#22 Performance Art? 7a*11d Is The Place To Be

Just wanted to let everyone know about 7a*11d (7 across 11 down) festival, which is starting next Tuesday October 23rd. It is the International Festival of Performance Art. This is actually my first time finding about the festival, and I've decided to attend it.

#21 My experience at Nuit Blanche

Nuit Blanche is one of Toronto's major art event. The first Nuit Blanche began in Paris in 2002, as an all night contemporary art scene. It spread around the world, and four years after its birth in Paris, Toronto started its own. In fact, Toronto was the first North American city to fully reproduce the Paris prototype. Since 2006, Toronto attracts people from all over Canada and even gathers international crowds or so I hear.

Gladstone Hotel

#16 Picasso at the AGO

Warning! This is your last chance to see Picasso at the AGO! It will be on until Sunday August 26th! It is a great exhibition and you don't want to miss it.

Picasso, Dora Maar, 1937

#15 Camal Wants You!

If you're interested in being a part of Camal's installation piece for the TMC this Fall, come to the studio this Saturday August 18th between 11AM- 4PM!

RSVP via email at info@studiolabeaute.com

#11 TOAE Part 2 - Subject of Contemporary Art

I want to talk about TOAE again, in continuation of last week's entry. Last week, I was interested in talking about how the medium of art reflects and is influenced by modern society. This time, I want to focus on the subject matter of contemporary art.

Julia Gilmore, Vespa, Oil on Canvas

#10 TOAE Part 1 - iPad Painting vs. Acrylic Painting

Have you heard of TOAE? It's the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, which takes place annually on Nathan Phillips Square featuring contemporary Canadian fine art and craft. The purpose of the event is to not only to sell but to showcase the works by contemporary Canadian artists across the country. This year marked its 51st year.

View of TOAE 2012

#4 What inspires the artist?

The first time I walked into Gallery Bespoke the "Fool Me Once" collection was on display. The "Fool Me Once" collection is comprised of nine pieces with each one displaying a film that was on loop continuously, which was then projected out from layers of individually designed fabric, and other materials. To my surprise I've learned that he was preparing for his next show in the weeks to come.

Three Pieces from the Fool Me Once Collection, June, 2011

#3 Pre-Fashionality

I went to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection a few weeks ago to help install art works by Camal Pirbhai, for the gallery's latest exhibition 'Fashionality: Dress and Identity in Contemporary Canadian Art.' The exhibition was put together by a Canadian writer and curator Julia Pine, who specializes in North American visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first century. In the Urban Dictionary, "fashionality" is defined as one's personality expressed in their clothing, 'fashion personality', or one's nationality expressed in their clothing, 'fashion nationality'.

Fashionality at McMichael Canadian Art Collection will be on display from May 5 - September 3.

#2 So what is Gallery Bespoke?

For my second entry, I want to tell you a little bit more about Gallery Bespoke. 

Ever since my first visit, Gallery Bespoke has been a surprise after surprise. From the preparations of the "Accessory" collection last August, I've been observing the creative mind of Camal Pirbhai, the artist behind the Gallery. What I’ve observed was the artistic ingenuity of Camal. When I saw his work from his collection, I’ve questioned myself, “How did he come up with that?” and “What motivated him to create such pieces?” His works are beyond ordinary, unusual and made me wonder about the creative process. And the truth is many viewers have expressed the same thoughts. I often heard an observer saying “Amazing! How did he produce such an original work?”

"Gould Plated" (Elbow Pads) Video from the Accessory Collections, September, 2011