Miracle Thieves
DUNDAS WEST SPACE OFFERS ENCOURAGEMENT & EXCITEMENT FOR CREATIVE MINDS Story by Amanda Stancati Photos provided by Miracle Thieves “Miracle Thieves is a colony of joyful rebels,” states their website. What’s the colony rebelling against? “The norm,” says free-spirited founder Tiffany Naval, otherwise known as Tiffany Love (her artist name). “I think it...
Alexander Neef and the rise of the Canadian Opera Company
COC’s GENERAL DIRECTOR TALKS ABOUT PUTTING TORONTO ON THE MAP Story by Megan Leahy Photos by Bo Huang (above) and Chris Hutcheson (below) In June 2008, Alexander Neef was appointed General Director of the Canadian Opera Company (COC). Having worked with some of the most prestigious arts organizations in the world, Neef came to Toronto...
Chris Buck
CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHER PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK FOR PORTRAIT SERIES Story by Kate Fane Chris Buck has achieved global recognition through his editorial and commercial photography, but it’s his inventive celebrity portraits for which he’s most renowned. Beautifully composed, and often containing sly references to a star’s professional reputation (Simon Cowell petting a baby rabbit, anyone?), Buck’s...
Joanne Tod
ARTIST CELEBRATES CHANGE WITH CERAMICS EXHIBIT AT THE GARDINER MUSEUM Story by Erin Lucuik Joanne Tod knows her way around a canvas. With several decades of experience under her belt, Tod’s paintings of people and places have secured her status as one of Canada’s foremost visual artists. For her latest show, Invited Invasion, Tod has...
Anna Pantcheva
TORONTO ARTIST USES PAINT AND COLLAGE TO DECONSTRUCT THE TRADITIONAL PORTRAIT Story by Meaghan Collins Anna Pantcheva is a talented young artist and self-proclaimed colour enthusiast. After graduating from the painting and drawing program at OCAD four years ago, she is successfully making a name for herself with her captivating paintings and collages. Her work combines...
Kirsten McCrea
CANADIAN ILLUSTRATOR AND COLLABORATIVE ARTIST KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A PATTERN POP Story by Erin Lucuik Kirsten McCrea is the ultimate multi-tasker. A woman of many talents, McCrea makes the most of every waking moment by dividing her time between her own art practice and a variety of collaborative projects. Whether she’s working on an ink...
Sarah Tacoma
SMALL-TOWN ONTARIO ARTIST TURNS LANDSCAPES INTO NOSTALGIC DREAMS Story by Sasha Johnson The bust of the naked woman seeped south, flopping into her face, and her legs spread wide as she balanced on her head. The self-portrait hung incongruously on the wall. Standing in front of the painting was a young girl, small in comparison...
Nicole Tarasick
ARTIST GIVES GEOGRAPHY A GRAPHIC UPDATE Story by Amanda Thomas Photos provided by Nicole Tarasick With a fresh approach to Canadiana, graphic designer Nicole Tarasick uses minimalist geographic symbols to create conversation-sparking home décor. Known for her airport code pillows (featured in the Canada Lounge at Toronto Fashion Week 2011), Tarasick is passionate...
Harry Enchin
TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHER GIVES NEW APPRECIATION TO THE CITY’S HISTORY Story by Kate Fane Photos provided by Harry Enchin All major cities are constantly in a state of flux. It is their dynamic nature, and with it the promise of new possibilities, which cause the masses to flock to them. So focused on moving forward, how...
Sarah Ammons
ARTIST’S SELF-ANALYSIS EXPLORED THROUGH MULTIPLICITY Story by Mariam Magsi With her impeccable drawing skills, remarkable composition and fluid use of colour, Sarah Ammons is a painter worthy of attention. Born and raised in Canada and currently studying in America, Ammons is a powerfully talented artist with a unique self-exploratory vision. In the...
Vincent Kartheiser
PLAID CHATS WITH THE CHARISMATIC AND ASSUREDLY NOT CREEPY MAD MAN ABOUT PLAYS, PETE CAMPBELL AND LIFE… WITH AND WITHOUT TELEVISION Story by Adam Steel Photo by Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC.com When talking to Vincent Kartheiser, one of the stars of AMC’s cultural and critical juggernaut Mad Men, you get the sense that behind...
Adam Colangelo
CATCH THE WORK OF THIS COPPER ARTIST AT THE TORONTO OUTDOOR ART EXHIBITION Story by Erin Lucuik Images provided by Adam Colangelo For someone who insists he found art purely by chance, artist Adam Colangelo’s copper masterpieces make you wonder why he would consider doing anything else. From his studio at N/A collective in Toronto’s...
Greg Eason
LONDON-BASED ARTIST TRIPS THE VOID Story by Marissa Spada A lonely creature floats within a field of nothingness, inconspicuous and yet exposed, as if a new form of hyper-awareness has taken over the senses and left the mind to delve into the mysteries therein. This void is a transformative space in the work...
