Art: This Long Weekend is Your Best (And Last) Chance To See Broadbent Sisters' Spectacular Show

Rose Broadbent with 'Untitled'

Joy Broadbent with 'Crush-Endo'

The Broadbent sisters, whose individual art works you'll remember from our gallery events, have joined forces on a new series. If you missed the June 28th opening, of Boom by Boom make sure you catch the show today or tomorrow. Not only are the mixed-media pieces depicting fireworks and rainbow staircases (coincidentally?) perfect visual additions to this Canada Day and Pride weekend (in more ways than two, depending on your imagination) buuuut, the show also closes tomorrow at 6pm! 

The pieces, which from afar are sometimes reminiscent of delicate, beautiful, intricate textile or ceramic patterns or ethereal fantasy landscapes, can look up-close like pen scribbles on a diary. You need to see them in real life to really appreciate the duality. Get there! Expect explosions.

Boom by Boom recommended in National Post's Things to Do

On today and tomorrow until 6pm at Studio 835, 
835 Bloor St West

Broadbent Sisters' Boom by Boom website 

Boom by Boom in Torontoist

Claire Hall Painting Up For Grabs for One Lucky Donor

Poppies by Claire Hall, 36 x 48" Oil on Canvas

You've been meaning to donate to our online fundraising campaign, haven't you? You're so excited to see the Everything Roof come to fruition and you want to help make sure this unique roof top project has a chance to help make Toronto the more sustainable city we know it can be. You've just been trying to decide whether to choose the donor perk of a Fresh City produce box delivered to your door or a collection of cute, illustrated cards... maybe even dedicate a garden container to your Mom (mother's day does come quickly). And while you sit and stare blankly at your blank wall trying to decide, you think, I need some art.      

(Insert sparkle explosion here).      

(Also, it’s a bit creepy that we can read your mind, right?).      

We're so excited to offer this one shot chance for you to make a difference by doing something we know you already want to: purchasing a lovely piece of artwork by Toronto-based artist, Claire Hall.

Claire has been a long time supporter of this project and has generously donated Poppies, the 36 x 48” oil painting pictured above. The gallery price for this piece is $600, but for a $450 donation, to the Everything Roof it’s yours! This is a one-time special offer, so click through now to grab this piece while it’s available, it’s sure to go quickly.      

You can also click through here to see more of Claire’s work and learn more about her unique approach to painting, custom options, and her great story.      

With only three weeks left in our IndieGoGo campaign, we've got some work to do to meet our fundraising goal of $10,000. By hitting this goal, we’ll be one step closer to matching the funds granted to us by Live Green Toronto and getting the Everything Roof, um, off the ground. Help us make this happen by donating any amount today. And maybe even get yourself a great piece of art while you’re at it!

Last Chance to Submit to Bike Photo Exhibit

illustration by Lauren Pirie

The Toronto Cyclists Union is hosting a photography exhibit at the Centre For Social Innovation, Annex on Thursday, February 2nd. The open call for submissions closes tomorrow, so time to hustle! We know all you photog friends of ours have some lovely shots of so-and-so pedaling through the park last Summer (remember Summer??). So do a little digging and drop them off tomorrow at the front desk at CSI. Or dig a little less and pull out a Fall or Winter biking shot; the theme of the show is The Four Seasons of Cycling, which means you could also submit a cycling-focused shot taken in the Spring. And remind us all that it will eventually come around again...

365 Days of Cycling: An Evening of Art and Cycling.

Submission details here.

Facebook event here.

Jan 25: UPDATE!
Digital submissions will be accepted through Friday. ALSO, 100% of the selling price of any work sold goes directly to the artist. Wooh! Check the detes here.

Gary Taxali Makes Money! (Literally...)

Gary Taxali for the Royal Canadian Mint, via National Post

Good on the Royal Canadian Mint for this one: Today marks the release of a set of six special occasion coins designed by Toronto-based artist and illustrator, Gary Taxali (of whom we're big fans). In this CBC video, Alexander Reeves explains "the retro pop art look is cool and it's hip and that's what the Royal Canadian Mint wants to identify with." Who knew?

Of course, we love what Taxali made of the project. We're also pretty stoked on his view that "the best way to represent a wedding in Canada is to show the love between two people, regardless of gender". The product is "two rings intertwined and in love". Cute.

I mean, we're usually somewhat excited to get money, but especially today.

"Oh Canada" coin via Art Daily

New Design! | Squab

 

Remember these lovely and entertaining Wishlist posters from our Greenhouse Gallery show? They were printed locally on 100% Recycled paper using a waterless UV process and VOC-free inks and created by our friends at Squab.

Creative Director Tammy Yiu and crew have just moved into new digs in Liberty Village. In between setting up the new stude and feverishly designing away, they've found a bit of time to start posting some recent work on their lovely site. Check it out! (Challenge: hit refresh on their homepage a couple times and just tryyy not to get sucked in).

Packaging for soup and bread roll for Portaselo Fine Foods

Identity for new Canadian-made outerwear company

Tomorrow: Give Clothes, Get Fun!

