Friday, March 7, 2008

The Artist Project 2008: Part Deux

Here is the second half of my Artist Project breakdown.

I suggest you stop by the show this weekend if you're around the Toronto area. The work is pseudo-affordable for original art, plus seeing all the wonderful pieces stirred my own artistic inclinations! Viva le inspiration!

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 Julia Gilmore    "Peonies & Tulips"

There was one particular painting by Julia that mesmerized me. It was of a mix of bright lush flowers like the one above, but juxtaposed to a big black clock. It would be gorgeous in a kitchen!

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Emily Cooper 

Vancouver native Emily was such a sweetheart and it was cool to hear her interpret the message behind her own pieces. I love this Icarus-esuqe work with its surrealist dreamy quality.  My friend Nat bought a cool piece from Emily featuring hands grabbing Caramilk squares, which is very fitting considering nat is a chocoholic. Happy Birthday Nat!

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Nava Waxman (don't know the title- sorry!)

Nava was amazing to talk to. She grew up in Israel and was so kind hearted and warm. The fairy-tale symbols in her work combined with the dreamy colours melting into eachother were so fantastic! I'm looking forward to following her career.

image Kathy Halper  "Skip Rope"

Mixed Media, 48" x 48

I enjoyed the silhouettes in this piece. It doesn't look incredibly hard to replicate but I did like her choice of colour and pattern.

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Greg Shegler   "A and W"

Multi-media  16 x 20 inches

Greg's stuff was a delicious pop culture soup.  It was a mix of random retro images collaged together in some fabulous formation. My favourite is called "Marty Monroe" with images of Marilyn Monroe, Rocky and Marty McFly - so gene! 80s fans may also enjoy a Ferris Beuler series he has. Check out his website to see more.

And last but certainly not least, Team Macho was there with their latest wears. It was lovely to chat the boys up because at other shows I've been to they are constantly swarmed. I even shared how I tried to rip off their style 3 years ago with my own wacky mix of images but failed miserably. (TMI?)

Their work is refreshingly true in an age where so many artists just use digital images and photoshop. All of their work is hand-drawn and painstakingly detailed and that's why I extra love it!

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I was lusting after some large collaborative illustratations but they were sadly out of my price range :(

Below is the piece Rina bought. I believe it is called "Leather Boots." Very kick-ass...

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Honourable mentions:

  • The wacky multi-media creations from the Red Truck Gallery depicting circus freaks, voo doo dolls and more

  • Chicago native ks Rives' imaginative use of trash. She created intricate patterns out of parking tickets and a canvas made of artfully arranged cigarette buts

Happy Art Hunting Everyone!!!

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