The Curated Object

Exhibitions Toronto. The Museum of Indulgence. Harbourfront Centre. The Curated Object

 

  

The Museum of Indulgence: Collaboration unites confectionary installation with hip hop in examination of excess

Nov. 11-Dec. 4, 2011

 

Harbourfront Centre is pleased to announce the unveiling of the latest Fresh Ground new works commission, Museum of Indulgence. The multimedia project unites renowned artist Shelley Miller with hip hop performer, DJ and producer More or Les, and kicks off with an opening night performance and reception on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at 7 p.m.. The exhibition runs through Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011.

Museum of Indulgence explores the stereotypes of hip hop culture and features a new take on the term “consumer culture”. The exhibition combines life-sized dioramas with on-site performances that transform what seems like a natural history museum exhibit into something altogether different. Viewers become participants via an interactive recording studio in which visitors can rhyme along to music produced by More or Les specifically for the project, and the final track can be uploaded to the project website. Additionally, visitors can choose to appear in the music video for the project’s theme song, which will be shot over the course of the exhibition.

Montreal-based visual artist Shelley Miller’s work focuses on the sugar industry and its links to colonization and slavery, as well as epochs of great wealth and waste. Her sugar-based creations are meant to resemble classical museum pieces and, due to the perishable nature of the materials, allude to symbolic, cultural and societal degeneration. Meanwhile, More Or Les’ material features a contemporary take on the subject of excess. Obesity, binge-drinking, urban sprawl – it’s all up for grabs in Les’ quickwitted rhymes. Hip-hop culture has, since its origins, been a vehicle for social change and a voice for the oppressed. Museum of Indulgence makes this connection, showing that it is possible to make a statement and do it with light-hearted flair.

Museum of Indulgence is one of Harbourfront Centre's 2010-11 Fresh Ground new works awards recipients. The national legacy programme commissions the creation of new, innovative multi-disciplinary art works.

For more information please visit: Harbourfront Centre 

Exhibitions Toronto. Private Pleasures: Japanese Porcelain of the Edo Period. The Gardiner Museum. The Curated Object

Food Tray
Japan, Arita kilns
c. 1690-1700
Glazed porcelain, enamels
The Macdonald Collection

Large Jar with Garden Design
Japan, Arita
c. 1660
H: 24.7 cm
The Macdonald Collection

Kettle
Japan, Arita
c. 1670-90
L: 19.4 cm
The Macdonald Collection

Ko-Imari Flask
Japan, Arita
c. 1660
H: 25 cm
The Macdonald Collection

Teabowl and Saucer with Design of a Lady in a Garden
Japan, Arita
c. 1680 - 1700
Bowl H: 4 cm; Saucer D: 11.8 cm, G05.12.22 
The Macdonald Collection

Small Dish with Melon Design
Japan, Arita
c. 1650
L: 17.9 cm 
The Macdonald Collection

Nabeshima Dish with Misty Bamboo Design
Japan, Okawachi
c. 1680 - 1700
D: 14.9 cm 
The Macdonald Collection 

Nabeshima Dish with Hydrangea Design
Japan, Okawachi
c. 1680 - 1720
D: 14.8 cm 
The Macdonald Collection

Large Female Figure
Japan, Arita
c. 1680
H: 31.5 cm, G07.18.1 
The Macdonald Collection

Scalloped Dish with Tiger and Bamboo
Japan, Arita
c. 1650
D: 21.2 cm
The Macdonald Collection
 
Private Pleasures: Japanese Porcelain of the Edo Period

June 3 - Sept. 12, 2010

By JoAnn Greco

Showcasing highlights of the private collection of Torontonians Bill and Molly Anne Macdonald — which is currently in the process of being donated to the Gardiner — this comprehensive exhibit examines the role of Japanese porcelain in the Edo (1603-1868) court, as well as its influences and eventual influence.

