ART PARKDALE FAIR INTERNATIONAL – Oct. 29 – Nov. 8

Gerda R. Wekerle

• “Transient Cranes”
• 30″ x 20′
• AcryliC on canvas

I have an affection for Parkdale and a history- my family first lived on Tindale Avenue when they came as refugees to Toronto. My great-aunt lived in a rooming house there. 

William Tyler

• “Self Study”

Where do we find ourselves if we haven’t taken the time to self study ? What do we do with the unfiltered thoughts , emotions and experiences that we have decided to keep inside our heads ? How do we accept that time already spent is gone and no longer relevant ? When one self studies the bags we have get unpacked ,sorted , cleaned and folded . Our bags become lighter and more efficient for serving our journey better . Acknowledge things you need to unpack with a self study . Free yourself from what was once to become what is and what will be . There is a lot of unlearning to be done to learn what needs to actually be done .

Anahita Akhavan

• “The Grass was Greener”
• Oil and acrylic on canvas
• 30 x30 Inches
• 2020

Anahita Akhavan is a painter based in Toronto, Canada. Her recent body of work depicts her fascination with the physiological changes that appear in the natural world due to environmental or genetic factors. She has been closely researching plants and flowers that genetically mutate and shapeshift due to a relatively rare condition called “Fasciation” . She also merges the concept of home and belonging in her works by painting Islamic architecture. It might read that the mutated plants and flowers are her ambiguous self that is living in nostalgia. Her recent abstract paintings are enlivened by a vibrant quality; their rhythm and warmth located in sensory experience, unbound from the rigours of formal thought.

Anahita Akhavan born and raised in Tehran, Iran. She moved to Canada in 2013 to continue her education. Anahita holds a BFA from the University of Tehran and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan. She has participated in a group and solo shows across Iran and Canada and recently participated in a group show ”Resilience; Redifiened” at Youngplace Artscape in Toronto in March 2020. She currently teaches at the Toronto School of Art.

Janne Reuss

• “Windy Day II”
• Over-painted Photography
• 63 x 65 cm
• 2019
• From the Series Rewriting the Story

My artwork addresses the idea of transformation and liberation. White paintbrushes move through my previously constructed photo collages… covering, hiding and integrating between layers and shapes, in order to create new imaginary landscapes. With every brushstroke I’m trying to rewrite the story in order to search for the truth. In this process I’m confronted with memories and longings at the same time.

Robert Anderson

• “TELL TALE SIGNS”
• 2018-2020

This series continues my exploration of semiotics (sign systems) in the urban environment, namely in Toronto where I live.   Like so many large North American cities, Toronto is virtually always under construction and in constant flux.

Tell Tale Signs documents what is changing, what is to come, and more importantly, what has been lost. 

Large condo’s and office towers, advertising and construction signs, on a literal level, often fail to communicate their intended purposes.  Is this a self-referential warning, evocative of a city straying too far from the needs of its citizens? 

Many of these photos contain a sense of despair or mystery, perhaps suggesting new dark myths to embrace a new future.  And remember, a myth is not necessarily what ACTUALLY happened in the past, but what was SAID to have happened in the past in order to justify the present.  Is our present one of massive consumerism, surveillance, ecological failures, and the endless quest for more and more?  And how will this define who we are and how we connect with each other?

A communal desire drives sign systems and our interpretation of them.  As these very desires, often hidden by the culture of capitalism, systematically begin to break down, objects often seem to reference only their own status as sign systems, and become Tell Tale Signs in this series.

John Ferri

• “Go”
• 2017
• Digital Print face-mounted on plexiglass.
• 48″x36″

‘Go’ is from my photo-based series Walking On Glass (2017) which focuses on reclaiming a human dimension from the built environment. It is people who give scale to the glass and steel structures that surround us, not the other way around. Like all of my work, this piece is concerned with challenging the forces that shape, direct and sometimes overwhelm the human form.

