Chris Dow at Loop Gallery

Chris Dow's exhibition entitled Landscapes is currently showing at Loop Gallery.

Chris describes painting as “an ethereal endeavour.  Painting requires exploring feelings or perceptions that come from some place not understood and a place where words do not exist.  The act of painting is experienced and the subject matter is a convenient starting point. I like painting outdoors and the way this requires intuitive response. Working in the studio forces me to take a contemplative approach, this is often more of a problem solving process where the problem itself is not an intellectual one.”                                                                                                                                                    

Chris Dow has spent several of the past six years living abroad in both Japan and Australia, writing software and painting in his spare time.   After receiving his Bachelor Degree in Engineering, Chris attended the Ontario College of Art & Design, where he studied in Florence, Italy in their Off Campus Program.   Dow has exhibited in galleries across Canada as well as in Italy.

Elizabeth D'Agostino at Open Studio, Toronto

OPEN STUDIO, Canada's leading printmaking centre, is dedicated to the production, preservation and promotion of contemporary original fine art prints. Open Studio is a comprehensive artist-run centre for contemporary printmaking practice, providing multi-faceted services, programs and information to artists and the public alike. As a national organization, Open Studio offers affordable and equal access to printmaking facilities, programs and services for artists from across Canada and abroad. As an artist-run centre, it is our priority to support artists in the development of their professional endeavours.

George Gilmour Members’ Gallery, Open Studio, Toronto, ON
401 Richmond St, Suite 104 www.openstudio.on.ca

Elizabeth D’Agostino: escape from the land of the wandering
June 24 – July 20, 2010
Opening reception: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

www.elizabethdagostino.com

Lorene Bourgeois at Loop Gallery

Lorène Bourgeois is currently exhibiting her series of work entitled Près du corps at Loop Gallery in Toronto.

Près du corps, “close to the body”, is a series of large-scale drawings in Conté and charcoal exploring the relationship of cloth and clothing to the body and head.

The artist is interested in the physical qualities of clothing - the manner by which garments may frame or envelop the body – the similarity of folds, buttons, and stitched openings to skin, creases, and scars.

Près du corps is a reflection upon the ambiguous qualities of clothing and head wear, and upon the strange ability of such objects to oscillate between function, absurdity, and menace.

Born in France, Lorène Bourgeois has been living in Canada since 1984.  Trained in Paris, Philadelphia and Halifax (MFA, NSCAD, 1986), her work in drawing, painting, and printmaking, has been exhibited across Canada, as well as in France, Korea, Russia, and the United States.  She is represented in private and public collections, including Canada Council Art Bank, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ernst & Young, MOCCA, National Bank of Canada, Richmond Hill Public Library, and University of Toronto (Donovan Collection).

Lorène Bourgeois gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Gallery hours this weekend are as follows: Thursday through Saturday 1-5 pm and Sunday 1-4 pm

Loop Gallery Presents Lorene Bourgeois and Chris Dow

Loop Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by loop members Lorène Bourgeois entitled Près du corps and Chris Dow entitled Landscapes. Both exhibtions open this weekend on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

Lorène Bourgeois’ will be showing Près du corps, which translates to “close to the body”. This series of large-scale drawings in Conté and charcoal explores the relationship of cloth and clothing to the body and head.

The artist is interested in the physical qualities of clothing - the manner by which garments may frame or envelop the body – the similarity of folds, buttons, and stitched openings to skin, creases, and scars.  Près du corps is a reflection upon the ambiguous qualities of clothing and head wear, and upon the strange ability of such objects to oscillate between function, absurdity, and menace.

Born in France, Lorène Bourgeois has been living in Canada since 1984.  Trained in Paris, Philadelphia and Halifax (MFA, NSCAD, 1986), her work in drawing, painting, and printmaking, has been exhibited across Canada, France, Korea, Russia, and the United States.  She is represented in numerous private and public collections.  Lorène Bourgeois gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Lorène will speak about her work during a Question & Answer Session at the gallery on Saturday, July 10, 3pm.

Concurrently at Loop Gallery, Chris Dow will exhibit his work called "Landscapes". He explains, “For myself, painting is, in essence, an ethereal endeavour. Painting requires exploring feelings or perception that come from some place not understood and a place where words do not exist.  The act of painting is experienced and the subject matter is a convenient starting point. I like painting outdoors and the way this requires intuitive response. Working in the studio forces me to take a contemplative approach, this is often more of a problem solving process where the problem itself is not an intellectual one.”

