Elizabeth Babyn at Dragonfly Gallery

Flower of Life by Elizabeth Babyn

Flower of Life and Seed of Life are two paintings from Elizabeth Babyn's Illumination series. These works were created for her upcoming show with Linda Heffernan at Loop Gallery which opens August 28th.  These paintings and other selected works by Elizabeth Babyn are currently on display at Dragonfly Gallery in Orangeville from March 31-April 28.  

Dragonfly Gallery is just one of Orangeville’s treasures featuring current artists and artisans.  In fact, you might also like to catch a show just down the street at Theater Orangeville!  Dragonfly Gallery is located at 189 Broadway in Oakville. For more information and gallery hours,  check their website at www.dragonflyarts.ca.

 Seed of Life by Elizabeth Babyn

Upcoming Exhibitions by Mark Adair and Mary Catherine Newcomb

LOOP Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by loop members Mark Adair and Mary Catherine Newcomb.

Mark Adair’s Death’s Children is a new series of small charcoal drawings that completes Death Drinks, a narrative about the adventures of Death in the modern world. Adair has worked on and off on the series for a decade and it has been exhibited in many shows in various stages of development. Both the subject matter and the labour intensive and detailed style of the work are inspired by the art of the 14th Century in western Europe.

Mark Adair is a Toronto artist who does charcoal works on paper and makes sculpture. His work was recently featured in the Patrick Jenkins documentary, Death Is In Trouble Now, airing on BRAVO! Television, which was also the basis for a 25 year retrospective of Adair's work mounted at Brock University's Rodman Hall Arts Centre. Adair is a graduate of York University, Toronto (BFA 1979) and the University of Victoria (MFA 1982). He is a founding member of the Torontoniensis Collective with whom he has exhibited since the mid 1990's. He has exhibited with Loop since 2004.

Mary Catherine Newcomb is exhibiting a four foot long reclining "chocolate" hare at Loop Gallery. The hare regards the viewer balefully and actually consists of a malleable material that smells slightly oily or rancid. A suspended, oversized apple blossom crown that is made from copper, bronze and steel accompanies the rabbit. While heralding the beginning of spring, this exhibition juxtaposes ideas about beauty, illusion, consumption and our complex and often romantic relationship with nature.  

Mary Catherine Newcomb was born and raised in Montreal. She received her art education at University of Waterloo and York University. She currently works and resides in Kitchener, Ontario. She has received numerous grants and awards and her work has been exhibited internationally.

Please join the artists in celebrating the opening reception on Saturday, March 27th from 2-5 pm.

Tara Cooper and Elizabeth D'Agostino

There are only four days left to see the current exhibition of work by Tara Cooper and Elizabeth D'Agnostino at LOOP Gallery. The show will close on Sunday, March 22, 2010. Not to be missed are these tall drinks by Tara Cooper!

LOOP Gallery is located at 1273 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Gallery Hours: 12-5 pm

Underdog Award of Distinction 2010

I am the recipient of the Underdog Award of Distinction 2010 presented by new genre artist and writer  Otino Corsano for my installation at Fly Gallery. I invite you to visit his blog to read about this honour! I am tickled pink as I often feel like an underdog. Whimsy is such an important component to my art practice and seems to be often overlooked and unappreciated in the art world.

Posted by Ingrid Mida

A Conversation with Tara Cooper

Tara Cooper is currently exhibiting "Off-Season" at LOOP Gallery until March 21, 2010. Our conversation was based on a preview of her work during installation.

Ingrid Mida: Based on what you wrote for your blog post, I almost expected to see a portrait of your very hip 95 year old grandmother. Is she on the video by any chance?

Tara Cooper:  My grandmother is featured on the video. Essentially, it is a 3-channel split screen, extremely close-up image of her with very little movement. I think of it as a time-based portrait.


Ingrid Mida:  Was your grandmother at the opening? If not, have you shown her any of these images? If so, what did she say?


Tara Cooper: My grandmother couldn’t make it for the opening, as she is still in Florida. She had some concerns over showing her “wrinkly face”, but she was also very excited to be the protagonist of the show. I think it really lifted her spirits, and gave us a chance to reconnect. Nothing beats being the star of the show!


Ingrid:  What is your first memory of your grandmother?

Tara:  My first memories of my grandmother are visiting her at her house/cottage on Lake Huron, near Point Clark, Ontario during the summers. I often spent two weeks or more with her at the lake. There were few children around—most of the properties in that area were owned by retired couples. As a result, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and by myself. My grandfather was still employed at the Bank of Commerce. Sometimes we would pick wild raspberries and make jam, but I also helped her in the garden (she definitely has a “green thumb”). She also taught me how to knit and sew. One of our projects involved making a teddy bear with moving appendages (a real classic “teddy”). Other memories include a set of brown ceramic dishes that were reserved for using down at the beach, and eating pan-fried yellow zucchini from the garden with lots of butter.

