Monthly Archives: October 2011

Toronto International Art Fair 2011

Posted on October 26, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment


Installation view including works by Derek Sullivan and Luis Jacob from the special onsite projects “Everything Must Go” at last year’s Toronto International Art Fair 2010. Image via BlogTO.

The 12th edition of Toronto International Art Fair (TIAF) kicks off on 28 October, showcasing over 100 galleries across Canada, USA, Mexico and Europe. Compared to the rising scale of mega fairs like Art Basel and Armory, TIAF weighs into a somewhat modest division, even frugal in terms of the international hype generated. Mind you, an effort was made to spark up some glamour last year, in laying out their red carpet entrance. Seriously though, TIAF has slowly but surely grown in reputation over the last few years, firstly for the quality of the works on offer. Various new programs are being designed this year to survey contemporary Canadian art, including a talk with Denise Markonish, curator of the much anticipated exhibition “Oh, Canada” at MASS MoCA in May 2012. Other activities include theme-based guided tours such as Quebec galleries, photography galleries, and so on. Furthermore, the audience can explore onsite projects such as “The Art Game” by Toronto based artist Kent Monkman, a performative event “Collage Party” by Winnipeg based Paul Butler and many more.
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Interview: Rinko Kawauchi – Capturing moments in a constant present

Posted on October 24, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment


“Untitled” (2009) from the series “Illuminance”. Courtesy of the artist © Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi (b. Shiga, Japan, 1972) was one of 25 artists showing at Le Mois de la Photo in Montreal in September 2011, this year themed around Lucidity – Inward Views. Kawauchi is renowned for the glowing translucence of her photography, often taken in soft focus and subtly tinted colours to draw us in a state of waking dream.

From a corner of the vast opening reception, Kawauchi stood aloof with her tripod and camera, documenting curious and mesmerised audiences as they were feasting on her first exhibition in Montréal. Guest curator Anne-Marie Ninacs temporarily partitioned the “Arsenal”, Le Mois de la Photo’s main venue, to provide a separate room for each of the eight artists showing in its grand hall. Ninacs designed every artist space differently, and for Kawauchi she fashioned a small cornering area so people could experience her work more intimately. “It is just about the size of my darkroom” explained the Japanese photographer, on how she found it comfortable and familiar.
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Art Marathon: Frieze Week pt4 – Sunday

Posted on October 22, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment

Sunday Art Fair

Sometimes not knowing what to expect out of a certain experience will heighten our level of satisfaction more so than anything predictable. The Sunday Art Fair was one such experience, held at Ambica P3, a massive 14,000 square foot open space just a stone’s throw from Frieze. Three galleries jointly organised Sunday Art Fair: Croy Nielsen (Berlin), Limoncello (London) and Tulips & Roses (Brussels). It launched last year in the guise of replacement for the sadly missed Zoo Art Fair, both being, incidentally, sponsored by the Zabludowicz Collection. Refreshingly, a total of 20 international galleries each presented one or two artists and separated their own area simply by marking white lines on the floor, to give visitors a wonderful sense of openness and freedom to move around and enjoy the venue’s architecture. For this reason and because of the high quality of the work presented, Sunday Art Fair demonstrated a strong challenge to Frieze’s hegemony of London art fairs this year.

Christian Jankowski at Proyectos Monclova (Mexico City)


Messages in a bottle – “Review” (2011)
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Art Marathon: Frieze Week part3

Posted on October 20, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment

Frieze Art Fair #3


Laure Prouvost “ideally…” for Frieze Projects. Prouvost put several signs on different walls throughout the location.


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Art Marathon: Frieze Week part2

Posted on October 17, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment

Frieze Art Fair #2


Death for sale – Elmgreen & Dragset “Untitled” (2011) at Perrotin, Paris


“The Fruit of Knowledge” by Elmgreen & Dragset (2011) at Victoria Miro, London


Gilbert and George on pots – Grayson Perry at Victoria Miro, London


Grayson Perry’s tapestry work at Victoria Miro, London
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Art Marathon: Frieze Week part1

Posted on October 17, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment

Frieze Art Fair

Frieze extravaganza is now over. Here is M-KOS photo journal what we saw this year.


Throughout the fair, the weather was lovely.


