{"id":34117,"date":"2016-05-19T20:52:07","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T00:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=34117"},"modified":"2016-06-25T13:47:03","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T17:47:03","slug":"steve-driscoll-just-a-sliver-of-the-room-at-angell-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=34117","title":{"rendered":"Steve Driscoll: Just a Sliver of the Room at Angell Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

The allure of the forest, with its intermingling of flora and fauna and perpetually enigmatic qualities, has inspired the canvases of artists across centuries, including late-nineteenth century figureheads Monet and C\u00e9zanne. The humility and diverse natural colour palette, coupled alongside associations with idyllic serenity, have imbued the forest with an otherworldly image as a refuge from humanly concerns. Steve Driscoll\u2019s Just a Sliver of the Room<\/em>, the artist\u2019s recent solo show at Angell Gallery, transforms his exhibition space into a hypnagogic wooded landscape, transcending the objective empirical world into a more fantastical place.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of Steve Driscoll,\u00a0Just a Sliver of the Room<\/em> with\u00a0Recovered Shore. <\/em>Image courtesy of Angell Gallery<\/p>\n

Driscoll\u2019s ambitious vision reconfigures the gallery by installing a winding wooden pathway surrounded by an eerily reflective black mass of water. The artist\u2019s monumental paintings line the walls around this microcosmic lake, allowing their fauvist colour palette and semi-abstract rendering of trees to faintly illuminate the encompassing opacity. The 40-foot centerpiece “Recovered Shore” (2016), rendered in a playful combination of brilliant hues, commands the viewers\u2019 attention while also heightening their perception of the work and its relation to its surrounding environment. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, the surfaces of his works mimic the reflective and abstracting qualities of water, aesthetically bridging together two chief elements within the exhibition.<\/p>\n

Just a Sliver of the Room <\/em>creates a phenomenological space that plays with the viewers\u2019 perceptive capacities. Slight ripples in the body of water simultaneously alter and enhance the static images on display, creating a holistically dynamic experience. As standalone paintings, Driscoll\u2019s work resonates; however, incorporated within this one-of-a-kind installation, the artist\u2019s efforts rise above their physical and optical properties into a lively occurrence.<\/p>\n

Driscoll\u2019s efforts to reconstruct a traditional gallery visit exceed standardized photographic documentation. Much like performance art and Richard Serra\u2019s immense sculptural configurations, this installation demands to be witnessed physically in order to grasp the subtleties and transformative qualities in its entirety. The most purposeful images produced around this exhibition are located in the print publication that supplements the exhibition, as it records the lengthy and complex manifestation of Driscoll\u2019s grand idea. Throughout Just a Sliver of the Room<\/em>, the artist challenges the widespread impression that a contemporary gallery acts as a passive repository for current art, by constructing an active domain for progressive thought.<\/p>\n

David Saric<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: April 29 – May 28, 2016,\u00a0Angell Gallery, 1444 Dupont St., Unit 15 (Entrance off Campbell Ave.). Gallery hours: Wed \u2013 Sat: 12 \u2013 6 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by David Saric<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout Just a Sliver of the Room<\/em>, the artist challenges the widespread impression that a contemporary gallery acts as a passive repository for current art, by constructing an active domain for progressive thought.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[162,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-david-saric","category-features","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34117","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=34117"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34128,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34117\/revisions\/34128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}