Ingrid: For some reason, I was surprised at the size of the drawings/paintings along the back wall. I sort of imagined them as much bigger than they were. What medium did you use? Ink with watercolour? Or perhaps acrylic on paper?

Tara: The drawings on the back wall are all water-based media with a combination of digital printing. Some of the drawings are printed digitally (using the 9800 Epson/same as the bungalows), and others are shown more directly with the medium on frosted mylar. The drawings that I wanted to change and alter were scanned and then re-worked using Photoshop. The ones on mylar include a mix of Caran d’Ache crayons, watercolour, graphite and gouache. 

Ingrid Mida: The photographs of the Florida houses have a sense of loneliness or isolation in them. I suppose I felt that because there is an absence of the human figure in them. Am I reading that correctly? Is that the feeling you intended to evoke?

Tara Cooper: Your reading of the bungalows is correct! I was interested in depicting the notion of “off-season” within the framework of these small cottages. Once printed large, I was surprised by the subtle differences between absent and abandoned. Although the occupants of the houses are not at home, the cottages are clearly well cared for and maintained. There is a kind of held suspension and/or waiting as the structures sit, closed-up and empty for the winter season. They are as you observed both lonely and isolated in time, but I think there is still an element of hope. Tidy and clean they simply need someone to re-inhabit them.

Ingrid Mida: Your art practice encompasses a broad range of media - drawing, photography, printmaking and video. How do you decide which medium to pursue at any given time? If you could pursue only one, which one is your preferred choice of expression?

Tara Cooper: In terms of deciding which medium to employ, I often work with several all at once. There is an element of collecting and gathering at the beginning of any project, where I take pictures, collect sound bytes, short video clips, draw and write. I tend to move back and forth between whatever I have collected, as I am both curious and motivated by translations—how one medium compared with another resolves a certain set of questions. For example: at first I tried to work on some drawings based on the photographs of the bungalows. The photographs however, were much more successful. The drawings quite simply could not compete. If I had to pick only one medium, I would most likely choose drawing. Not only is at a foundation, but I love how accessible and portable it is.

Ingrid Mida: What artist living or dead would you most like to have a conversation with?  What question would you ask them?

Tara Cooper: I would pick Sophie Calle. I’m curious about her process in terms of navigating and developing a project. I would also love to hear her comments regarding the position of women within contemporary art practices. She really did not receive any kind of international recognition and attention until quite recently.

Ingrid Mida: Is there an artwork/artist that makes you really angry?

Tara Cooper: There isn’t really any artist that makes me angry. Of course there are certain works that I don’t engage with, but I honestly believe we are all part of the same chain—any support at any level is productive in maintaining the overall vitality and longevity for the arts (from “Sunday painters” to the Venice Biennale). I’m more interested in finding affiliations and nurturing those.  

Ingrid Mida:  Which are the most common words you use to describe (1) work you like and (2) work you dislike?

Tara Cooper: I like humour and work that makes you think, which doesn't negate an interest in beauty. I would most likely substitute the word disappoint for dislike. I’m especially disappointed when I recognize a missed opportunity.

Ingrid Mida: Who is your best critic?

Tara Cooper: Without any hesitation, my best critic is my husband Terry (who also worked on the video with me). He is a fierce critic who keeps me accountable at every turn.

Ingrid Mida: What colour do you most frequently use?

Tara Cooper: I definitely tend towards a blues and greens. Purple is a tough colour for me.


Ingrid Mida: What frame of mind do you have to be in to produce art?

Tara Cooper: I find producing artwork is more about the steady accumulation of effort. There are times that I feel everything is approaching disaster and wonder about throwing in the towel, but I usually forge ahead as I often return the next day, only to discover what works. In an article from the New Yorker Malcolm Gladwell talks about 2 kinds of creative people. The first is affiliated with precocity—where genius comes at a young age, everything clicking at a particular moment in time (i.e. Orson Welles makes Citizen Kane at 25). He defines the second as “Late Bloomers”. The practices of the late bloomers are rooted in experimentation. Thus it is only with energy and time that a question is solved. Cezanne exemplifies this latter group—producing his most accomplished paintings at the end of his life. I’m hoping that I’m a late bloomer…  (here’s a link to the article)


Ingrid Mida : What book are you currently reading?