Gavin Brown’s Enterprise (NY) booth front view – this year’s winner for the Frieze Art Fair Stand Prize


Gavin Brown’s Enterprise booth (back) – works by Martin Creed (wall paint) and Rob Pruitt (painting)
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Frieze frenzy

Posted on October 11, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment


image via TNT magazine

London’s own Frieze Week kicks off this Thursday, spiraling up in places where the city has barely recovered from economic woe. The festive extravaganza totals five contemporary art fairs (Frieze, Sunday, Sluice, Moving Image and Multiplied) setting up camp simultaneously in different borrows, bubbling up an art furor on par with Armory week in New York. (There are also other alternative fairs such as PAD and Moniker). Joining the Frieze frenzy, White Cube is opening its brand new space on 12 October in Bermondsey, and by the same occasion, snatching the title of London’s largest commercial gallery space. Many art institutions are also adding their own event in the mix: Serpentine gallery will organize a two-day “Garden Marathon” event curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tate Modern just opened Gerhard Richter’s retrospective and newly commissioned work by Tacita Dean for the Turbine Hall, and a host of other galleries are opening their new shows during the same calendar period. We should expect a great many pop-up shows, talks, and other events yet to be confirmed. In all likelihood, London’s entire art scene, big and small, is taking part and throwing in the best they’ve got. As a measuring stick, Hiscox insurers estimated that the total value of Frieze’s art on show will amount to USD$350 million. A much smaller figure compared to Art Basel’s USD$1.6 billion, Frieze is however a place where dealers, collectors, curators, artists and the curious look out for the sharpest “cutting edge” in art. M-KOS will be on location at Frieze, reporting all the details.
 

Frieze Art Fair
at Regent’s Park,
13 – 16 October 2011
Over 170 galleries will be exhibited at the Frieze this year. In the Frame section, 25 galleries will present solo artists. Sculpture park located in the beautiful English garden will display outdoor sculptures by 12 artists curated by David Thorpe. Frieze Projects commissioned eight artists this year including Pierre Huygue, Christian Jankowski, Laura Prouvost. Plus, films, music, talks and much more.
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The 2nd edition of Québec Triennial kicks off

Posted on October 7, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment


Rafael Lozano-Hemmer “Intersection articulée. Architecture relationnell #18″ (2011)
site specific installation view at Place des Festivals. Photo © M-KOS

The Quebec Triennial kicks off its 2nd edition today and runs through 3 January 2012, after a watertight hush over their final line up of artists. Tantalising people’s curiosity until the last minute, the Triennial finally opened itself to public view, filling every show room of the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal with Québécois art. “The Work Ahead of Us” guides this edition with an underlying thread borrowed from Grier Edmundson’s exhibition, who himself borrowed from Russian Constructivist Vladimir Tatlin, in a 1920. Curators Marie Fraser, Lesley Johnstone, Francois LeTourneux, Mark Lancôt and Louise Simard joined forces to select over 50 artists living and working in the province of Quebec. Inaugurating the grand opening celebration tonight, media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer illuminated the heavens above the MACM with a network of interactive blue skylights, manipulated from lever pods situated on Place des Festivals.
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What’s on this week: 05.10–11.10.2011

Posted on October 5, 2011 by M-KOS| Leave a comment

This week’s pick ‘n’ mix from Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, New York, Boston, London, Rome, Berlin, Braunschweig, Paris, Stockholm, Zagreb, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kanazawa, Bogota and San José. For Biennales&Triennales, see M-KOS’s previous post

Montréal

Shilpa Gupta: Will we ever be able to mark enough ?
at Darling Foundry (Great Hall),
5 October – 27 November 2011
(Opening on Wednesday 5 October 2011, 8pm)

Curator: Renee Baert

Shilpa Gupta “Half Widows” (2006) Architectural Single Channel Video Projection on Floor and Installation. Courtesy of the artist and Darling Foundry.
 

Ricardo Cueva: From Aachen to Iser
at Darling Foundry (Small Gallery),
5 October – 27 November 2011
(Opening on Wednesday 5 October 2011, 8.30pm)

Curator: Caroline Andrieux

Ricardo Cueva “Fear no thunder, nor lightning” Courtesy of the artist and Darling Foundry.
 

Quebec Triennale 2011 – The Work Ahead of Us
at the Museum of Contemporary art of Montreal,
7 October 2011 – 3 January 2012
(Opening on 6 October 2011, 6pm)
 

Toronto

Raqs Media Collective: Surjection
at The Art Gallery of York University,
through 4 December 2011
 

Raqs Media Collective “Proverb #6″ (right) and Rewriting on the Wall (left) Both 2011 Installation view. Photo Cheryl O’Brien via Canadian Art
 

How Near Is Far (in conjunction with McLuhan 100)
Mark Boulos: All That is Solid Melts Into Air at the Coach House Institute, University of Toronto
Models for Taking Part at Justna M Barnicke Gallery, through 11 December 2011
Location / Dislocation at the Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto, through 12 June 2012

Artur Zmijewski “Democracies (Live broadcasting of the Germany against Turkey football match in the half-final of the European Championship)” (2009) Video still. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich.
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Posted in Visual Arts, What's On