Tag Archives: Toronto art galleries

CELEBRATING CONTEMPORARY ART GLASS GALLERIST SANDRA AINSLEY’S 40th ANNIVERSARY

What a wonderful celebratory event yesterday, Saturday Sept. 21, at the Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto, marking Sandra’s 40 years of  presenting the finest glass artists in the world in her spectacular 6,000 sq. foot gallery. I’ve had the opportunity of attending several exhibitions over the past decade, but this was a really special occasion with a dozen of the 60 international artists she represents joining  Sandra along with collectors and friends to mark this curatorial milestone.  Here’s the lady herself…
The Sandra Ainsley Gallery is one of North America’s leading contemporary glass galleries. Founded in 1984 by Sandra Ainsley, the Toronto-based gallery has been recognized as a force in the international glass market. The Gallery represents the world’s leading artists working primarily in glass, as well as a roster of diverse, contemporary emerging artists. For over 35 years, the Gallery has established strong relationships with both private and corporate clients, assisting them in finding the perfect piece for their collection. Located in a converted warehouse space, with 22-foot ceilings, dramatic lighting, and an open concept layout, the Gallery is the ideal backdrop to exhibit the outstanding collection of glass sculptures. Sandra Ainsley Gallery has represented world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly (below) since 1989.

About Sandra: Since she established her first gallery in Hazelton Lanes in Toronto’s Yorkville area in 1984, Sandra has developed and nurtured her passion for glass into a thriving and successful business. She expanded in 1989 to become the premier gallery in the Financial District’s Exchange Tower. This location allowed Sandra to better meet the needs of both private and corporate clients with an impressive roster of international artists. Today Sandra Ainsley is one of the leading dealers of contemporary glass in North America.  The Exchange Tower space launched in 1989 with a Dale Chihuly exhibition then her gallery at The Distillery opened November 2002, with over 2000 people in attendance, and pioneered the largest exhibition by Dale Chihuly in a private gallery.
In September 2012, Sandra Ainsley Gallery relocated to an industrial warehouse in Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway and Eglinton Ave area at 100 Sunrise Ave, Unit 150. It was a surprising move but the space, with its 22 foot ceilings, is an ideal backdrop to show sculpture, especially the pieces with scale. This location enables Sandra to spend quality time with her clients and artists, many of whom Sandra has represented for over 3 decades and she enjoys her long standing relationships with them. The gallery works with private collectors, corporate clients, designers and architects in placing major pieces and installations as well as more intimate sculptures. She has become an integral part of the international glass community, establishing herself as one of the leading dealers of contemporary glass in world. Arriving early in the day, FLY was able to watch as Sandra’s clients, friends and artists arrived, filling the gallery with so many ooo’s and aaah’s and lots of heartfelt congratulations and love. She truly does care about her artists and it was lovely to meet a number of them in person: Wilfried Grootens‘ work was fascinating and so beautiful (and tactile). Here he is with his intriguing pieces that offer mesmerizing illusions for the viewer…. Loved meeting Jason Christian whose work included the colourful “yo-yos” in the key photo as well as this friendly dragon who greeted visitors… And it truly was exciting to see 2 pieces by FLY’s favourite Australian artist Noel Hart (below) for whom Sandra created a live Zoom seminar a couple of years ago. Noel bases many of his pieces on the colourful birds of the Australian bush. Such a wonderful afternoon, complete with speeches from Sandra and the artists, and so many gasps of appreciation for all the work.  The special anniversary show runs until November 15, and you can get all the details, directions, gallery hours at Sandra’s website: www.sandraainsleygallery.com

FLY highly recommends you visit the Sandra Ainsley Gallery to enjoy the impressive and remarkable glass art.