Mikael Sandblom

• “Departures”
• 2018
• Mixed media on two aluminum panels
• 50″ W x 20″

I painted ‘Departures’ in 2018 in the context of the destruction and the displacement of people in Syria. Here in Canada, we were in the fortunate position to help sponsor refugees and bring them to safety. Refugees fleeing war and famine are suffering now more than ever. Today there are 75.5 million forcibly displaced people around the world. Imagine Covid-19 in a D.P. camp: no testing, no treatment, no protection, no distancing.  If you are able, please consider supporting:

• UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency
• Doctors Without Borders
• Amnesty International

Connection Earth Collaborative (Ashlynn Doljac)

• “The Pulse”
• 2018
• Acrylic on Canvas
• 56″ W x 22″ H

I created this piece earlier in the year as a response to the current state of the pandemic. I was perpetually inspired by the lengths at which frontline workers were taking in order to combat the virus. There is an inherent heroism that needs acknowledgement and I wanted to bring awareness to the lifeline that is keeping our world functioning. The key to happiness is well-being, including our physical, psychological, and spiritual health. All of these factors contribute to our longevity and liveliness. I used vibrant and enriching colours to signify the beauty that this world has to offer, and the central motif depicted in the center is a heart-the life force within each of us. Our health is the best asset to living in a state of uncertain times. We must do our best to protect ourselves and each other, and remember that the lifeline that runs through our veins ultimately connects us. We are breathing history right now, and it is crucial to understand the impact our actions going forwards can make.

Sheila Thompson

• “Conjuncture/Community”
• Framed and mounted on damask covered birch panel,
• 25″Hx37″Wx2″(framed size)
• Felted mixed media textile – Handmade wool, alpaca and silk felt with embedded knitting and African porcupine quills-
• $950

Conjuncture/Community was originally made in response to a particularly contentious meeting which undermined the efforts participants were making to build community.In this artwork, the sharp dueling quills symbolize the destructive elements at play; the knitting suggests we can build stronger more equitable communities by intertwining our lives to build a better place for everyone, not just the few who would divide to take all.

Sandra Franke

• “Salt Spring Island”
• 2′ x 3′
• $299
• Acrylic, collage, grease pencil, oil pastel, spray paint on canvas

These paintings are performed in the moment of now as a celebration of consciousness.

Alison Kruse

• “Sunday Stroll”

Being forced into isolation has made me think of the passing of time and magical thinking. I have always been interested in the mysteries of unseen forces, energy, and  magic but have trouble articulating what this influence has in my body of work. Before, I would work off a singular image, completing the painting fairly quickly,  use a high chroma palette, and quick broad  brushstrokes to replicate energy but for what reason? I liked the idea of catching a moment in time but lacked depth or reason why this intrigued me so. 

• https://www.alisonskruse.com/
• Instagram: a.s.kruse

Alison Kruse

• “The Hours”
• Oil on Canvas
• 18″ x 24″

More time indoors has made me think of my own personal world orbiting on a continuous loop. I think of my daily routine, my past meeting my present and the premonition of the future in a single moment like repurchasing eggs because I’ve run out and need something for tomorrow’s breakfast. In a future so undecided, I’ve found it almost soothing to focus on the smallest aspects of life as it becomes apparent how beguiling passing time can be. Working off multiple images I see within my own day, I incorporate different palettes to convey the idea of a portal to represent time. Working with oil paint, such an old traditional medium, I want my work to feel sentimental, almost romantic but bewitching. The intention of my work is to prompt the idea of mindfulness and the present  because our future is so uncertain.

• https://www.alisonskruse.com/
• Instagram: a.s.kruse

Mona Bayati

• “Red Haired and Jasmines”
• paint on wood
• 11 x 14 inch

This summer and fall of 2020 was all about long, alone walk in nature. No connection with other fellow human being but talks to trees and smelling the flowers.

It is a bittersweet feeling.

These seasons bring a sense of lost and connection at the same time.

 When I was a young child I use to read Hafez’s poems with my grandpa beside his Jasmine pots or under the tall trees in his back yard. Somehow these paintings are a tread between past memories and current situation. This tread is saving me.

Catharine Somerville

“With each painting I enter the beauty and spirit of the natural world. The poetry of the ever-shifting landscape joins with my imaginings and opens a path for my work to explore.

My notes and sketches
then return with me into the studio where they inform my philosophies and thoughts to develop a series of work.

I hope to capture the awe and energy of what it feels like to be fully present in the moment.

My work fluctuates.

Shifts and changes may be thought by some to be drastic, even capricious. One thing though is that looking behind the appearance of the work, the exploration and passion remain constant.”

