#red willow

2025-10-22.

@isadoraditch

Just back from Hogtown and a great all-round art viewing experience which included a couple of stopovers at Art Toronto as well as an offsite gallery visit and an artist studio drop-in. The anchor of the trip was the fair which was celebrating its 19th anniversary as Canada’s most important gallery gathering. True to form, Art Toronto smartly curated its line-up of 100 or so exhibitors to offer art enthusiasts a mix of historical and contemporary works created primarily by established and emerging Canadian artists and to a lesser extent, international players as represented by about 25 galleries that spanned seven countries. Another feature at Art Toronto was the showcasing of works by the finalists of RBC’s Canadian Painting Competition, a longstanding tradition at the fair which has served to launch many careers. In addition to navigating the fair corridors, visits to a pop-up gallery featuring new works by Kim Dorland and Esmaa Mohamoud’s studio contributed immensely to enhancing the weekend adventure.

While there were grumblings of smaller crowds in attendance on VIP and opening nights at Art Toronto, art fans seemed to make up for it on Saturday and Sunday as gallerists scrambled to accommodate the curiosity and inquiries of aficionados and fairgoers of all kinds. The result seemed to translate into lots of red dots which was a great outcome for all involved. Even though there was a certain amount of predictability around what to expect at the fair given its tenure in the marketplace and relatively familiar exhibitor roster, Art Toronto participants served up a great offering of the old and the new. Among the standouts created by more established artists in the Canadian art scene were: Jack Bush’s “Red Window”, 1964, oil on canvas (48 x 56 in.); Kazuo Nakamura’s  “Inner Structure No. 3”, 1959, oil on canvas (48 x 36 in.); and Claude Tousignant’s chrome series diptych “Untitled”, 1983, acrylic on canvas (each, 20.75 x 34 in.). More recent highlights included: Cristine Yunyk’s playful abstraction “Two Suns”, 2018, oil on canvas (50 x 40 in.); painting competition finalist Joy Wong’s hanging soft sculpture “Cotton and Cheese 1”, 2018, oil on rubber latex (37 x 17 in.); and Jacob Robert Whibley’s “Opaque Operations”, 2018, laser etching on archival water colour paper (42.75 x 31 in.).

Away from the fairgrounds, a temporary gallery space housed Kim Dorland’s solo exhibition “Kim Dorland: Analogue Paintings”. The 25 or so new works depicted scenes from everyday life as inspired from the artist’s recollection of ordinary objects and familiar places and were executed in Dorland’s recognizable painterly style. The modest size of the works (mostly, 24 x 30 in. or vice-versa), the gallery setting and the subject matter made for a very engaging and serene viewing experience. Highlights included: “GRRRZ!”, 2018, Oil on aluminum (24 x 30 in.); “Landscape Painting”, 2018, oil on aluminum (30 x 24 in.); and “Halo”, 2018, oil on aluminum (30 x 24 in.).

While the main draw of the weekend was Art Toronto and the Dorland solo exhibit was fantastic, meeting Esmaa Mohamoud was the real highlight of the trip. Mohamoud is a 25-year-old African-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist who has used her art and the backdrop of athletics and sports, specifically basketball and football, to tackle issues relating to race, culture and society. She speaks her mind through a broad variety of mediums and creative processes which recently have included cement castings (“Heavy Heavy (Hoop Dreams)” project), photography and dress design (“One of the Boys” project) and repurposed athletic wear (“Glorious Bones” and “Untitled (No Fields)” projects). Hosting a few art fans at her studio and surrounded by some of her works, the young artist totally captivated her small audience with her intensity, passion and vision and exuded a wisdom and understanding well beyond her years.

With all the major professional sports leagues in various states of full swing, there was also plenty of excitement and stimuli in the air in addition to the buzz created by great art. Leading the headlines was the conclusion to the MLB season with the crowning of the Red Sox as champs and the unlikely emergence of David Price as the newly minted Mr. October. Across the leagues, noteworthy events also included: the other Price posting his first shutout in 11 months and the Habs’ totally unexpected strongish start to the season; Johnny Snowball’s first victory; and the Dino’s kicking things off with a franchise record of six wins (before falling to the Bucks on Monday night) and K’Why’s strong contribution in the process. While there continues to be some speculation as to whether Price and K’Why have fully regained their old form and their ability to continue to perform at high levels, it’s alright to ride some early season euphoria and hope for the best in the long run.  

 For more information on any of the artists or works mentioned and for an update on the Dino’s and Habs as the season progresses, “Just Google It”.

There you have it sportsfans,

 MC Giggers

(www.mcgiggers.tumblr.com)

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I, MC Giggers, hereby certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views and that no part of my compensation was or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific views expressed herein.