Tara Cooper: I am currently reading “The Case For Books: Past, Present and Future” by Robert Darnton (a fascinating read by the director of Harvard’s libraries about the history of books and the potential impact of digital technologies) and Alice Munro’s “My Best Stories”.

Ingrid Mida: If you were not an artist, what would you do?

Tara Cooper: If I wasn’t an artist or affiliated with any kind of art (including dance, music, design, film, fashion etc), which is almost impossible to imagine as it defines so much of my life, I think I would work in the health industry—perhaps as a midwife.

Ingrid Mida: What is your earliest memory as an artist? 

Tara Cooper: A funny story, which might not be my earliest memory, but definitely highlights my capacity and interest for visual culture as a child involves my mother and the mall. I should probably preface this with my suburban upbringing that consisted of almost no trips to any local galleries or arts events. Wanting to complete all of her errands efficiently, my mother would often drop me off at the card shop only to fetch me an hour or so later. I distinctly remember going through all of the greeting cards, critically looking at the images on the outside and the text inside, only to rate how successful they were and subsequently imagine who might buy the card and who might receive it. I’m still fascinated by the relationship between text and image and the idea of narrative. Every used greeting card without question is a residual marker of some narrative and for me the store was a kind of gallery at the mall. 

Upcoming Show: Tara Cooper and Elizabeth D'Agostino

LOOP  Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by members Tara Cooper entitled Off-Season, and Elizabeth D’Agostino entitled Artifacts of the Self-Made.

Off-Season, Tara Cooper’s first exhibition at LOOP, traces the route that 95 year old Doris Rittinger has taken for the past 40 years, from Southern Ontario to Panama City Beach, Florida. Looking at the migratory habits of the retired along with the impact of aging, the installation combines film, photography and drawing:

"I am 95 years old today. But I do not feel 95 years old, I feel I am a healthy 75, that is called my body age. Sometimes I think our bodies age more slowly than our minds. My mind feels like 200, pilled and worn transparent like an old sheet.”

Working within a narrative framework, Tara Cooper’s practice considers the conditions of desire, both the murmurings of regret and the longing for the future. As a Toronto based artist, her expression is often Canadian in nature, from the habits of the snowbird, to the idea of north and the language of weather. Tara received her MFA from Cornell University in 2008, specializing in the disciplines of print, film and installation. She currently teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design. To see more of Tara's work, please visit her website here.

In Elizabeth D'Agostino's Artifacts of the Self-Made, the artist is reminded of familial sites and surroundings she encountered growing up.  It embodies a sense of individual desire to recapture and restore memories and fragments of historical passages, which influence daily life. D'Agostino is concerned with the notion of acclimation and how the environment begins to inform each other.
The images take the form of the human body, human artifacts, vegetable and animal life. These images are displayed within complex settings as delicate curiosities in D'Agostino's drawings and prints; the natural world connects the human-made world. This work furthers her investigations of the transitional place, and the various stages that surround the transformations and adaptations of an object and the rooted structures that have formed their environment displayed as objects of curiosity.

Elizabeth D'Agostino received her BFA from the University of Windsor and her MFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL. She has exhibited in Canada and internationally and was selected as the 2008 Visiting Artist by the Fine Arts Department at the University of South Dakota. D'Agostino lives and works in Toronto and is a member of Open Studio.  She teaches printmaking at the Ontario College of Art & Design and is the Curriculum Coordinator at the Toronto School of Art.  To see more of Elizabeth D'Agostino's work, please visit her website here.

Please join the artists in celebrating the opening reception on Saturday, February 27th from 3-6 pm.

Learn more about Tara Cooper and Elizabeth D'Agostino's work during a Question and Answer session at the gallery on Saturday March 13 at 3pm.
 
Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat 1 to 5 pm, and Sun 1 to 4pm.
Artists will be in attendance on Sundays and for the reception.
For more information please contact the gallery director at (416) 516-2581 or loopgallery@primus.ca.

A Peek into Elizabeth D'Agostino's Studio

In her upcoming show Artifacts of the Self Made, Elizabeth D'Agostino explores the complex connections between the natural world and the human-made world. These informal studio shots give a hint at the precision and delicacy of her prints and drawings for the show, which opens at LOOP Gallery on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

A Peek into Tara Cooper's Studio

Join Tara Cooper at LOOP Gallery on Saturday, February 27th the opening of her show "Off-Season". The reception will be that afternoon from 3-6 pm and the show will run until March 21, 2010.

