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.

David Bolduc

I am saddened to announce that David Bolduc has died. He was 64 years of age, and died following a short and extremely courageous battle with cancer. He continued painting through it all, producing an entirely new body of work for an extraordinary show at Christopher Cutts Gallery just 3 months ago. His paintings contained an enormous energy and life force, as if channeling the very essence and fire of his soul. Working with David last year for the exhibition of new works he so generously created for my small gallery was a true privilege.

In 2006, Linda Corbett recorded a series of videotaped interviews with David. They are available to be viewed on line, courtesy of the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art Database Project. How fortunate we are to have this important documentary record of a significant painter, poet and raconteur. He will be missed.

UPDATE: Link to obituary in the Globe and Mail

Melanie MacDonald: DO NOT PASS GO

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