TORONTO’S BLUE CROW GALLERY ON THE MOVE TO A BRAND NEW SPACE IN APRIL

FLY was saddened to learn of the impending closure of one of Toronto’s finest indie art galleries, BLUE CROW GALLERY,  that is, until the announcement came that they had secured a new location in the same neighbourhood, and the move and re-opening will take place in the spring…yaaay!! FLY reached out to gallery owner, JODI WHEELER, and asked her to fill us in on the exciting new adventures for her gallery….

Jodi, Blue Crow is in the middle of a big move to a new location. What caused this move?  Sadly, we are having to move after our current landlord told us they would be raising our rent nearly double the rent we were paying and it was just not going to be feasible. We tried to negotiate and they were not willing to budge. Our options became move or close. We were lucky to find another storefront close by that would work for our gallery staying in the neighbourhood. This was vital for our art school and clients. Blue Crow has been a leading light in Toronto’s indie gallery scene for seven going on eight years – how was the gallery received by artists and art lovers when you opened?  I’ve been working in Toronto with artists and in galleries for 24 years now so when I started I had lots of artist friends in the community who were extremely supportive and eager to work with me here at Blue Crow. Since opening, the gallery has been lucky to get to work with so many amazing Canadian artists.  I think the artist community was excited to have a new gallery in the city carrying fun contemporary and emerging work in a space that was very inviting.  Our clients love being able to come and shop for local art and crafts at affordable prices. The east end community has loved having Blue Crow in the area and it has been a wonderful addition to Gerrard St.

And how has the gallery grown over the years with artist support, classes on offer, in-home consultations, special events, etc.? Blue Crow has become “a community” and not just a set of walls on which to hang art, hasn’t it?   We’ve grown so much, and the following for our gallery always fills my heart and surprises me how much we are loved by this city and beyond.  What started out as a dream has been brought to reality and wow it has been a ride.  Our art school started out small and now has full classes every day of the week.  Our adult workshops have been a big draw for fellow artists and creatives as well as others just looking to enjoy a fun afternoon creating in the studio.  Even our summer camps have really grown over the years and are now such a special part of our studio program.  The art events we host are always well attended and lots of fun.  Before Covid, these parties were booming and I’m sure with time this will grow again too.  The joy of our gallery really does go beyond just the gorgeous art on our walls. We will try to find our footing in the new smaller space and bring a new energy to our gallery, and I’m sure it will be wonderful in a whole new way.  This community has been so wonderful and their kindness and support has been overwhelming since announcing the move.Your new gallery is pretty close by so thankfully you’ll remain in the neighbourhood – can you share where the new location is, and will you still offer all the classes and workshops?  Yes, of course – 1330 Gerrard St E will be our new location.  We will be setting up there and fixing the space before we fully move over in April.  We’ll still have all the wonderful classes, camps and workshops to offer in the new location.  Registration for our summer art camps is on line now.  It will be different, as change always is, but it will still be filled with the amazing art, talent and our awesome team that you have come to know and we will just bring all that joy into the new gallery.

Are you looking to increase the number of artists you showcase, and if so, how do artists submit their work for consideration?  It will take us some time to find out how we fit things into the new gallery the way we like and then we will open back up to new artists.  We’re going to expand our online platform, too, with more work on our website once we have the new location.  Our gallery accepts artist applications for review through our website.  At this time, we are busy moving and won’t be reviewing any new work until after the summer.  This year, sadly, we will not be hosting our annual summer group show that features 107 Canadian artists each year.  We’ll try to host it next year once we’re settled in, so keep following for that news in future. (Pictured below, the fabulous Blue Crow team….)Thanks everyone for all of your love and support and we hope you will fly down the street in the spring and check out the new nest…I mean gallery :>) Jodi Wheeler, Blue Crow Gallery

Lean more about the gallery and its artists: https://www.bluecrowgallery.com/
And follow Jodi and the team on social media: https://www.instagram.com/bluecrowgallery

So, Jodi, good luck with the move and the grand opening on Gerrard in April. FLY will be there to report on all the festivities!

