New Exhibitions by Mary Catherine Newcomb and Sheryl Dudley

January 4^th – 26^th, 2014 | Reception: Saturday, January 4^th, 2014, 2-5PM

loop Gallery is pleased to announce new exhibitions by loop members Sheryl Dudley, entitled Between Here and There; and Mary Catherine Newcomb, entitled the Woods.

A new mixed media installation by Dudley documents unsettling moments in the space between places. Her photographs and works on paper catalogue a personal trove of mementos, talismans, and ancestral objects. Wrapping and unwrapping countless objects during a recent move inspired this series of intimate mixed-media drawings. They came about in a circuitous way beginning with a remembered motif from the artist's family history. The objects depicted trace her lineage and its fracture - but most of all, the erosion of memory and material things over time.

Dudley’s paintings and photographs have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Canada. Her work can be found in many private collections on both sides of the border.

In the Woods, Newcomb presents a small series of sculptures as platforms for presenting and contemplating natural material that she harvested in the wild and/or cultivated. the Woods refers to a small plot of land that has been in her family for several generations - a  repository of memory and crucible for mythologies. A return to the woods (and the lake) in the summer of 2013 inspired this work that contemplates layers of personal meaning apprehended in details of a familiar landscape and examines a relationship between art and nature.

Newcomb’s work has been widely exhibited both here and abroad and has garnered numerous grants and awards. She currently resides in Kitchener, Ontario and teaches in the Visual and Creative Arts program at Sheridan College. 

Images: (left) Sheryl Dudley, Untitled, mixed-media drawing, 4"x4", 2013.

              (right) Mary Catherine Newcomb, 28, plaster, harvested mushrooms, 50 x 55 x 60 cm, 2013

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loop Gallery 1273 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1X8

Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat 12 to 5 pm, and Sun 1 to 4pm.

Last Chance to see Gary Clement and Lynn Cambell's loop exhibit!

J. Lynn Campbell

Temporal Matter

Final Days: December 26th – 29^th, 2013               

    

Starting with modified digital imagery printed on archival paper, Campbell overlays two-dimensional surfaces with drawing and hand sewing. The object(s) of interest are organic structures and diverse life forms – characteristic bodily forms of mature organisms, of which the human body is one such entity. All life forms are part of a complex interconnected system which is shaped and limited by time. Temporal Matter encapsulates the spatial and temporal boundaries within which physical objects exist, transform, and dissipate. With consideration to the real, the symbolic, and the abstract, Campbell’s composite imagery queries our consequential proximity to the shifting realities of that which is temporary.

Campbell is a Toronto-based artist who trained at the Ontario College of Art & Design, with independent studies in France, Open Studio Toronto, Humanities at the University of Toronto, and Philosophy at York University. Her practice extends from two-dimensional collage to three-dimensional construction and site-specific installation. She has exhibited in Canada and abroad at galleries in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Italy, and Germany. Campbell was a member of Workscene Gallery and Artists Co-operative, Broadview Collective (BVW), The Red Head Gallery, The Tree Museum Collective, Toronto/Muskoka, and is currently a member of loop Gallery. Her work is included in private, public, and corporate collections.

Gary Clement

Paintings for Modern Homo Sapiens

Final Days: December 26^th – 29^th, 2013                

In his latest show, Clement presents an overview of human activity from the dawn of history to the space race and beyond, albeit omitting almost everything in between. This show marks a new direction in Clement’s work, as it is entirely a show of acrylic paintings on birch panels.

Viewers, however, can expect to see work that addresses the same wide range of influences, themes and interests that have always been a feature of a Gary Clement art exhibition. Olympic diving, zero gravity, acid reflux, 19^th century Russian literature, Lepidoptera, and life on other planets are a few of the issues that are considered this time around.

Gary Clement has been the political cartoonist for the National Post since its inception. His cartoons have also appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian and The Miami Herald. As an illustrator, his work has appeared in magazines and newspapers across North America. He is also a children’s writer and illustrator and is a three-time nominee for the Governor General’s Award for Illustration, most recently for the 2013 book ‘Oy. Feh. So?’ written by Cary Fagan. He won the award in 1999 for his own book ‘The Great Poochini’.

This is his 9^th show at loop. He is represented in Toronto by loop Gallery and by Parts gallery.

Photographs from J.Lynn Campbell and Gary Clements Opening Reception

a visit with Eric Farache

How do you navigate the art world?

Alas, that is very hard nut to crack for myself at least. Loop has afforded me the opportunity to raise my own profile but to be honest, I don't know where I put my decoder ring to really get a lock on the art world. Like many other artists, I have tried group shows, facebook pages, Saatchi Art profiles etc., I am not sure how that helps really. 

