{"id":33530,"date":"2016-04-22T21:11:32","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T01:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=33530"},"modified":"2016-05-10T17:21:45","modified_gmt":"2016-05-10T21:21:45","slug":"to-be-walnut-cotemporary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=33530","title":{"rendered":"To be\u2026 \/ Walnut Cotemporary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Panoramic view of To be… <\/em>at\u00a0<\/em>Walnut Contemporary. Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

Hanging in the window of Walnut Contemporary are two large paper wings framing four white clay organs set above two nests. These works “Carna” and “Hope” (2016) by Julia Harris exemplify the altruistic nature of the gallery\u2019s partnership with Trillium Gift of Life Network. The humanitarian cause for which the exhibition To be\u2026<\/em> has been presented is to raise awareness about the importance of becoming an organ donor, to change the limited number of donations that are available in Ontario. The Trillium Gift of Life Network works to increase life saving\/changing organ and tissue donations from across the province. This foundation, as a network, not only connects potential donors with the stories of life changing successes, it also aims to normalize the consent required for donations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Julia Harris, Carna (Wings), wire and handmade Lokta paper, variable size & Hope (Nest and Organs), porcelan stoneware mix, handmade Lokta paper and cattails, variable size.\u00a0Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

The artists showing works in To be\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 are a mixture of gallery artists and guest artists. including Diego De La Rosa, Heidi Mckenzie, Maria Rita Pires, Rui Pimenta, Tonya Hart, Carlos Delgado, Diana Bennett, Heidi Leverty, Ito La\u00efla Fran\u00e7ois, Julia Harris, Manuel D\u2019Olivares, Miguel Barros and Silvija Saplys are not recipients of transplant donations. Their works represent real stories and experiences of others, specific organs and tissues, or metaphors for faceless generosity. Among this works you can identify faces portraited\u00a0by Ilene Sova. Those subjects have either received transplants or have been involved in donating. Sova was invited to be part of this project that needed to provide this humanitarian cause a face and a sense of community. The portrait “Painting of Keanan, Donor” shares the story of a baby by his parents\u2019 positive outcomes in the face of their loss, and commemorates his heart donation to his \u2018first girlfriend\u2019 who is still healthy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Diego de la Rosa, Esperanza Preciosa I, II, III (Precious Hope), oil on canvas, 8″ x 6″.\u00a0Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ilene Sova, Painting of Keanan, Donor,\u00a0oil on canvas, 5 x 5 feet.\u00a0Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

Conversely, like the hanging sculpture by Julia Harris, the painting “Fragments” by Carlos Delgado is an anonymous, more spiritual representation of giving and selflessness. The subject\u2019s chest glows against the dark background, his hands are outstretched, his eyes are closed and a sense of peace is captured on his face. The emotional fortitude required of the visitor is unusual of a commercial gallery, but it is perhaps in this way that an empathetic community is built around a cause.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of\u00a0To be… <\/em>with (from left to right): Carlos Delgado, Fragments, oil on canvas, 30″ x 40″; Rui Pimenta, The Hidden Place, latex, ink and copper wire, 36″ x 36″; Diana Bennett, Light I, mixed medium, 29″ x 21″, Light II, mixed medium, 12.5″ x 22″ (top row), Reach I & II, mixed medium, 10″ x 21.5″ each (bottom row). Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

Lungs, as subtle as the shadow forms of an x-ray, appear in the painting of trees titled “Breathe” (2016) by Silvija Saplys. An artist, whose practice primarily involves painting out of focus monochromatic forests, has used trees in this instance as a metaphor for lungs – a representation of the atmosphere, since without it the Earth would be uninhabitable. Blood is represented in the photographic work titled “Universal Gift”\u00a0(2016) by Heidi Leverty. No metaphor or hope is seen in this work; instead the cold sterility of hospitals is juxtaposed with the vibrant red of the viscous life giving substance. The repulsive box “That Hidden Place” filled with latex and wire by Rui Pimenta is a representation of skin, and eyes make an appearance in the work “Light I”\u00a0(2016) by Diana Bennett who is revisiting tactile materials. Four sculptures, “Generous Heart I – IV”\u00a0by Ito La\u00efla Fran\u00e7ois, composed of ceramic, glass and felt embody the heart not only as a functioning organ of blood circulation, but also as the symbol that we associate with love and compassion. The enlarged and warped ceramic hearts bloom from aortas and ventricles with glass flowers of generosity that also resemble red and white blood vessels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Heidi Leverty, Universal Gift, pigment on archival paper, 30″ x 30″, edition of 5.\u00a0Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Silvija Saplys, Breathe, acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 24″. Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ito La\u00efla Fran\u00e7ois, Generous Heart II, clay, glass, 14″ x 15″ x 22″.\u00a0Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

Given the ties that forever connect a donor with a recipient, I expected a mythology of this relationship to emerge, perhaps a ghost-like suggestion of the donors life or temperament that carries on through transplant. Instead, as the exhibition title suggests, the art works represent the tangible, real, life-giving organs and actions of others in an incredible array of materials and interpretations. The endeavor of of curator, Ib\u00e9rina Raquel Vilhena\u00a0to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation is not limited to Toronto, the exhibition\u00a0To be\u2026<\/em>\u00a0culminates in the coming fall 2016 in Toronto, but meanwhile will be travelling in Ontario, growing in each location. Check Walnut Contemporary’s website for updates on where to see the exhibition next.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of\u00a0To be… <\/em>at\u00a0Walnut Contemporary. Image courtesy of Walnut Contemporary<\/p>\n

Alice Pelot<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: To be …<\/em> Group Exhibition, April 2 – 30, 2016,\u00a0Walnut Contemporary, 201 Niagara Street (entrance at side lane). Gallery hours: Wed \u2013 Sat, 1 \u2013 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

**Featured image: Diana Bennett, Light II, mixed medium, 12.5″ x 22″, detail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alice Pelot<\/strong><\/p>\n

the art works represent the tangible, real, life-giving organs and actions of others in an incredible array of materials and interpretations<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alice-pelot","category-features","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33530","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=33530"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33942,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33530\/revisions\/33942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}