BLITZ GALLERY IN TORONTO LAUNCHES LATEST SHOW

FLY recently dropped in to Toronto’s Blitz Art Gallery located at 101 Richmond St East (south side, just W of Jarvis) for the launch of their latest group show “Being and Belonging”.  Artist and friend Morgan Sheardown, famous for his “Raining Cows”, has a couple of canvases in this new group show (thanks for allowing FLY borrow this photo, Morgan).The space itself has lots of great wall space for hanging artwork and the lighting is perfect. Most of the artists are unknown to FLY however several were happy to share their stories, such as Heather Gentleman (below) whose work on show featured portraits of Indigenous women warriors of Britain during the Roman invasions. These women are Celts, Druids, Picts, Gauls and Britons. The working name of Heather’s series is Parallax. The meaning of the word is the effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions. Congrats, Heather, FLY loved this tease of your upcoming full series show. FLY was also pleased to meet the award-winning Canadian artist, Susan N. Stewart (below) who’s known for hip and exciting contemporary art that transforms spaces. She’s also the founder of Flick the Switch Artists’ Collective in Toronto.
Marina Doukas was busy posing for photos (below)…her work is vibrant and full of energy.Portraits, cloudscapes, landscapes and cool photographic works are all part of the show… FLY would like to thank Angela Kim and gallery owner Hui An for their hospitality and for supporting Canadian artists.

Website: www.blitzartgallery.com (currently undergoing upgrade)

COLLECTIVE 131 PRESENTS “PERFECT 10” GROUP SHOW THRU MONTH OF MARCH

Another great opening for FLY to buzz around….the artists known as Collective 131 launched their group show for the month of March titled “Perfect 10” in their fab gallery underneath Holt Renfrew at 50 Bloor West in downtown Toronto. With double window frontage into the mall, the paintings on display attracted many walk-ins as well as friends, family and collectors to wish all the artists well with this special show of “smalls” that hangs alongside the large canvases of the Collective’s members.
Lisa Litowitz was happy to pose for friends in front of her colourful abstract landscapes (she’s pictured below right)…and I was immediately drawn to my friend Mark J. Gleberzon‘s fun “Barbie booth” where some of his gorgeous Barbie portraits hangMorgan Jones has a similar forest-themed booth showcasing his unique creations…There are so many talented emerging artists participating in the “Perfect 10” show… ...including a young artist whose work FLY was immediately drawn to – Dinesh Subramanian. His impressionist style street scenes of Toronto were beautiful – see below And FLY also loved the soft palette used by Meaghen Burdick in this view of a country road (below)There were paintings for every size of wall and wallet – check these out… FLY bumped into Collective member Morgan Jones flanked below by two friends who obviously know a good work of art when they spy it! FLY is a big fan of J&J Photos – that big horned cow skull would look lovely over FLY’s mantle…hmmm.So much to see, something for every taste. Easy to find the gallery in the lower mall underneath Holt Renfrew on Bloor…and you can follow them on Instagram:  @collective_131_toronto
The show continues throughout the month of March. Tell them Fly On the Gallery Wall sent you.

INTRODUCING TORONTO’S NEW XOXO CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY

FLY flew into the brand new contemporary art gallery up on Yonge Street, north of Eglinton in Toronto. It was lovely to meet the gallery directors Shawnna Brown and Michael Sachter, both artists themselves who share the exhibition space – this weekend is the grand opening of the gallery located upstairs from a wonderful coffee and tea supplier.



FLY fell in love with one of Shawnna’s painting so it now carries a special red dot…SOLD!Michael proudly showed FLY his original digitally manipulated images of which he creates limited print runs for clients – they come in 3 sizes suitable for home and office.

Gallery Hours

Oct. 17, 2022 onward

Monday/Tuesday: Closed*

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday : 11-6

 Saturday/Sunday: 11-5

* Or By Appointment

FLY hopes everyone will visit XOXO to support these two artists who are pleased to welcome visitors and talk about their work, their inspirations, their passion for contemporary art. Visit their website www.xoxocontemporaryart.com or their Fcbk & IG pages.

