Artsy’s 7-Point Guide to Art Toronto 2014
Taking place in Toronto at the heart of the Canadian art world, Art Toronto unites more than 100 galleries from across the world. In its 15th edition, the fair offers a dynamic schedule of artist talks, tours, and special performances. Check out our guide to this year’s fair, which highlights the important projects and events going on throughout the week.
1. When, where, and how?
Art Toronto takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and is open to the public from Friday, October 24th to Monday, October 27th, 2014, opening each day at noon. Tickets can be purchased online here.
2. Why visit?
Art Toronto embodies the best of the Canadian art market. Presenting more than 100 select galleries, the fair showcases a robust program that includes special projects, exhibits, tours, and artist talks.
4. What do they offer as far as programming?
Art Toronto is organized by Platform, a series of panel discussions, artist and art professional conversations, and tours.
Highlights include:
October 24th, 1–2 p.m. Imago Mundi Inuit Art Project
Initiated several years ago by Fondazione Benetton Studi e Ricerche of Treviso, Imago Mundi is an international art project that invites more than 100 artists to create small works that are documented in illustrated catalogues and shown in exhibitions around the world. Curator Jennifer Karch Verze will speak about the project in the coming spotlight on Inuit Art.
October 24th and 26th, 2–3 p.m. Generation(s)
Canadian Art editors Bryne McLaughlin, Leah Sandals, and Richard Rhodes discuss their favorite artists and works at Art Toronto 2014.
October 24th, 3–4 p.m. Collectors Speak
A conversation with several established collectors and Christiane Fischer, president and CEO of AXA Art Americas.
October 24th, 6–7 p.m. Bisi Silva: Curating Africa? The Shifting Curatorial Paradigm
A conversation with Bisi Silva, an independent curator, and founder and director of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, Nigeria.
October 25th, 1–2 p.m. An Artist Residency on Fogo Island
A discussion about living and working on Fogo Island with Zita Cobb, Fogo Island Arts founder, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Fogo Island Arts artistic director, and artist-in-residence Edgar Leciejewski
October 25th, 3–4 p.m. Saskia Bos: Not Quite Meant for Above the Couch
Saskia Bos, dean of the School of Art at Cooper Union, discusses the future for young artists and their development outside of the market economy.
October 25th, 6–7p.m. The Curated Market
Canadian Art Associate Editor David Balzer in conversation with artist Thrush Holmes, curator and collector Stefan Hancherow, and Artsy’s very own Elena Soboleva.
October 26th, 1–2 p.m. To Market—Reflections on the 21st-Century Art Economy
A panel of art-world insiders discuss the changing landscape of the international art market.
October 26th, 3–4 p.m. Haro Cumbusyan: Private Collections in Public (Collecting Collections)
A discussion with Haro Cumbusyan, founding director of Collectorspace.
5. Are there any tours?
Each day of the fair there are tours led by various arts professionals, ranging from curators to collectors. Here are some of the highlights:
October 24th, 2–3 p.m. The Curator Series
Rachel Gotlieb, chief curator of the Gardiner Museum, gives a tour that focuses on artists who incorporate craft processes in their work, such as glass-making and textiles.
October 24th, 4–5 p.m. Trust The Experts
Jeanette Langmann, director of Uno Langmann Limited Fine Arts in Vancouver, gives a tour examining historical art.
October 25th, 2–3 p.m. The Curator Series
Andrew Hunter, curator at the Art Gallery of Ontario, gives a tour on contemporary and historical Canadian subject matter.
October 25th, 4–5 p.m. Trust The Experts
Joseph Rumi, director of fine art at Rumi Galleries in Mississauga, gives a tour highlighting post-war modern art.
October 26th, 2:00–3:00 p.m. The Curator Series
Lucas Soi, independent curator and founder of Soi Fischer, gives a tour on the popular and conceptual tendencies influencing contemporary art.
October 26th, 4:00–5:00 p.m. Trust The Experts
Shelli Cassidy-McIntosh, executive director of Olga Korper Gallery, explores the world of contemporary art.
6. Are there any special projects?
VSVSVS, Nap Station
VSVSVS (pronounced versus, versus, versus), a seven-person collective and artist-run center, presents Nap Station, a space to seek respite from the stress of art.
Marmin + Borins, Pavilion of the Blind
Created by Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, the Pavilion of the Blind is a large-scale kinetic installation with a colorful arrangement of window blinds, panels, and shades.
Amalie Atkins, Three Minute Miracle
Amalie Atkins creates a film that explores themes of loneliness and community, featuring felt characters and whimsical plotlines.
Xiaojing Yan, Cloud Cell
Cloud Cell is a floating sculpture created from 12,000 freshwater pearls suspended by clear filaments, created by Chinese artist Xiaojing Yan.
Greg Curnoe, Three Pieces
Three Pieces is a triptych painted in 1965 by Greg Curnoe that was discovered by Michael Gibson Gallery in October 2013 in storage. It is a relatively unknown work that was originally supported on flimsy legs. The gallery has recreated the legs and will be exhibiting Three Pieces at the fair.
NEXT Lounge
Toronto-based artist Thrush Holmes was commissioned to create Break Room for the Art Toronto NEXT Lounge to be unveiled at the fair. Break Room is an activated construction site where Holmes explores the interests and ideals of workers, including their thoughts on art, music, books, sex, and life.
15th Anniversary Feature Exhibition, BGL’s Canada de Fantaisie/ Canada Fancy
Quebec City-based artist group BGL’s Canada de Fantaisie/ Canada Fancy is a carousel made from steel security fences suspended from a lamppost that will be unveiled at the fair. The installation is a reflection of BGL’s ongoing investigation into the cultural aspects of security fences.
Artsy Artist Takeover: Ryan Foerster for Art Toronto
Artsy commissioned Canadian-born artist Ryan Foerster to fill the Artsy fair booth with his photographic work, as well as two benches crafted on-site from materials scavenged in the streets of Toronto. Foerster’s work is process-oriented, the final product showing clear traces of the transformation and decay involved in its creation.
7. Opening Night Gala
This year the Art Gallery of Ontario has collaborated with Art Toronto to put on a benefit for the AGO on opening night, which will be attended by established collectors, artists, and arts professionals. This year the event will feature a performance piece by TALWST that plays on themes of the carnival and the artist’s shared Caribbean heritage with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