Last year, I was in the The Artist Project, and that seemed to introduce my work to a entirely different group of people, frankly I am always trying to figure that out. 

 

What themes seem to reoccur in your work?

Sexuality and fantasy have always been a theme in my work for the past 10 plus years. This sexuality can take on many forms, there was a sexual ambiguity to my older GIJoe toy photographic work. My more recent watercolours ( like in my Loop show Life Lessons and Quixtopia explored sexuality of boys as they become men and confront the ideas of fantasy vs. reality.

I am fascinated about the facades we project, whether our sexuality is, in essence, a truer more naked version of our personality or another kind of mask we wear. Our personality/psyches are so complex, I try to figure out what causes people to act the way they do and sometimes, I try to discuss that on watercolour paper.  

What is your biggest challenge to creating art?

 
At this moment, the biggest challenge for me is carving out the time for art, I have a 2 kids under 4, there is not a lot of time left for artistic practice or what Woody Allen summed up as the desire to  "forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race. And then see if I can get them mass-produced in plastic."
So I tend to work in fits and bursts, the challenge is continuity and to maintain interest in ideas from one break to the next. I seem to work in a naturally split way, between painting and photography and now comics, the challenge can also be to stick with one thing till it is completed before moving on. 

What are you currently reading, listening to or eating that is fueling your inspiration these days?

I have this graphic novel I started years ago that I have committed to myself ( and now you dear reader) of finishing, so I keep looking at different graphic novels and various old comic books to contrast what I am doing. I had really racked up some library fines when I noticed this massive book, called the "someday funnies' at Riverdale Library. It is a collection of comics about the 1960s that were complied in the 1970s but the editor could not get it off the ground for another 30 years, it was just terrific story telling often in very small space. The pace of my novel is fast and so is the speaking voice, it is in a kind of first person so I noticed some of Dylan's personal story telling seems to stick in my mind when I am working.

I am also very influenced by coffee to be honest, I have about 3 americanos or macchiatos a day. I am far too easily found at Jet Fuel or Rooster Coffee House, I need to work on that. 

Do you have a day job - does it influence your practice?

It allows me the luxury of paying for some things so that is an influence! I have worked in commercial photography for almost 15 years now (...egad)  I work often as a photographic assistant, which basically means running computers, taking care of lighting ( or more often then naught, getting in the way...) I started working with photography after including a photographic component in my final of my MFA, it got me intrigued and I kept at it. Digital started soon after and by 2004, I was already pretty sick of the technical pursuit. So, my photographic work with the Holga non digital 'toy camera' is in essence a reaction to my day job, wanting to do something different, less precise and more fun. 

 

 

Thanks Eric for your studio peek!

To know more about Eric's work visit

http://www.ericfarache.com/

http://www.loopgallery.ca/loop/E._Farache.html

Opening Reception for J. LYNN CAMPBELL and GARY CLEMENT Saturday December 7th 2 - 5 pm

J. Lynn Campbell

Temporal Matter

December 7^th – 29^th, 2013                

Reception:  Saturday, December 7^th, 2- 5 PM

Q & A: Saturday, December 14, 3PM   

    

loop Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by member artist, J. Lynn Campbell, entitled Temporal Matter. 

Starting with modified digital imagery printed on archival paper, Campbell overlays two-dimensional surfaces with drawing and hand sewing. The object(s) of interest are organic structures and diverse life forms – characteristic bodily forms of mature organisms, of which the human body is one such entity. All life forms are part of a complex interconnected system which is shaped and limited by time. Temporal Matter encapsulates the spatial and temporal boundaries within which physical objects exist, transform, and dissipate. With consideration to the real, the symbolic, and the abstract, Campbell’s composite imagery queries our consequential proximity to the shifting realities of that which is temporary.

Campbell is a Toronto-based artist who trained at the Ontario College of Art & Design, with independent studies in France, Open Studio Toronto, Humanities at the University of Toronto, and Philosophy at York University. Her practice extends from two-dimensional collage to three-dimensional construction and site-specific installation. She has exhibited in Canada and abroad at galleries in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Italy, and Germany. Campbell was a member of Workscene Gallery and Artists Co-operative, Broadview Collective (BVW), The Red Head Gallery, The Tree Museum Collective, Toronto/Muskoka, and is currently a member of loop Gallery. Her work is included in private, public, and corporate collections.

Learn more about J. Lynn Campbell’s work during a Q & A session with Gary Clement and moderator, Patrick Macaulay, on Saturday, December 14^th at 3PM.

Gary Clement

Paintings for Modern Homo Sapiens

December 7^th – 29^th, 2013                

Reception:  Saturday, December 7^th, 2- 5 PM

Q & A: Saturday, December 14, 3PM   

    

loop Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by member artist, Gary Clement, entitled Paintings for Modern Homo Sapiens. 