This extremely productive era found its beginnings in the great prominence attached to Chinese and Korean, as well as Dutch (Holland being the only foreign nation during this period allowed to retain a presence in Japan) porcelain. Lacking its own ceramic industry, Japan undertook its own effort at creating one. When it did so, it naturally looked to these popular predecessors, borrowing motifs from the Chinese, and the familiar blue-and-white color schemes of Dutch Delftware.

Eventually a Japanese porcelain industry did thrive, settling around Arita on the southwestern island of Kyushu. The rest of the exhibit — rich in censers, plates, and enameled vases — is devoted to exploring the development and dominance of this new business. The Japanese crafted their own styles and methods — primarily the more densely-patterned imari and the more elegantly simple kakiemon. Soon enough, these works became so popular that they were being imitated by Europeans — including, ironically, the Dutch.

In addition to these pieces — so many of which remain strikingly modern — the exhibit also includes woodblock prints, textiles and lacquers, juxtaposing these items with porcelains carrying similar themes.

For more information: The Gardiner Museum

Exhibitions Toronto. Micah Lexier: Twelve of One. Art Metropole. The Curated Object

Micah Lexier's collection of objects on view for the month of January, as seen in his vitrine. 

Micah Lexier's collection of collected objects stacked one on top to the other.
 

Micah Lexier: Twelve of One

January to December, 2010

First Installation: 
January 6, 2010

A year-long exhibition consisting of twelve consecutive vitrine displays, each lasting one month, each changed at the beginning of the month, starting January 2010.

The displays consist of a selection of items including stationery, street finds, the backs of things, altered books, coins, packaging, printed cardboard, metal objects, forms, measuring devices, games, labels, and other printed materials.

A boxed collection of twelve pamphlets has been produced in a signed and numbered edition of fifty, plus 10 artist's proofs.

Micah Lexier is a Winnipeg-born, Toronto-based artist. He curates occasionally and collects often – generally items made of paper, including out-of-print conceptual art documents, printed cardboard boxes, and various items found on the street. He has a deep interest in measurement, numbers, and the kinds of casual marks we make in our day-to-day lives. Lexier has presented over 90 solo exhibitions, participated in over 150 group exhibitions and produced a dozen public commissions. Concurrent with his one-year project for Art Metropole, Lexier has produced a second one-year project for the BMO Project room, which can be viewed atwww.iamthecoin.com. Micah Lexier is represented in Toronto by Birch Libralato, in Calgary by TrepanierBaer, and in Berlin by the Gitte Weise Galerie. A bit more information can be found atmicahlexier.com.

For more information please visit: Art Metropole

Exhibitions Ontario. Darwin: The Evolution Revolution. The Royal Ontario Museum. The Curated Object

Annie’s Box 
This wooden writing box is filled with mementos collected
by Darwin’s wife in memory of their first daughter, Annie,
who died when she was 10 years old. 
Loan courtesy of Professor Richard D. Keynes ©  Craig Chesek, AMNH

Darwin’s study   
An elaborate reproduction of Charles Darwin’s study from
Down House is one of the centerpiece attractions of Darwin,
the most in-depth exhibition ever mounted on this highly
original thinker. 
©  Denis Finnin, AMNH

Darwin’s microscope 
One of Darwin’s original microscopes is just one of Darwin’s
many personal items on display in this elaborate reproduction
of Darwin’s study from Down House. 
Loan courtesy of English Heritage (Down House)
©  Denis Finnin, AMNH

Tree of Life 
A reproduction of the first-known sketch by Charles Darwin
of an evolutionary tree describing the relationships among
groups of organisms 
© By permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University
Library

Go it Charlie! Cartoon
This reproduction of a caricature of a young Charles Darwin
riding a giant beetle was drawn by fellow beetle collector
Albert Way in 1832.   
© By permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University
Library

Darwin: The Evolution Revolution
March 8, 2008 to August 4, 2008

This comprehensive exhibition explores the extraordinary life of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), whose curiosity, observations and discoveries nearly 150 years ago forever changed the perception of the origin of species and launched modern biological science.  In addition to his theory of evolution, Darwin is known for his work as a botanist, geologist, and naturalist. From specimens of Galápagos finches to original manuscripts and notebooks, the exhibition, on display in the spacious new Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, and work of Darwin.