TORONTO’S GALLERIES ARE RE-OPENING AND HOSTING SOCIALLY-DISTANCED SHOWS

Finally….galleries are open for business here in Toronto. From large public galleries to small indie showrooms and outdoor art exhibitions, painters, sculptors and photographers now have venues in which to exhibit their art and FLY will be visiting them throughout the coming months to bring you stories from the walls.Throughout the pandemic, artists of all genres have struggled to navigate the many online platforms that put their work in front of art-lovers, dealing with the challenges of spatial perception, true colours & textures and that all important one-on-one experience with potential buyers and collectors. Facebook, Instagram, event Tik-Tok have hosted “virtual galleries” but without targeted marketing and promotions just to get people to click on to artists’ sites, it’s been a battle esp. for those who are technically challenged.

FLY hopes to continue to support upcoming gallery re-openings, indie artist shows and special events in Toronto and surrounding cities.

TORONTO’s ARTISTS’ NETWORK CELEBRATES NEW HOME WITH AN EXCITING EXHIBITION

Last night (Wed. Nov. 6) FLY was thrilled to be invited to the official opening of The Artists’ Network new digs in downtown Toronto. Located in the vibrant cultural community of Leslieville at 1158 Queen St East, the gallery hosts a juried exhibition of Artists’ Network members that includes original works inspired by a broad interpretation of the theme MOMENTUM, from the act of moving forward to the poetics of spiritual growth. FLY was invited to the celebratory soiree by the fabulous Connie Gorsline who posed in front of her wonderfully energetic seascape (below)The gallery filled quickly with members and fans of fine art ….….who discovered lots of stunning artworks on the walls…….and FLY was pleased to see a favourite photographic art piece by Lori Ryerson (below)And here’s Connie with fellow artist Nancy Bennett (below) enjoying a glass of cheer and the great company!Congratulations to Kate Taylor and the entire Board of The Artists’ Network in securing such an amazing new HQ, and FLY recommends a personal visit to see the talent contained within its walls. The current show runs until November 24 (see details below) and to learn more about the organization and upcoming events, visit their website: www.theartistsnetwork.ca 

TORONTO POP-ART STAR, ROB CROXFORD, UNVEILS NEW WORK STUDIO & GALLERY

FLY has long been an admirer of the fabulous and funny ROB CROXFORD whose humorous pop-art paintings are immediate smile-inducers! In late May last year, a studio fire all but destroyed his Toronto studio and his complete inventory of artworks. This new studio at 100 Sunrise Avenue in the east end, offers Rob a fresh start and, as with all new beginnings, Rob is focusing on new experiments and new artworks.  This year marks Rob’s 15th year as a professional artist and the completion of some 1,500 works of art – CONGRATULATIONS, ROB! He’s shown in over 125 juried & solo exhibitions here and in the United States. His work is in the permanent City of Toronto’s Art Collection, and in the private collections of several Mayors, and celebrities such as Alex Lifeson, Stuart McLean & Ann Marie MacDonald. You will find his art and his commissions in many private collections all over the world from Istanbul to California. Here’s Rob to tell you himself about the new space and his new collection….

Media-darling Rob has been profiled in Argyle Magazine, Neighborhood Living Magazine, The Society for Commercial Archaeology, Spacing Magazine and many others. Rob’s acrylic paintings are intentionally upbeat and humorous. His vintage-inspired work is instantly identifiable and has a clever approach to pop culture that often merges political topics within whimsical compositions. 

FLY recommends a personal visit to Rob’s studio so reach out via social media or check his website for upcoming shows: www.robcroxford.com Apart from his large-format original paintings, Rob also offers quality prints and giclees of his most popular pieces.

