Reading Between the Lines
Kristiina Lahde . Jenn Stark . Sojourner Truth Parsons . Clint Griffin . Robert Waters . Mike Swaney . Kyle Monchuk . Guy Maddin . Paul Butler . Michel Dumontier
w/ Special Project by Micah Lexier
Reading Between the Lines is a show that explores materiality, specifically the many applications of paper in contemporary art practices. Despite the promise of the digital revolution to take paper out of our lives, we are continuously surrounded by it. From the cash in your wallet, to the newspaper that leads you to a movie theater, where you hand in your ticket to get a seat. It is impermanent: easily dissolving in the rain or recycled into another item. Yet its cultural implications are huge. With the rise and fall of currencies or ideas that become written into law - paper is the link.
Inexpensive and readily available, paper has been an important art making material for centuries; used for drawings, later sculptures and more recently monumental installations. This show considers the many applications of paper based practices. The works range from complex collage works to refined sculptures - the one unifying factor is a material that is so common that it seems any of us could pick up a sheet and create something new.
The exhibition opens with a site-specific installation by Kristiina Lahde. This 7ft tall honey-comb like structure was built out of local telephone books and brings to mind Brancusi's Endless Column.
The lobby opens up into a dense installation of paper-based sculptures by Jenn Stark and Sojourner Truth Parsons. Stark is a Miami-based artist who is quickly developing an international reputation for her wall-dominant paper sculptures. Surfaces are built up with countless layers of paper, often cut into gradient shapes. As a result, the pieces often spill from the walls or build up to a point several inches away from the wall, such as a recent kaleidoscope that is motorized, so patrons may step back and watch the abstract paper patterns unfold. Amongst Stark's pieces are two monumental installations by local artist Sojourner Truth Parsons. Crafted from cardboard and found objects the pieces suggest talismans and native mysticism - the means may be modest, but the effect is epic.
The aesthetic is continued in the back lobby with a massive piece by another Toronto-based artist, Clint Griffin. This mixed media composition pictures a landscape in transition. Part backyard, wilderness and industrial landscape it may call to mind the areas surrounding the Drake, where disused industrial lands are being turned into condo developments while vacant lots become parks.
Mexico City-based Robert Waters casts the hotel stairs in an elegant treatment with 2 drawings where the lines have been sliced into the paper. Watch them as you walk by, the paper will begin to flutter, much like fabric would. It's a sophisticated effect considering the images are derived from depictions of loincloths in Renaissance paintings the artist has only seen in reproductions. Thus complicating the relationship to paper since the artist first saw the image on a page in a book, later reproducing that image by cutting another piece of paper.
In the Underground stairs there is another piece by Waters, this one entitled Teaching Acupuncture to the Military. For this piece, Waters made a life-size diagram of acupuncture points, then gave the drawing to the Mexican military to be used for target practice - resulting in puncturing the work with over 100 bullet holes, calling attention to our interest in learning more about the body and how that knowledge can be applied for healing or destruction.
The cafe sees another dense installation of works by Mike Swaney, Kyle Monchuk, Clint Griffin, Guy Maddin, Paul Butler and Michel Dumontier with a wide rage of paper-based works. Stop by to see collaged drawings, paintings and photographs along with sculptures made from vintage books.
Paper has long been a method of communicating our sentiments, ranging from polite gestures to personal confessions. Such things range from small gifts to greeting cards to love letters. This fall Drake commissioned conceptual artist Micah Lexier to develop a gift for our guests. The result is a small envelope - a vehicle for you to pass a gift on to another, thus continuing the cycle. Lexier's letter-pressed envelope is available to all hotel guests through the fall season and by asking at the Front Desk. Get yours to keep on giving.
