Welcome Back

It's been a very long time since my last post...my stint as Director/Curator at KWT contemporary was all-consuming! It has been a rewarding couple of years: building a terrific roster of artists, overseeing the development of a new corporate identity and website, managing, curating and installing up to three interlinked solo exhibitions a month, participating in three international art fairs, hosting a number of galas, lectures and events for not-for-profit-arts organizations... With 2500 square feet, the space was large by downtown Toronto standards, and had great street presence with abundant natural light in the front, segueing back to a darker, more intimate space at the rear (perfect for video and time-based installations). Given our location in an area undergoing rapid development, it is not surprising that the landlord saw the potential for "better opportunities". Our lease was up, and the gallery's owner and financial backer decided she would not meet the demand for a large rent increase. So, sadly, the doors at 624 Richmand St West are closed, and a new chapter begins. I'll be resuming my consultancy and art advisory service, A.K. Collings Fine Art, making time for more writing (and blogging!) and working on some curatorial projects.


Please  explore the gallery website for images and more detailed information about the gallery artists. Go to the gallery blog to see installation shots, and for news about our roster artists' activities, publications and accolades.

Here is a brief look at KWT contemporary over the past two years:

Our Booth at Papier 12, Montreal,  April 2012, featuring work by Liz Parkinson, Sean Martindale, Lauren Nurse, and Daryl Vocat.


Our booth at Art Toronto (Toronto International Art Fair) in October, 2011: looking through Jay Wilson's 12ft tall  toothpick "stalagmite", with paintings by Paul Dignan and Kieran Brent in the background.


And here is a sampling of some of the exhibitions, installations and events at KWT contemporary,  roughly in reverse chronological order. It will give you a sense of the wonderful space I had to work with.

 Jay Wilson's exhibition in January 2012

 Dinner party at the gallery for the artists.

Heather Nicol's "Salon" installation, Dec 2011

 Kieran Brent with "Will" and the real Will.


Alex D'Arcy

Rachael Wongs's installation (latex paint, blown glass elements)

Paola Savasta, winner of the 2011 William Huffman Award

Yvonne Singer. neon and plexi sculpture

 Svava Thordis Juliusson's installation, February 2011

 Paul Dignan

 Caroline De Mooy (oil on canvas) and John Paul Robinson (blown glass) November,  2010)

Many, many thanks to all the artists with whom I have had the privilege to work, and to gallery administrator Jessica Vallentin, interns Ebony Jansen, Emily Mahon, Victoria Lum, and our gallery owner and financial backer, Kristyn Wong-Tam, for an intensely rewarding, although far too brief, experience.

Why You Should Buy Art

I am back from New York, and this William Powhida print is one souvenir of a wonderful and art-filled trip. You can click on the image to enlarge.
(Actually, I bought the print online at Jen Beckman's "20x200" which is well worth a virtual visit, whether you can get to New York or not.)

I am an erratic blogger, and for that, I apologize. You'd think I'd have plenty to write about, having just spent the last week in New York, in the company of Our Montreal Correspondent. The problem is, I am slow thinker, and I need time to mull before I write...not a trait particularly well suited to the pace of the blogosphere.

While in NY, OMC and I visited the William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton event, "#class" at Winkleman Gallery, and participated in Saturday's Powhida-led "Art Walk" through a range of Chelsea galleries.

And since I am still mulling over that experience, for now I'll leave you with Eva Diaz's description and contextualization of the goings-on at #class, from Artforum:

"Mass education in the post–World War II period positioned pedagogy as a pivot between personal growth and wider sociopolitical transformation. Recent large-scale student protests against fee hikes and the profit-driven campus at the New School and throughout the University of California system can be seen as part of a larger reaction to how the prospect of education was subsequently instrumentalized as a consumer transaction. Similarly, a spate of artist collectives are reassessing how progressive pedagogical models can be employed as consciousness-raising tools. Joining related endeavors such as 16 Beaver, the Public School, e-flux’s Night School, and the Bruce High Quality Foundation University, artists William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton have created #class, a series of public workshops in a classroom setting that, in its eclectic sprawl, seeks to investigate the effects of the economic downturn on the field of art: on its production, reception, distribution, and consumption; on its educational institutions and its institutions of display.
The setup is simple: A room contains several worktables and chairs lined with four chalkboards. Dozens of programs and open-ended brainstorming sessions have been scheduled for the one-month duration of the exhibition, and the artists will be present on a daily basis to use the gallery as a studio space. The “curriculum” ranges from the intentionally hokey (motivational speakers promising to unleash “wild creativity”) to the near heretical (dealers guaranteeing to answer questions about the art market with complete transparency)."

You can follow the events for yourself, by visiting the #class blog, and Ed Winkleman's blog, where you'll find a link to a gallery cam running a continuous live feed during gallery hours.