In his latest show, Clement presents an overview of human activity from the dawn of history to the space race and beyond, albeit omitting almost everything in between. This show marks a new direction in Clement’s work, as it is entirely a show of acrylic paintings on birch panels.

Viewers, however, can expect to see work that addresses the same wide range of influences, themes and interests that have always been a feature of a Gary Clement art exhibition. Olympic diving, zero gravity, acid reflux, 19^th century Russian literature, Lepidoptera, and life on other planets are a few of the issues that are considered this time around.

Gary Clement has been the political cartoonist for the National Post since its inception. His cartoons have also appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian and The Miami Herald. As an illustrator, his work has appeared in magazines and newspapers across North America. He is also a children’s writer and illustrator and is a three-time nominee for the Governor General’s Award for Illustration, most recently for the 2013 book ‘Oy. Feh. So?’ written by Cary Fagan. He won the award in 1999 for his own book ‘The Great Poochini’.

This is his 9^th show at loop. He is represented in Toronto by loop Gallery and by Parts gallery.

Learn more about Gary Clement’s work during a Q & A session with J. Lynn Campbell and moderator, Patrick Macaulay, on Saturday, December 14^th at 3PM.

Last Chance to see the current shows at loop
Elizabeth Babyn: Cosmic Fishnet | Richard Sewell: wherelocal (too)

Don't miss the Q & A with both artists THIS SUNDAY December 1st @ 2pm!

(This is a re-post of Elizabeth's visit as it seems to have disappeared from the blog.
You can revisit studio Richard's here.)

a visit with Elizabeth Babyn

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DESCRIBE YOUR SUBJECT MATTER FOR THIS NEW BODY OF WORK.

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For the past several years I have been intrigued by the inter-relationship between sacred geometry and Fibonacci’s number sequences.  When I learned that these sequences were tied to the golden mean ratio, I investigated further and found out that these sequences further demonstrate that all things in nature and indeed the universe begin with a single point and their very proportions are constantly being repeated everywhere and in everything.  

While researching I also stumbled upon a beautiful design that was coined the ‘Cosmic Fishnet’, the author claimed that this motif held within it each and every possible sacred geometry design in existence. Unfortunately, I was rather careless with my notes and as a result haven’t been unable to locate the source of the ‘Cosmic Fishnet’ term, but regardless I liked the name and what it implied and decided that I would incorporate this design along with the Fibonacci number sequences as a symbolic metaphor for our universal connection to all things. 

My multilayered process acts as a vehicle to deliberately reveal,  hide, or lose bits of process, which in turn serve as symbolic metaphors for the seen, the unseen, the known and the unknowable.

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WHAT IS THE BIGGEST RISK THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN IN YOUR WORK?

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I am probably taking the biggest risk right now with my current body of work.  Previously, I had been known for my colourful acrylic paintings on canvas, now I am working with all sorts of textile materials, the colours are much quieter, I am working in layers incorporating spiritual symbolic metaphors and there is an apparent shift towards installation art.  There are certainly challenges to entering new territory, but the risks are well worth it.

 

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WHAT ARTISTS WOULD YOUR WORK MOST LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH?

 

--> There are lots of artists past and present who have worked with Fibonacci number sequences, fractals and sacred geometry from Leonardo da Vinci’s squaring the circle, contemporary artist Simon Beck’s elaborate snow crop circles to Mario Merz (now deseased), whose installations from the 1970’s onward began to use the Fibonacci number sequences as “the emblem of the dynamics associated with the growth processes in the natural world”.  I am sure their works could generate some pretty interesting discourse, but none more so than that illusive force that is responsible for orchestrating nature and the universe in the first -->place.  Now that would be an interesting conversation!

 

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WHAT DOES YOUR STUDIO SPACE MEAN TO YOU?

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Everything! 

It is so liberating to have a designated space to engage in creative work in the manner that I envision.  I could not possibly work in the way that I currently work if I had to work at home as I once did in the past. I am fortunate that my space is large and I use every inch of it. I set up different workstations for each of the processes that my current body of work requires and then move from station to station as needed, this movement keeps me from loosing my objectivity and allows me to percolate more ideas for the pieces that are at rest.

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DO YOU EVOKE A PERSONAL HISTORY INTO YOUR PRACTICE?

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My artwork is a reflection of what I hold most dear and true to me.  

It is a continuum of my spiritual or meditative practice, so yes in that sense I certainly do.  

THANKS FOR THE VISIT ELIZABETH!

Elizabeth's new work 
can be seen at Loop Gallery November 9th - December 1st.

www.elizabethbabyn.ca

http://babyns2ndavenuestudio.blogspot.ca/