ever seen. It was hard to photograph because there where always little kids on it, riding , flying dancing or where ever this magical cat seem to take them

So this is not so live it is hard to go to a conference and write about while your attending it. but I have managed to get some Images with info up on facebook if you care to look

facebook albums featuring my bad photos from the Kaunas Biennial 

THE KAUNAS BIENNIAL September 22, 2011 People and places

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150817076125311.743835.890860310&type=1&l=855ed8f97f

Exhibitions in Lithuania September 2011

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150827902020311.746302.890860310&type=1&l=a1ca4fd661

Kaunas, 2011 more people and places

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150820775500311.744635.890860310&type=1&l=6eed4aaea9

Historic Lithuania

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150839519220311.749020.890860310&type=1&l=a5831b4b47

This is the M. Žilinskas Art Gallery, Nepriklausomybės a. 12, where the main exhibition is mounted 

Up and Coming Exhibition

FIBREMEN

October 18 - 29, 2011, Kherson, Ukraine

I am one of the 39 men from 14 countries that are included in this exhibition being put on  "Scythia Textile" organization in the Ukraine 

 

Reflections on The Man in the Moon, © Joe Lewis 2010, 

Jacquard Woven Textile 

Dimensions (cm.) 142. cm High x 48.26 cm wide, Materials & technique: six colour repeated cotton, woven with a two colour weft; black and white, jacquard woven textile  

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