{"id":35915,"date":"2016-10-04T20:14:04","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T00:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=35915"},"modified":"2016-10-26T20:33:19","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T00:33:19","slug":"10th-anniversary-special-group-exhibition-thompson-landry-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=35915","title":{"rendered":"10th Anniversary: Special Group Exhibition at Thompson Landry Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, 22 September, the opening of Thompson Landry Gallery\u2019s 10th Anniversary: Special Group Exhibition<\/em> was characterized by precisely this: tactility. Yet, the tactility of the exhibition did not cause the visitor to meander. On the contrary, it enveloped the visitor in its total and cohesive experience. The exhibition showcased one hundred contemporary works of painting and sculpture by nineteen of Thompson Landry Gallery\u2019s artists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view at the VIP Opening Reception, September 22, 2016. Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/span><\/p>\n

Thompson Landry Gallery boasts two venues: the locations which housed this exhibition, Stone Building (established in 2006), and the second space, Cooperage Space (established in 2008). Both venues are housed in Toronto\u2019s Distillery District. Joanne Thompson, the Gallery\u2019s owner and director, noted that the Gallery has evolved significantly from its earliest days, remarking that, originally, the gallery\u2019s space was \u201cvery raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thompson Landry Gallery, Stone Building. Courtesy of\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thompson Landry Gallery, Cooperage Space. Courtesy of\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery<\/span><\/p>\n

From the beginning, Thompson Landry sought to represent up-and-coming Qu\u00e9becois artists \u2014 of which there are numerous. Artists such as Sylvain Tremblay, Yoakim B\u00e9langer and Virginie Beaucaire have achieved international recognition; yet, there remains a strong sense of loyalty to Thompson Landry, a gallery that has provided them with consistent support and artistic freedom. Sylvain Tremblay, the first-ever artist on the gallery\u2019s roster, was even present at Thursday night\u2019s opening to perform an interactive work of art. Even so, Thursday night\u2019s exhibition also featured work by artists who had more recently entered the Thompson Landry fold. United by their Qu\u00e9becois origins, Thompson Landry\u2019s artists have arrived at the Gallery from eclectic vocational backgrounds \u2014 and this is precisely in line with the gallery\u2019s goals. One theme is infinitely apparent among the gallery\u2019s artists and the gallery itself: newness. Evolution. Change. Artists are continually exploring new avenues and Thompson Landry happily provides its blessing. Joanne Thompson emphasized that the Gallery\u2019s success was due to the quality of work exhibited by the artists, as well as the risks that the artists have taken, and continue to take, within their oeuvre. This exhibition is a visual testament to this cohesive mosaic of artists and artworks that has distinguished Thompson Landry for a decade.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Stikki Peaches, fugetaboutit starwars, mixed media on canvas, 80″ x 60″.\u00a0Courtesy of\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dominic Besner, Les grandes machines, mixed media on canvas,\u00a068″ x 84″. Courtesy of\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ognian Zekoff, The Light Keepers XXIII, XXIV, XXV, oil on canvas, 3 panels of 36″ x 30″.\u00a0Courtesy of\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery<\/span><\/p>\n

Before even entering the gallery, the visitor may notice the tactility of the building\u2019s exterior. Honouring its mandate of showcasing Qu\u00e9becois artists, the Thomas Landry Gallery alludes to Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s tradition of stone houses through its rustic brickwork. Whether the visitor is aware of this invocation or not, it is immediately presented to him. While the entire Distillery District is characterized by similarly-bricked structures, it is difficult to ignore this particular brickwork and its connections to both the gallery and the exhibition. One could determine whether the brick exterior ought<\/em> to influence the visitor\u2019s experience; however, this is beyond the scope of this piece. The gallery\u2019s brick exterior primes the visitor for the experience within \u2014 the visitor\u2019s unawareness thereof proving how effectively the gallery does so.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view with works by Tommy Zen (left) Yoakim B\u00e9langer, Ego Death (on the wall) and Yann Normand (front).\u00a0Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

Once inside, the visitor has entered not an exhibition space, but a type of gallery-wide installation. The tactility that may have been discerned from outside is manifest once in the space. Canvases are built-up with thick ridges of paint that overflow into the viewer\u2019s space. Steel is wound into two dogs chasing each other. Ceramic glaze bubbles beneath the gallery lights. The paintings and sculptures detect the tactility from the exterior (and interior) brick walls and, like a frequency tower, emit this same tactility outward throughout the gallery space. With each work that the viewer interacts with, the current of tactility is heightened. Each and every exhibited work complements each and every other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Detail from Sylvain Tremblay’s painting.\u00a0Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view with Yann Normand’s sculpture (front) and Sylvain Tremblay’s painting (right).\u00a0Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

I equate this entire exhibition with an installation because, by definition, the latter both transforms the viewer\u2019s space and is tailored to a specific location. No other characterization of this exhibition could be more accurate or more complementary. This exhibition is a total experience, a gesamtkunstwerk <\/em>in the truest sense. The works seem to emanate from the gallery and the structure envelops the viewer with its consistently-curated rhythm. It is as though the works had always existed, and should always exist, within the gallery. The viewer is the temporary component circulating the exhibition, not the works of art.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view with works by Sylvain Coulombe (back) and Louis Boudreault (front).\u00a0Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>VIP Opening Reception, September 22, 2016. Photo:\u00a0Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

The cadence of the thick impasto paint, earthy wooden beams and carefully-moulded steel crescendo into an immersive expression of tactility. This tactility echoes the gallery\u2019s entire physical space, as well as the continuity of the initial \u201craw\u201d quality described by Thompson. Ensconcing the visitor, 10th Anniversary: Special Group Exhibition <\/em>offers an installation-like experience where one can commune with the building and its essence: the artworks exhibited within. This exhibition recalls Louis Sullivan\u2019s famous maxim stating that \u201cform follows function.\u201d Departing with the residue of the exhibition\u2019s united scheme, and bearing Sullivan\u2019s words in mind, one knows to expect only exciting and innovative projects from the Thompson Landry Gallery.<\/p>\n

Laura Hutchingame<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: September 22 – October 16, 2016,\u00a0Thompson Landry Gallery\u00a0Stone Distillery, 32 Distillery Lane, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue \u2013 Sat, 11 am \u2013 6 pm; Sun, 12 \u2013 5 pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Laura Hutchingame<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exhibition showcases one hundred contemporary works of painting and sculpture by nineteen of Thompson Landry Gallery\u2019s artists.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,187,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-laura-hutchingame","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35915","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=35915"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35937,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35915\/revisions\/35937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}