We had a wildly successful opening night party on December 17th for Melanie MacDonald in our temporary space at 1142 Queen St. West in Toronto. We were also very pleased to receive some nice coverage from
Murray Whyte of the Toronto Star, and
Mike Landry of "Things of Desire". Altogether, a successful Queen St. West debut for the artist, and for
A.K. Collings Fine Art.
DO NOT PASS GO is a one week-only event, and will be dismantled on the afternoon of Tuesday December 22. For those of you who won't be able to attend, here is a sampling. MacDonald works in acrylic, and the paintings range from 24x 24 to 36 x 48.
From MacDonald's artist statement:
"My latest work is a continuation of my series of board game vignettes. Monopoly was the starting point for this series--a suggestion from a friend--and I expanded it to include Trouble, slot hockey, Chinese Checkers, and some more obscure games. With these recent paintings I've returned to Monoploy but I've created chaotic scenes of the board in disarray--the game suspended in a state of disorder before it begins or having come to an abrupt, messy ending."
"These paintings are partly inspired by "Soprano Home Movies" episode 78 of the television drama's final season. In it, Tony and his wife Carmela spend a weekend at his sister Janice and brother-in-law Bobby Bacala's cottage. During a game of Monopoly, and argument ensues over the rules and a fight erupts between Bobby and Tony. The game board is upset in the brawl and Tony loses the fight, ending up on the floor with Monopoly game pieces stuck to his face."
"Even though the structure of Monopoly depicted in these paintings has collapsed. the board, the pewter tokens, the plastic houses, chance cards, and Monopoly dollars all continue signifying as vestiges of order, economics and fair play"
Any questions about MacDonald's work, or requests for appointments for private viewings can be directed to:akcollings(at)sympatico(dot)ca
Nicola Enrico Staubli is a young Swiss independent architect and bike messenger. Giving new meaning to "Boxing Day", his free-for-the-taking designs are a fresh antidote to the frenzy of consumption that marks December 26. Stay away from the malls today, and follow his instructions for making stable, elegant and fun pieces of cardboard furniture for kids. Perhaps you'll be able to recycle the box from that mega-huge flat screen TV you "gave your wife" yesterday. A rare opportunity for redemption, on so very many levels.