Murat Yukselir

• “The Beginning”
• Cast resin, mixed media
• 56.5 x 21.5 x 12 inches

ABOUT ME

I started to sculpt when the digital nature of my office-work kindled a desire to explore more traditional methods of creating art. My practice concerns figurative, life-sized sculptures inspired by musings and reflections on life. They’re modeled with clay, cast using resins, and finished with paints.

ABOUT THE WORK

Our lives are like raindrops in a puddle. We are hurled into the world and we become waves. We grow, cross paths with others, and eventually disappear into the collective human experience. 

Christina Damianos

In every classic comic book there is always a fight against evil, the superheroes versus the wicked villains. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of Trump’s political nonsense, cover-ups, sexism and lies. I’m looking for truth and justice in this upcoming United States election. I’m calling for Wonder Woman to save us all from our trapped reality. Her powerful lasso can force the truth out of all the lies we live in. Wonder woman is one of the only superheroes who doesn’t need a secret identity, she’s true to herself and isn’t afraid to hide. In a world full of lies, who better to set us free than her? Ultimately, a life of refreshing candor is the only way to cure our disturbed reality.

Elizabeth Greisman

This banner was created as a tribute to the ongoing influence of my Dance Education in the late 1970’s in London England, which shaped the trajectory of my passion for drawing and painting the performance artist in Dance , Music or Theatre. At the time , I also was enrolled in the Visual Arts programme at York University, and had taken some time off to attend this programme at Laban.

The school is called now the Trinity Laban Conservatoire , but at the time, was called the Laban Art of Movement Centre, and was housed at Goldsmith’s College , London.

 As well, I saw huge developments in Visual Arts at the College.

In 2002, I participated in a VA course entitled” Draw the Dancer” at Central St. Martin’s College in London,  which introduced me to drawing in the dance and musical performance studio.

This work is created with oil paint on mylar and is meant to be part of series of free hanging dance pieces used  as a prototype for scenography, and could be used in Opera or Dance theatre.

David Brown

• Encaustic Monotype with Tessellated Corrugation
• 18”x12” (paper size)
• 2020
• $750.00 (framed)

David Brown is a fulltime abstract encaustic artist living and working in Parkdale. David is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design (AOCA 1992) and he was and OCADU faculty member from 1998-2009. David’s paintings and prints have been shown in galleries across North America and are held in collections in Canada, U.S., Europe and Asia.

Statement:

Encaustic Monotypes are one of a kind hand made prints. It is an elegant process were pigmented beeswax is melted on a heated metal surface and then transferred to a sheet of absorbent printmaking paper. No printing press is required just wax, heat, paper and gentle hand pressure. The final images combine the directness and immediacy of traditional printmaking with the richness and luminosity of the encaustic medium.

By folding printed-paper into these rhythmical and repetitive sculptures David is able to animate and add a new dimension to flat Encaustic Monotypes. The undulating angles and geometric forms twist and bend the printed patterns while moving the viewer’s eye back and forth, up and down, in and out.

David Brown

• Aerial Medley
• Encaustic with Oil, Acrylic & Spray Paint on Birch Panel
• 48”x30”
• 2020
• $3200.00

David Brown is a fulltime abstract encaustic artist living and working in Parkdale. David is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design (AOCA 1992) and he was and OCADU faculty member from 1998-2009. David’s paintings and prints have been shown in galleries across North America and are held in collections in Canada, U.S., Europe and Asia.

Statement:

I approach the act of painting like a builder, using wax, spray paint, and print techniques to construct a multi-layered, multi-sensory experience. I am interested in observing, collecting and reflecting the visual cacophony of urban life. Layers record time, almost archaeologically, with image fragments and experiences accumulated in the wax.

Encaustic paint has become an integral part of my process. The bees wax is an organic material with a strong personality. Its versatility is demonstrated by the range of qualities, surfaces and textures it can yield. Throughout history bees wax has been used for embalming, preserving and healing. The wax and I have formed a partnership. It tells me where and how to proceed as I guide and tease the molten medium.

In my paintings, layers of wax are painstakingly piled on acrylic washes, oil, and spray paints. I add depth by weaving organic and geometric shapes, rendered in positive and negative form, through different levels. The final result is a thin sculpture with fragments of long forgotten messages resonating through.