Tara Cooper: Off-Season

My exhibition entitled "Off-Season" opens at LOOP in less than two weeks. There’s still a long “To Do” list, but I’m excited for the opening on Saturday February 27th. Here’s a little preliminary look and a little more information about my work.

My grandmother, Doris Rittinger, turns 95 this February. For the past 40 years, she has been making her way south during the winter, to stay in Panama City Beach, Florida. Doris is an anchor within our family, and she is strong and independent with a flair for fashion. Her last pair of glasses, worn for more than a decade, were bedazzled with pink cubic zirconias. She recently gave me some of her dresses from the 60’s, bought in Buffalo and signed Mr. Dino, along with a wide brim mint green hat with matching feathers along the trim and a white straw handbag with crocheted flowers. During the 80’s, many of her friends would meet annually in Panama City Beach, play bridge, golf, swim, attend dances at the club house, walk on the beach and shop. As the years recede, most of her friends have died.  She no longer makes the journey for the people, but for the temperate climate. 

At 95, time is limited. This past December, I decided to take advantage of my grandmother’s migratory habits and good health, travelling by car to visit her. My last trip to Florida was in 1987. I was sixteen—flip flops, bikinis and baby oil. On one of our outtings, I asked my grandmother what she attributes her longevity to; she replied ROMANCE.

Since my grandfather’s death (Reuben Rittinger) in 1983, Doris has had four steady boyfriends: John, Jed, Arthur and Tom. Except for Arthur, she stayed with each of them until they died.   

Panama City is located at the northern end of Florida on the gulf side. In December, the beach is nearly empty. Temperatures hover around 60 degrees. Accomodations are plenty, many offer special rates and discounts. Our intention this trip was to document not only my grandmother, but also the route south. Alabama had the best signage by far: SMOK”N BUTTS BBQ... NEW QUAIL DINNER, LET US CATER UR NEXT EVENT,   and Big Daddy’s BBQ, Fried CHICKEN, Fresh CATFISH...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS, DAILY BREAKFAST $2.99 and FIREWORKS IT’S PARTY TIME, SURVIVOR SHIRTS $10. Even with the economic downturn, the number of “For Sale” signs along Highway 98 (the route that runs along Florida’s coast) surprised me. I think half of “America’s  Sunshine State” might be For Sale.

 

I invite you to join me for the opening reception of my show on Saturday, February 27th from 3-6 pm at LOOP Gallery. You can also see more of my work on my website here.

Posted by: Tara Cooper

Another Conversation with Jane LowBeer

Until I saw the wall of Jane LowBeer's small oil paintings of toothpaste tubes, I had no idea that toothpaste tubes could take on a romantic quality. The rich colours and captivating forms create an intimacy and sensuality that I would not normally associate with an everyday object like the toothpaste tube.

I had to follow up my earlier conversation with Jane LowBeer to find out more:

Ingrid:  In your artist statement, you mention that the toothpaste tubes heralded a return to painting for you. Why did you chose toothpaste tubes to return to painting?

Jane: Toothpaste tubes are everyday household items. An empty toothpaste tube is flexible and can be bent or twisted into a variety of shapes (although some brands are much more malleable than others!). The painterly possibilities of two toothpaste tubes seemed perfect for the intimacy of a small canvas.

Ingrid: How long was your hiatus from painting?
Jane: I use brushes with the monotypes in my printmaking practice but it has been about ten years since I used a brush, oil paint and canvas.

Ingrid:  In our previous conversation, you said that lately you have been using a lot of colours to make up black. What is it about black and white that you find appealing?
Jane:  In the monotypes, I put the plate through the press multiple times building up the layers of colours. It is interesting to see a black made from a layer of orange then violet compared to a black made with red and turquoise. There is the quality of drawing that I like in black and white.

Ingrid:  Does that come from your printmaking background?
Jane: Not really. A very long time ago, I did viscosity printmaking which is all about colour. I mostly use the same inks for the monotypes.

Ingrid:  Your every day objects seem to have a landscape monumentality. Is there an underlying symbolism to you?
Jane: Perhaps...small is beautiful.

Ingrid: Will you continue with this series? 
Jane: Yes, I ran out of time in preparing for this show and would like to paint a tubes of toothpaste all jumbled together...an orgy of toothpaste tubes.

Ingrid:  There seems to be a shared affinity for black and white imagery with Sung Ja Kim. Was this deliberate or happenstance?
Jane: It was a happy happenstance. I am a new member of LOOP so I had no idea who I was paired with.

The show of Jane LowBeer's work continues this weekend and through to Sunday, February 20th, 2010.  Visit Loop Gallery at 1273 Dundas Street West in Toronto or see more of Jane's work on her website here.