ANOTHER FLYING VISIT TO SANDRA AINSLEY GALLERY, TORONTO

Fly was thrilled to drop in to the Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto’s east end the other day and the thrill of opening the plain, unassuming outside door and walking into the spectacular gallery was breath-taking!  The huge lofty warehouse-like space showcases some of the most spectacular glass artworks, including many pieces by the legendary Dale Chihuly (below)Sandra herself offered a warm welcome then her associate, Daniel, introduced glass masters previously unknown to FLY via the stunning colourful and delicate works currently on show. First off, this showcase of 5 monochromatic pieces by Tobias Mohl  that immediately catches one’s eyes: 

Tobias Møhl’s training came from his on the job experience as a glassblower for the well-known Danish firm Holmegaard Glasværk, where he started in 1989 at the age of 19. By 1992 he was a master glassblower. He was an assistant glassblower for Lino Tagliapietra’s master class at Pilchuck in 1996 and at Tagliapietra’s master class at Haystack in 1997.  Blowing for Tagliapietra gave Møhl good exposure and his reputation in the U.S. began to soar. By the  end of the 1990s Møhl had earned international recognition.  Møhl’s work is a unique marriage of classical Venetian technique with a clear Scandinavian aesthetic. His work is testimony to his considerable skill and interest in traditional technique and craftsmanship. At the same time he also explores innovative options with glass. He uses a traditional process, creating a mosaic of glass that is picked up with a gather of hot molten glass and then blown into shape. The blowing process stretches the mosaic into intricate patterns on the glass. While this technique is traditional, the patterns he creates express a contemporary aesthetic. Many of Møhl’s vessels are white on white or white on black. He uses color sparingly and often he’ll use just one or two colors from his simplified palette.

FLY then decided that the colourful, very tactile pieces by Michael Behrens were favourites of the day… 
German-born artist Wilfried Grootens trained as a teenager in glass & porcelain painting, then after several self-discovery journeys around the world he started performing with the German bands Embryo and Dissidenten, groups known for their avant-garde approach to a style of music coined the “world beat movement.”  He returned to his glass roots and the results are now on show in the gallery…

Grootens’ current glass work (above) uses the optical float technique. He paints on layers of glass and assembles them in stacks, laminating them together to create cube forms. The cubes are cut and polished to perfection. One sculpture in the series, “Where the Shark Bubbles Blow,” is made from 35 layers of painted glass. For this piece, Grootens painted a circle shape on the surface of each thin layer of clear glass. Made of thousands of very fine brush strokes of varying tones, the painted circle creates a wonderful aqua blue. The circles on each layer recede or expand in size gradually and, when seen together, form a miraculous three dimensional globe which seems to be suspended in the cube.

Daniel then directed FLY’s gaze to the big bold colour glass blocks by John Kiley …wow! Not only did the actual pieces generate excitement and wonder, they also cast amazing reflections on the gallery floor – see below

Similar to abstract expressionism, Kiley’s work captures the motion AND emotion of the artist, but in three dimensions. When glass cools, the atoms are arranged randomly. In glass, fractures from an impact follow these random pathways – because of this it’s impossible to re-create the exact same fracture twice in glass, each Fractograph is an indelible and irreproducible record of impact, energy, time and place. The self-imposed rules for the initial 10 blocks were simple, start with a brand new 10lb. sledge hammer, a perfectly polished 80 lb block of optic glass, and you only get one hit. Whatever happens, happens.

Lots more exquisite pieces to view in the gallery – lots more artists to discover….

SPECIAL PRESENTATION – runs until May 21st:  Sandra Ainsley Gallery is hosting “Translucent Bloom”, the Sheridan College graduate showcase. So many lovely, unique pieces from future glass stars! If you get a chance, hurry down to support these young talented artists.

SANDRA AINSLEY GALLERY
100 Sunrise Avenue, Unit 150, Toronto
www.sandraainsleygallery.com
Follow on Facebook & IG: @ainsleygallery