For more information please visit: The Royal Ontario Museum

-Joanne Molina

Exhibitions Toronto. Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume. The Royal Ontario Museum. The Curated Object

Robe à la française
Silk extended tabby (Gros de Tours) with liseré self-patterning and
brocading in silver lamella and filé
England (Spitalfields), Rococo, 1750s
Gift of the Fashion Group Inc. of Toronto in memory of Gwen Cowley

Man’s civil uniform coat
Wool tabby with silk embroidery
Italy
1805 – 1806
When this coat was acquired by the ROM in 1908, it was purported to
have been worn by Andrew Darling, coffin-maker to Napoleon I, and so was
assumed to be of French origin. However, new research indicates that the
wearer was likely an Italian nobleman from Lombardy, who was a member of
the Order of Merit of the Iron Crown. The coat would have been worn with
an orange-yellow ribbon of the Order with green borders on the sash
across the chest, an Italian light sword of civil pattern, a black
bicorne hat and white silk breeches.

Woman’s evening dress in Zig-Zag Shell print
Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, CBE (b.1940)
Screen printed and painted tabby on blended silk, beaded.
England, London, 1994
Gift of Rosemary Rathgeb

Tiraz fragment
Linen and silk tapestry in a linen tabby ground
Egypt, Fatimid dynasty
mid-12th century

This more elaborate example has four bands of inscription which repeat
the words "good fortune" and "prosperity". The inscription is done in a
cursive style of script called naskhi, indicating a later date of
production. The rest of the decoration consists of three bands of
interlace enclosing rabbits and birds.

 
Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume
Opening April 16, 2008

This 600 m2 (6,500 square foot) cathedral-like space with angular walls rises to approximately 13 m (43 feet). The gallery presents highlights from the ROM’s rich collection of 50,000 textile and costume artifacts, through displays of approximately 200 pieces dating from the 1st millennium BC to the 21st century, changed on a regular basis for the purposes of conservation. Outstanding examples include a Chinese imperial costume, late Antique and early Islamic textiles from Egypt, western fashion from the Baroque period to the present day and early Canadian coverlets.

For more information please visit: The Royal Ontario Museum

-Joanne Molina

Exhibitions Toronto. ABC.....WITH LOVE (TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL). Art Metropole. The Curated Object

Image: Jill Henderson, not feeling, 2006 , ink on paper, 8 1/2" x 11"

ABC.....WITH LOVE (TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL)
February 12 - March 22, 2008

Art Metropole is pleased to announce the launch of a new exhibition and edition, ABC.....WITH LOVE (TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL). The project, organized by and including artist Jill Henderson, focuses on hand-drawn letters and words as created by a group of 13 international artists, including: John Giorno (USA), David Shrigley (Scotland), Fastwürms (Canada), Hrafnhildur Arnardottir aka 'Shoplifter' (NYC, Iceland), and Martin Wohrl (Germany). The exhibition, and accompanying edition, is on view at Art Metropole from February 12 to March 22, 2008. Please join us for the opening reception and live performance by John Giorno on Tuesday, February 12, 2008. The reception starts at 6 p.m., John Giorno performs at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Don't miss this exciting event!

ABC.....WITH LOVE (TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL), the exhibition, is accompanied by a special boxed print edition. Comprising the full alphabet, with 2 letters each created by 13 artists, the edition features Michael Buckland (NYC/Canada), James Carl (Canada), Jill Henderson (NYC/Canada/Scotland), Matt King (USA), David Kramer (USA), Kostas Ioannidis (Greece), Brent Roe (Canada), Ross Sinclair (Scotland), and the above-mentioned artists. Each print measures approximately 13 x 18cm (5 x 7"), and the suite of 26 prints come boxed. The edition is produced in an edition of 52. Retail: $TBD.

For more information please visit: Art Metropole
-Joanne Molina