The Dangerous Book Four Boys
A GLIMPSE INTO THE WANDERING MIND OF JAMES FRANCO Story by D’Loraine Miranda Missed out on James Franco’s The Dangerous Book Four Boys the first time around? You’re in luck, as the actor’s art exhibit is now available in hard copy. The Oscar-nominated actor showcased The Dangerous Book Four Boys, a multi-media art...
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.
Steam Whistle Spring Art Exhibits
THE BREWERY SUPPORTS TORONTOS ART COMMUNITY WITH THEIR MONTHLY SHOWCASE BY LOCAL ARTISTS Story by Megan Leahy Steam Whistle Brewery is one of the city’s true gems, a fact that Torontonian’s often fail to appreciate. Once home to the John Street Roundhouse – a steam locomotive repair facility that was built in 1929 and operated...
The Tales of Hoffmann
Story by Megan Leahy Photography Michael Cooper A bohemian tale has it all: love, lust, beauty and hate; it is grounded in passion and begrudgingly questions the meaning of life. It has something for everyone and can be recommended to anyone. The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach is no exception, and the Canadian Opera...
Illustration Now! 4
TAKING NOTICE OF TODAY’S MOST EXCITING IMAGE MAKERS Story by D’Loraine Miranda Graphic designer and executive design editor of TASCHEN Publishing, Julius Wiedemann, takes readers on a journey through the diverse world of illustration in Illustration Now! 4. The compilation (the fourth in TASCHEN’s wildly popular series), includes the work of over 150...
Tibi Tibi Neuspiel @ Narwhal Projects
NARWHAL’S NEW SPACE OPENS WITH AN INAUGURAL SOLO EXHIBITION Story by Alice Greene Tomorrow night, take a trip to The Junction to celebrate the opening of Narwhal Projects’ new space on Dundas Street West. To introduce their new home, the Narwhal team has a great selection of exhibitions opening over the next few...
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...
The Artist Project 2012
OVER 200 ARTISTS HELP TAP CELEBRATE ITS 5TH YEAR Story by James Harrison From March 1st to 4th, the massive floor of the Queen Elizabeth Building at the EX is teeming with artwork. The Artist Project (TAP), now in their fifth year, has gathered over 200 carefully chosen independent artists together into one space. ...
Mark Binks
OUR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER TELLS US WHERE TO GO As told to Odessa Paloma Parker Our very talented staff Photographer and Parkdale aficionado Mark Binks shares his favourite spots with us. You can probably wear a Plaid shirt to visit all of them! “I live in Parkdale, and anyone who knows me, knows how much...
Best In Show
THE GLADSTONE PRESENTS FRESH NEW WORKS Story by Odessa Paloma Parker Running from March 1st through the 31st, Best In Show is The Gladstone Hotel’s annual art show exhibiting new pieces by local and international rising stars. Curated by James Hewitt, this year’s crop includes Douglas Brown, Beans and Bueller, Jabari Elliot and Nicholas...
American Beauty
ICONIC AMERICAN WOMEN LET THEIR INNER LIGHT SHINE THROUGH Story by D’Loraine Miranda Beauty: A somewhat ambiguous and distorted term, given the fact that we live in a world where exceedingly voluptuous Victoria’s Secret “angels” are at the top of the eye-candy hierarchy. However, as much as we find ourselves coveting those legs for...
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...
The Gatherer
NEW EXHIBITION FEATURES MAGGIE GROAT, GEORGIA DICKIE, LAURIE KANG & BERNIE COLLINS Story by Alice Greene Until February 26th, 2012 at Erin Stump Projects, The Gatherer brings together four exciting artists in the frameworks of collage. Featuring sculpture, collage and photography by Toronto-based artists Maggie Groat, Georgia Dickie, Laurie Kang and Bernie Collins, the...
Barbara Ann Solomon
OUR ART DIRECTOR TELLS US WHERE TO GO As told to Odessa Paloma Parker Barbara Ann Solomon joined Team Plaid after graduating from the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD). Her fresh perspective on magazine culture and graphic design gives life to our print issues, and each time we work on a new...
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,...
Love From Afar
21ST CENTURY COMPOSITION FLOURISHES IN ALL CANADIAN PRODUCTION Story by Odessa Paloma Parker Photo by Michael Cooper Some may associate only murder, action and intrigue with opera, but sometimes there’s a more subtle tale to tell. In Kaija Saariaho’s Love from Afar, two people share their story of obsession and the idealization of one another,...
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...
Menagerie
STEAM WHISTLE’S FEBRUARY ART SHOW GOES ANTHROPOMORPHIC Story by Odessa Paloma Parker From February 2nd to the 28th, head down to the Steam Whistle Brewery to check out Menagerie, an exhibition that explores the idea of giving human qualities to the non-human. A “visual exploration is a modern bestiary”, Menagerie features the work of...
Tosca
CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S PRODUCTION OPENS TO GREAT APPLAUSE Story by Odessa Paloma Parker Photo by Michael Cooper Tosca, Puccini’s masterpiece about love, lust, betrayal and one really bad guy, opened this past weekend at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts to a delighted crowd. One of opera’s best known works, the story...
Come Up To My Room
GET READY FOR THE GLADSTONE’S 3-DAY ART EVENT Story by Odessa Paloma Parker Looking to get in from the cold? The Gladstone Hotel opens its proverbial arms to the city, welcoming us for another year to Come Up To My Room(CUTMR). This is the ninth year for the “alternative design event”, which seeks to...
Gary Taxali Coins
THE PROLIFIC ARTIST COLLABORATES WITH THE ROYAL CANADIAN MINT Story by Alice Greene Fans of Gary Taxali’s whimsical work have new reason to rejoice – he’s teamed up with the Royal Canadian Mint to design coins for six new special edition gift sets. The sets, which include birthday, wedding and baby, put an end...
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...
Neubacher Shor Contemporary
CELEBRATIONS TONIGHT FOR TWO VERY DIFFERENT EXHIBITIONS Story by Alice Greene Tonight marks the opening of two shows at Neubacher Shor Contemporary, a gallery in Parkdale that has already hosted an arresting assortment of artists. In the East Gallery, Bogdan Luca’s Spolia is a collection of paintings characterizing the “spoils of war”. The juxtaposition...
Sophie Alda
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE RIDICULOUS BECOMES MUNDANE? Story by Mariam Magsi At times we come across artwork that can be provocative yet pleasing to the eye. Sophie Alda is one such artist working out of East London in the United Kingdom, who paints imaginatively unique pieces that pull the viewer into her mind’s expressions...
James Harrison
OUR MANAGING EDITOR & DIRECTOR OF DIOGENES GROUP MEDIA TELLS US WHERE TO GO When our Managing Editor isn’t busy coordinating our print issue deliveries, designing for the mag or his creative business, Diogenes Media Group, or tending to two adorable cats named Henry and Gus, he’s out grabbing a coffee. Here he shares where...
