{"id":24272,"date":"2014-06-21T10:47:09","date_gmt":"2014-06-21T14:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=24272"},"modified":"2014-07-27T12:26:09","modified_gmt":"2014-07-27T16:26:09","slug":"proof-21-artists-talk-opening-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=24272","title":{"rendered":"Proof 21 \/ Artists’ Talk & Opening Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/strong>\u00a0<\/div>\n
Walk through with the artists: June 20, 2014, 5 –\u00a06 p.m.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Opening Reception: June 20, 2014, 6 –\u00a08 p.m.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Gallery 44<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Proof 21 exhibition at Gallery 44 is\u00a0an annual event aimed at showcasing emerging artists.\u00a0This year\u2019s show,\u00a0for the first time in Proof’s history, is\u00a0based on a single theme, inspired by the issues of identity, representation and, more specifically, politics of representation, which stem from topics raised at WorldPride. Prior to the opening the artists briefly introduced their works.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Artist Aidan Cowling discusses his work<\/p>\n

With a series of collages, Aidan Cowling explores ways of interaction with and within queer space. Aidan characterizes the digital world as an \u201carchive of queer experience\u201d from which he draws his own visual archive, collected from craigslist personal advertisements. He rearranges these images, which represent desire through symbolic objects, into \u201canonymous portraits\u201d, aesthetically unified through the transfer process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Artist Megan Morman in front of her work<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Detail of Megan Morman\u2019s work<\/p>\n

Megan Morman uses plastic beads to create vibrant and joyful portraits of queer performing artists. Megan\u2019s previous art practice involved needlepoint with which she created pixelated portraits of artists, and now plastic beads grant her the freedom to make larger and more colorful works. The playful character of Megan\u2019s work, to which she refers as \u201cmy ideal party\u201d, gains a kinky mood through variously colored rhombuses which reference the hanky code.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Detail of Michelle O\u2019Byrne\u2019s work<\/p>\n

Michelle O\u2019Byrne\u2019s work is best understood through her process. Michelle starts with a stock photograph, on which she reflects, notes her associations, and collects objects which remind her of the initial image. Some of these objects will become part of her final work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Artist Michelle O\u2019Byrne\u00a0explains her work<\/p>\n

She works with no more than two stock images at a time, for the process requires deep intellectual focus. Michelle smiles gently when describing how many objects are stored in her studio, in contrast to the minimalistic aesthetic of her installations. \u00a0<\/p>\n

For two years in Mexico, Brett Gundlock has been documenting the citizens\u2019 fight against the cartel. With a background in photojournalism, Brett is particularly interested in global society with Mexico as a country bordering the United States, and yet far from reaching a comparable level of security and quality of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Artist Brett Gundlock discusses his series<\/p>\n

Figures in most photographs, intentionally non-identifiable, serve a symbolic role. Brett\u2019s goal is to show not just what the situation is, as is typically reported in the media, but also why the situation has reached such a high level of violence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photographs by Brett Gundlock<\/p>\n

Lindsay Fisher describes the Internet as the realm of the contemporary portrait. Her video work explores the issues of queer bodies and disability, as well as the concept of performing beauty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Artist Lindsay Fisher<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Visitors with Lindsay Fisher\u2019s video\u00a0installation<\/p>\n

The series is based on instructional videos, such as how to apply make-up, which Lindsay recreates with herself and her friends performing the script. Lindsay maintains that the animated quality of these works has the impression of portraiture, for even though the image is ongoing, it remains contained.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Visitors in front of\u00a0Danika Zandboer\u2019s work We are Monoliths<\/em><\/p>\n

Not to be missed, Gallery 44 has added Danika Zandboer\u2019s works as a bonus, in the Vitrines. Danika\u2019s photographs are a reflection on \u201ccues and signifiers which bring a subculture together\u201d, here \u2013 the heavy metal subculture. Danika explains that its vastness can generate a feeling of alienation from the scene. By dislocating signs relevant to that subculture, she explores the issue of identity politics.<\/p>\n

After the artists’ talk\u00a0the Opening Reception\u00a0proceeded in a cheerful atmosphere.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Text and photo: Elena Iourtaeva<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: June 20 \u2013 July 26, 2014, Gallery 44, 401 Richmond St W #120. Gallery hours: Tue – Sat 11 – 5 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 20, 2014 at Gallery 44<\/p>\n

by Elena Iourtaeva<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s show is based on a single theme, inspired by the issues of identity, representation and, more specifically, politics of representation, which stem from topics raised at WorldPride.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,41,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elena-iourtaeva","category-events","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24272"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24292,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24272\/revisions\/24292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}