Shawn Skeir
HINTS OF PICASSO IN TORONTO ARTIST’S NEW EXHIBIT Words by Rebecca Poynton-Murray Images courtesy of Shawn Skeir Shawn Skeir is no stranger to the ever-growing Toronto art scene. With a new exhibition under way, ‘Life Lines,’ we spoke to Shawn about his work and how the city inspires him. How long you have you been...
Sarah Teitel
TORONTO MUSICIAN, ARTIST AND WRITER PAINTS THE HUMAN BRAIN Story by Kate Fane Images courtesy of Sarah Teitel As an artist, you’ve got quite the C.V., alternating between music, poetry, fashion design, and the visual arts. Is one particularly close to your heart? I go through phases. Different times and circumstances seem to call for...
Kollar Clothing
EMERGING BRAND TAKES SOPHISTICATED STREETWEAR TO THE NEXT LEVEL Story by D’Loraine Miranda Photos provided by Kollar Clothing If you ask David Kollar, Founder and Creative Director of Kollar Clothing, what he aims to bring to the Toronto menswear scene, his answer is simple: sophisticated streetwear. As a newcomer to the scene, Kollar...
Keita Morimoto
THE EYES HAVE IT IN THESE MESMERIZING IMAGES Story by Mariam Magsi Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Keita Morimoto is an artist currently painting in Toronto. Morimoto’s work is illusionistic with a three dimensional feel. His primary subjects are women, and as you scan his work, the first feature to jump out...
Sara Guindon
FROM THE PIN PALS TO HER OWN SOLO PROJECTS, THIS ILLUSTRATOR MAKES HER MARK Story by Odessa Paloma Parker Sara Guindon’s work may look familiar; the unique personalities she depicts in her illustrations are half of the charm of Pin Pals – the remarkable, retro-esque accessories and art objects found at craft events...
Citizens
AN INTIMATE LOOK AT SOME OF TORONTO’S BEST Story by Nina Cherry Photo courtesy of Natalie Castellino The delightful Natalie Castellino has spent the last year taking portraits of 20 incredible Torontonians: Aleksandar Antonijevic, Edward Burtynsky, Roberta Bondar, Anita Clarke, Schuster Gindin, Debra Goldblatt, Susur Lee, Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, Gail McInnes, Phyllis Novak, Luis Pacheco,...
Mike Parsons
YOU HAVE SEEN HIM CROUCHED ON QUEEN STREET PAINT BRUSH IN HAND.
NOW TORONTO STREET ARTIST MIKE PARSONS IS TAKING THINGS IN DOORS.
Celia Neubauer
MIXED-MEDIA ARTIST CREATES ABSTRACT LANDSCAPES INSPIRED BY FASHION Story by Kate Fane Scouring the pages of Vogue seems an unlikely starting point for painting a landscape, but for mixed-media artist Celia Neubauer, it’s a natural impulse. During an afternoon visit to her spacious studio in the Distillery District’s Case Goods Warehouse, Celia took me through...
Christine Kim
ONE ARTIST’S MANTRA OF KEEP CALM & CUT ON Story by Kate Fane At Toronto’s recent Artist Project (TAP) exhibition, over 200 artists displayed their work in a massive convention hall in Exhibition Place. But despite the frantic environment, one artist definitely stood out. Toronto-based Christine Kim was able to offer a respite from...
Guy Archard
PHOTOGRAPHER FILLS US IN ON WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW Story by Erin Lucuik London-based photographer Guy Archard has built up quite the portfolio since graduating from the London College of Communication in 2007. And while the ideas for his work may come about accidentally, each of his photos radiate a stillness, and a sense of calm...
Laurie Kang
THE ARTIST REVEALS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HER MEDIUM Story by Kate Fane Laurie Kang is a gatherer. To create her unique compositions, she combines found materials such as product catalogues and scrap paper with her own photography. The end result is a seamless yet surreal object that seems to float between two and three...
Navillus Gallery
AFTER GLOW EXHIBITION RUNS UNTIL MARCH 29TH Story by Laura Chang Navillus Gallery, located in the heart of Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, exhibits art as a facet of life. “It can energize a space, inspire you, make you think and feel, and enrich your life,” says head curator, Taylor Sullivan. Recently opened in October 2011,...
Janet Macpherson
THE SCULPTOR SHARES HOW PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS Story by Erin Lucuik Photos provided by Janet Macpherson It’s difficult to nail down Janet Macpherson’s ceramic sculptures. They are at once familiar but strange, good-humored but austere, and common but undeniably unique. Perhaps it’s this enigmatic quality that draws people to her work, which is influenced...
Jason Miller
THE DESIGNER TALKS ABOUT NEW PROJECTS & THE IDEAS BEHIND HIS WORK Story by Hannah Rittner Photos provided by Jason Miller Jason Miller’s personality is a mysterious combination of bluntness and sensitivity. This contrast is definitely at work in his furniture design, which embodies a fine balance between grittiness and grace. Miller’s newest project...