Chris Dow has spent several of the past six years living abroad in both Japan and Australia, writing software and painting in his spare time.  Dow has exhibited in galleries across Canada as well as in Italy through the Ontario College of Art & Design.

Please join both artists in celebrating at the opening reception on Saturday, June 19th from 2-5 pm.
                                                      

Jane LowBeer at Café Bernate

Video of Question and Answer Session with Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein

If you missed Saturday's Question and Answer session with Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein moderated by Pat Macaulay at Loop Gallery, don't despair. Click on this LINK to see clips filmed by Ester Pugliese. 


Libby Hague's SAFETY NET & Rochelle Rubinstein's SHAFT exhibitions run until Sunday, June 13th.

R.M. Vaughan of the Globe and Mail reviews Libby Hague at Loop

In his weekly column The Exhibitionist, R.M. Vaughan of the Globe and Mail newspaper wrote a delightfully upbeat review of Libby Hague's current exhibition at Loop Gallery.

"Stretching her flora and fauna from ceiling to floor, Hague has created a deliciously tilted world, a cascade of curly, printed paper flowers, nursery-hued dollops and pools, dainty tinsel sprouts, bendy shapes that resemble fat orchid roots, and a miniature archipelago inhabited by surreal plant forms and organic mis-shapes. Unafraid to be pretty and (methodically) messy at the same time, Safety Net is the boldest example yet of this experiment-driven artist's determination to set printmaking free, let it out of the frame."

To read R.M. Vaughan's  full review, click here.

Libby Hague's exhibition Safety Net continues at Loop Gallery until Sunday, June 13, 2010. 

Today at 3 pm, Loop Gallery presents Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein in a Question and Answer session moderated by Pat Macaulay.

Leah Sandals of The National Post reviews Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein Show at Loop

Leah Sandals of the National Post chose Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein's current show at Loop Gallery as a "prime pick" in her column Sights High and Low.

She begins her review with "Luscious material processes and playful creative experiments highlight this two-person show." Sandals concludes that "In the end, both exhibitions highlight what's often missing from galleries, and even visual culture at large -- the productive messiness of studio spaces, rooms that can be cozy and expansive all at once." 

To read the full review,  click here.

Join Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein at Loop Gallery tomorrow, Sunday, June 6th at 3 pm for a Question and Answer session moderated by Pat Macaulay.

Question and Answer Session with Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein

Join us for a Question & Answer session this Sunday, June 6th at 3pm for Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein in conversation with Pat Macaulay.

Libby Hague is a visual artist who works primarily in print installation.  Based in Toronto, she is featured in the British book, Installations & Experimental Printmaking by Alexia Tala and won the 2009 Open Studio National Printmaking Award. She is represented in many public collections including the Donovan Collection at the University of Toronto.

Rochelle Rubinstein is a Toronto-based artist whose work has been exhibited in diverse venues worldwide and can be found in public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin.  As a community arts facilitator, her workshops and projects with groups such as battered women are based upon methods that are central to her own artistic practice. 

Pat Macaulay is the Head of Visual Art at Harbourfront Centre. Macaulay's most recent curatorial projects include a group of exhibitions opening on June 18 at Harbourfront: Combine is an exhibition of eighteen artists from Saskatchewan. Redux Park is an exhibition of three architecture firms 5468796 (Winnipeg) Brook McIlroy (Toronto) and Vlan Paysage & Atelier in Situ (Montreal) and an installation by T&T. Beyond Imaginings is a large outdoor photographic exhibition with Becky Comber, Keesic Douglas, Martie Giefert, Mark Kasumovic, Rob MacInnis, Erin Riley, Meera Margaret Singh, Garett Walker.

Libby Hague's SAFETY NET & Rochelle Rubinstein's SHAFT exhibitions at Loop Gallery run until Sunday June 13, 2010.

SAFETY NET and SHAFT are exhibited concurrently with STILL LIFE ON EARTH, a collaborative installation by Libby Hague and Rochelle Rubinstein, at Mon Ton Window at 402 College Street.

Question & Answer Session:

Libby Hague & Rochelle Rubinstein

Sunday, June 6th, 3 PM at loop.

Moderated by Pat Macaulay, Head, Visual Art, Harbourfront Centre,

followed by Afternoon Tea at 402 College Street.