Friday, March 28, 2014

New Exhibitions by loop Artists Yael Brotman: Scaffolding and Martha Eleen: My Space



Yael Brotman
Scaffolding

March 29th  – April 20th, 2014                
Reception:  Sunday, March 30th, 2- 5PM
Studio Tour:  Sunday March 16th
                                            
loop Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by Yael Brotman, entitled Scaffolding. 

The print sculptures in Brotman’s current body of work, Scaffolding, look at publicly accessible structures such as bridges, boardwalks, and piers. The artist uses these mediating loci to examine the parameters of our social contract with nature. She says, ‘The water under the bridge or at the end of the boardwalk may be menacing at times. These structures act as conduits over challenging terrain while also protecting fragile shorelines from damaging footfalls.’ In works such as Trestle or Blackfriars, Brotman attempts to capture the tension between chaos and control that is present in life. The support beams and the angles of the posts capture the rhythm and movement of architecture in the making.    

In Scaffolding, Brotman applied the hand drawn-based etching on Japanese paper, to varying thicknesses of foamcore before building each structure, turning these pieces into raw material akin to lumber. Whereas earlier works had a limited palette that referenced the materiality of wood and metal, Scaffolding introduces small jeweled colour elements: the ends of some of the pieces are painted to mimic lumberyard practices where colour is used as a code for size.

Brotman is a print-based artist also engaged in drawing and sculpture. Most recently her print sculptures were included in exhibitions at Lehman College Gallery, New York, Art League Houston, Edinburgh Printmakers, International Print Centre New York, and in a solo at Harcourt House, Edmonton. Brotman sits on the board of CARFAC ON and teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Her work is represented in public and corporate collections, including the Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, Douro Museum, Alijo, Portugal, the BMO Group, Ernst and Young, University of Alberta, Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie ON. She has been awarded residencies in Jingdezhen, China, Dawson City, Yukon, Australian National University, Canberra, Inisheer, Aran Islands, Ireland, University of Regina and Banff. She thanks the Toronto Arts Council.

Yael Brotman and Martha Eleen will host a Studio Tour afternoon on Sunday March 16 from 1- 4:30PM. Please contact loop Gallery for information (416-516-2581). Registration is limited. 

Image: Trestle, etching on Kurotani and Taiwanese papers, foamcore, acrylic, adhesive 22”H x 30” W x 18”D, 2013

Martha Eleen
My Space

March 29th  – April 20th, 2014                
Reception:  Sunday, March 30th, 2- 5PM
Studio Tour:  Sunday March 16th
                    
loop Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by member artist, Martha Eleen, entitled My Space.

In Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan contends that a space requires a movement from a place to another place. Similarly, a place requires a space to be a place. Hence, the two notions are co-dependent.

My Space is a series of paintings about the space between the artist’s skin and the outside world.

Martha Eleen is an honours graduate of Emily Carr College of Art, Vancouver, Canada. Her painting practice explores the relationship between culture and landscape, and has received critical attention in the form of curatorial essays, reviews and publication. Her work has been exhibited in public galleries in Canada, U.S.A, Mexico and Japan.  Eleen lives in Toronto where she teaches painting and drawing at Toronto School of Art. Her work is represented by loop Gallery, Toronto. The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.


Martha Eleen and Yael Brotman will host a joint Studio Tour on Sunday March 16 from 1:00- 4:30PM.  To register, contact loop at (416-516-2581) or loopgallery@gmail.com.

TSA students are invited to register for an advance tour of Martha Eleen’s studio on March 16th at 12PM. Registration is limited for all tours.

www.marthaeleen.com


Image: Felt, oil on wood, 20" x 20", 2014

loop Thanks: AUDAXlaw Sumac.com