La Serenissima in New York City

Just back from a few days in  wild and wondrous New York City. I went to see the old European  masters at the Metropolitan Museum, then some contemporary ones at PS1MOMA in Queens.
Contemporary Egyptian artist Wael Shawky's 120 minute video about the  second and the fourth crusades,Cabaret Crusade was on view as part of an exhibition  entitled Zero Tolerance. The theme of the show was the artist as activist. It consisted of mostly video works related to political manifestations. e.g strikes, demonstrations, around the globe.
  Shawky's work is different because he deals with an historical conflict from an Arab view point. Moreover, he  designed a series of extraordinary glass marionettes which enact the events. These were created in  Venice by master glassblowers. The costumes were sewn by an Italian tailor

 

Although there wasn't enough time to watch the video in its entirety,(it's 120 minutes) what I did view was really interesting and I'd love to see the whole thing.

      Another  highlight of this trip was Veronsese's painting of St Catherine in Prison at the Metropolitan Museum. Created  in Venice sometime between 1580 and 1585, this small oil painting is a testament to  genius at work.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/438134
Enlarge the image and notice how each gold line on the green velvet fabric is treated with passionate precision. What's so extraordinary to me  is the freedom with which Veronese applies the pigment; his sensitive cross-contour  lines, and, of course, the rich, shimmering colours.
        Here's to Venice in New York!

CaoYang
 The Artist Project, A Contemporary Art Fair
Better Living Center
Exhibition Place

Ninety four artists' booths- hundreds upon hundreds of artworks, mostly middle of the road, if technically proficient, but   the quality overall has improved a lot since this annual bazaar   started seven years ago. There is now a juried selection, UNTAPPED Emerging Artists,  which showcases work by very young, very promising artists. Also the inclusion of an installation Rocco,  by Bruno Billio, at the front entrance added a great deal of panache to the show this year.

One artist who got   my attention is  Cao Yang, a graduate of OCADU. His images of a nude teenage girl, her eyes and the top of her head hidden  by a dense cottony cloud  disturbed me so I decided to investigate.  Cao  Yang explained his work derives from Buddhist philosophy, and that he employs a female model in order to explore his  feminine side. The nude depicted is waif-like and  white.  I was surprised  in talking with  Cao, who is  very open to discussing  his work, that  he seemed  oblivious to  issues around  the representation of women .

Cao Yang

That they are nude makes the thin creatures  even more vulnerable, but hiding  their eyes creates a very strong tension, emphasizes the physicality of her naked body. If I understood Cao, the cloud represents  Mind distracted by desires and emotions. Is he then embracing or repudiating his feminine side?  I'm still trying to decide if  his work bothers me  because  it's  sexist or because it's original. Maybe both. I felt more comfortable with the image of   a woman  with four arms tightly hugging  her body. She struggles within herself, is not as objectified, looks both fragile and strong.

Stopping By Woods
Artport, Harbourfront 


Six  contemporary Canadian artists  address our relationship to nature  in this cohesive exhibition  curated by Patrick Macaulay. The renovated space of the Artport   provides a large welcoming space in which to  view five    large black and white paintings    by Monica Tapp   and opposite , four vibrant canvasses by Gary Evans.
 In Evan's paintings energetic brushwork weaves together to form dense tangles of  colour and form. As always he is a master at playing of f one kind of space against another. Amorphous shapes seem to float in front of the  surface , in other places mysterious tunnels draw the  eye back through clusters of vivid brushwork.  While  I didn't find these works as fascinating as some of his earlier  ones where he  mixes urban imagery with landscape motifs, they have many beautiful passages and push at the boundaries of  both tradition and abstraction.

Gary Evans, oil on canvas

Monica Tapp, ink on canvas

Monica Tapp's large photo-based views of woodland are very intriguing. With feathery brushstrokes she recreates every detail of the foliage. The sensation of greenery lit up by sunlight contrasts with the 

achromatic representation of it. Is this a photo or painting? What is a  truthful representation?  The helpful notes on the artist reveal that Monica Tapp is interested in both  perception and memory. Her work is similar to Evans in that it can't easily be categorized. Her lovely canvasses raise questions about what  we know and how we know it. 

This concern with perception  and also our expectations of landscape imagery   prevail in a video by Gwen MacGregor. In a series of photo stills shot in France MacGregor depicts a  grove of leaf-laden birches but she reverses the sequence of budding and leafing- out so that we first see the copse in full-leaf. As the video progresses and the trees revert to bud stage , two nuclear silos are exposed behind the now bare twigs.  MacGregor delicately presents us with a view of nature we might prefer not to acknowledge. 

A series of monochromatic works on paper by Doreen Wittenbols that reference the very Canadian experience of camping in the wilderness also resonated with me. I liked her reference to Tom Thomson, which was brave rather cliched.

Two installations, one by Robert Hengeveld  and another by Janet MacPherson, rounded out this excellent  show.

Robert Hengeveld

Janet MacPherson

PABLO MUNOZ

No Walls Between Us

This large mural is on the exterior wall of the Art Gallery of Ontario, adjacent to the main entrance on Dundas Street.  It 's  by the Columbian/Canadian artist and activist Pablo Munoz. He came to Canada as a refugee in 2000 and in @014 won the WorldPride Solidarity Youth Art Contest.
Utilizing the heroic scale of Social Realist  art, Munoz creates a powerful affirmation of  human, specifically, queer rights. This public  intervention is  both readily understandable and aesthetically subversise. It is both poignant and  powerful. Kudos to Munoz and the AGO.