I think of my paintings and prints as contemporary landscapes that reflect the experience of living in an urban environment — an encapsulation of all the sensory inputs that bombard me everyday. I strive to represent time and space, sight and sound, in a quiet loudness.

Karin Shaddick

Since I live in the city, it is the city that I enjoy painting: lonely streets, laneways, rooftops, bare branches which either protect or threaten.      But these are just the means to another end, that of creating a visual journey for the eye to travel through the world as I see it, snapshots of colour, line and shape. What is the destination of this journey? Everyone’s will be different, mine usually involves contemplation and gratitude

Kaspian Kondrat

• “Obliteration”
• 20 x 24″
• Oil on Canvas

Kaspian Kondrat is a Toronto based freelance illustrator and artist. He has worked with a variety of subjects and media but mostly works in oil paint and pencil crayon. Kaspian often combines expressionistic semi-realism with graphic patterned elements in his work, textural components are also frequently a focal point in his paintings. Kaspian is primarily a portrait painter, his figures are usually situated in a setting that is obscured and reduced to one or two background colours. Kaspian poses his figures in narrow, confined spaces, and often utilizes a high contrast limited palette.

Kaspian Kondrat

• “Self Portrait in Long Coat”
• 23.5 x 48″
• Oil on Repurposed Wood

Kaspian Kondrat is a Toronto based freelance illustrator and artist. He has worked with a variety of subjects and media but mostly works in oil paint and pencil crayon. Kaspian often combines expressionistic semi-realism with graphic patterned elements in his work, textural components are also frequently a focal point in his paintings. Kaspian is primarily a portrait painter, his figures are usually situated in a setting that is obscured and reduced to one or two background colours. Kaspian poses his figures in narrow, confined spaces, and often utilizes a high contrast limited palette.

Eva Lewarne

• “Make Good”
• $1,000

“Make Good” is about what  Toronto represents. It is a youthful city that rebels against injustices and embraces humanity in all its forms. The attire of these young people is anti social social club, meaning we are anti the old paradigm of racism and dinosaur rules, but still want to create a society, albeit a just one.

Anne Winter

• “The amaWal Cube”
• 30in x 30in
• mixed media

Whether we give it much thought, or whether we think about it at all, our personal information is being aggressively data-mined by increasingly sophisticated algorithms. Whom we communicate with, what we buy, what we search for online;
everything about us generates valuable data to be collected, bought and sold. E-commerce heavyweights like Amazon and Walmart are spending billions of dollars to acquire that data and to eliminate competition through the systematic assimilation of smaller companies and startups. The amaWal Cube questions what might happen if the most powerful tech and e-commerce giants become too powerful. Who would be in control then? We’re in uncharted
territory.

The amaWal Cube consists of hundreds of tiny wood blocks, painted, etched and detailed to resemble cardboard cartons. Contained linearly by strips of metal and wood the cartons appear calmly and efficiently restrained. There are no focal points and no discernible patterns. There is an underlying perception of an ominous order that is unsettling.

Gwen Tooth

• “Niagara Falls in Winter”
• Acrylic
• 2020

“Niagara Falls in Winter”, 2020, is an exhibition of acrylic paintings in which Gwen has experimented with multiple textures and glazes to present her impression of seeing “the Falls” in winter on numerous occasions over many years.

Gwen Tooth is an expressionist painter. She paints to express energy, soul and mood.  She has in recent years completed several series of paintings revealing the various moods and energies of water – whirlpools, waterfalls, and tsunamis.

Gwen is a member of the Toronto collective Propeller Art Gallery, Gallery 1313 and an Associate member of the Society of Canadian Artists.

Gwen holds a B.A. from Western University, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from Ontario College of Art and Design University and a Certificate of Achievement in Fine Arts with Honours from Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.  She teaches adult classes in acrylic abstraction as well as experimental drawing and painting at various cultural centres and art groups and is available to jury exhibitions.

For a detailed curriculum vitae, please visit:  www.zhibit.org/gwentooth.

Jared Epp

• “Condominium Ectoplasm”

The sculpture is constructed out of recycled parts of discarded printers that I’ve found while wandering around Parkdale. I see this work as a response to the changing urban landscape of the neighbourhood and the ubiquity of condominium developments throughout the city. As a kind of shadow or abstract representation, I imagine how these buildings could become otherwise.