Got some gently-used clothing to purge? Bring it by the Garrison tomorrow night and Vox Toronto will donate it to The Yonge Street Mission. Swap your excess sweaters for an eve of music and art. Check the Facebook event here. If you're not able to make the party tomorrow, you can drop your donation off on the main floor of the Centre For Social Innovation, Annex location today until 4pm.

Choose Your Own Info, T.O.

Okay, so I slept a little on posting about these guys, but I did wake up and get out biking at an obscenely early hour this past Saturday morning when I spotted them. What a delightfully rewarding experience biking around this city at nine (or... ten) o'clock in the morning can be! (One of the perks of participating in a January cleanse). Who knew that it's just like Spring in January in Toronto at that hour?

So, the sun's a-shining and the birds are a-chirping and I hit the corner of College and Bathurst and notice one of those lovely, gargantuan "info" pillars that seem to have fallen out of the sky sometime this past Fall, crushing any bike rings and obstructing any sidewalks in their way. But wait, as I rode in its direction, I could actually see the word "info" clearly across the top of the billboard! I mean, pillar!

Of course, the chalk boards hanging over the in-your-face ad space weren't placed there apologetically by the city. We're not sure who made the move, but it seems a few people noticed. When I arrived, the boards were still relatively nude, but by the time these photos were taken for the Torontoist, it looks like several Torontonians had some things to say.

Greenhouse Gallery Featured Artist Series | Round3: Illustration Nation

Greenhouse Gallery kicks off tomorrow and runs through Sunday!

The three ladies in this round of the artist features each spread their creativity over several mediums; graphic design, photography, painting, writing, drawing, the occasional living room dance party... though, it's probably safe to say that they all primarily identify as illustrators. The first two, admittedly, are serious art-crushes of mine, and the last one, well... the last one's me. I'll leave the bio in third person for good measure. 

Juliana Neufeld 

 
Juliana Neufeld is an illustrator and mixed media artist living and working happily in Toronto, Canada. Her work has been inspired by the whimsy of children’s illustration, journal art and an obsession with textiles. Her work has been showcased in galleries in Japan, France, Los Angeles and across Canada. Some of her working folks include The Globe and Mail, Arts and Crafts Records, Element Skateboards andSpinmaster Toys.

www.juliananeufeld.com 

www.juliananeufeld.tumblr.com

Juliana will have large framed giclee prints as well as limited edition 8x10 prints for sale and silent auction tomorrow and Sunday at Greenhouse Gallery.

 

Kathryn Macnaughton 

Kathryn Macnaughton is an illustrator and graphic artist who lives and works in Toronto. She graduated from Ontario College of Art and Design. She combines her drawings with collage in a hue of light pastel shades, mixing soft pornographic material with random objects, patterns or typefaces. Her work has appeared in magazines, on books and album covers. She recently finished the book covers for six John Steinbeck classic novel for penguin.

www.kathrynmacnaughton.com.

Kathryn will have large paintings and limited edition 8x14 prints for sale and auction tomorrow and Sunday.

Lauren Pirie

 
After a year of wandering around the world, Lauren studied Communication Design at Ryerson University followed by Illustration at OCAD in Toronto, wandering a little more in between. She still thinks some of her most influential education was acquired during summers at camp in Northern Ontario.

Lauren currently spends her days and nights and small hours of the morning making drawings, writing stories and working on various illustration and design projects in music, fashion, and for NGOs like the About Face Collective, an art and environmental project which she co-founded. Lauren likes finding meaning (or simply amusement) in things that make little sense. She likes little things, (but loves run-on sentences).

www.laurenpirie.com

Lauren will have framed drawings, limited edition prints, greeting cards and books for sale and auction tomorrow and Sunday.

Tomorrow's the day! Join us at the Fresh City Greenhouse, 70 Canuck Ave from 11-6 this Saturday AND Sunday. See Facebook event for full details here.

Greenhouse Gallery Featured Artist Series | Round2: Broadbent Nation

We are thrilled to have not one, not two, but all three Broadbent siblings exhibiting this weekend at Greenhouse Gallery. Team Broadbent has been supportive of the AFC since the beginning; contributing art work, working volunteer shifts, dj-ing events, introducing us to our now-project-partners at Sketch... If they weren't so kind and generous, this trio of blond, super-human talents would be pretty intimidating...

Rose Broadbent

Rose Broadbent spends her time making art and traveling the earth. Her work often reflects worldly struggles of power and injustice that she has witnessed. She does not commit to one but many mediums. Rose is a head designer of the collective The New BEAT, while also art director of the vintage fashion line, Bridge & Bardot. Her roots lie in the progressive world of New Media, from which she graduated at Ryerson University. Rose continues to seek to understand, and to create good things in the world.

Rose will have a selection of watercolour pieces for sale and auction this weekend.

www.rosebroadbent.com 

Justin Broadbent

Justin Broadbent is an accomplished Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist. His work includes video performance, poems, funny ideas, illustration, design, music video direction, and installation. Justin is also a self-taught photographer.

Co-directing music videos under the moniker HotDogGarbage, Justin has done work for recording artists such as Shad and Metric. He has achieved a CBC Bucky Award and three Much Music Video Award nominations for his work.

Justin chooses layered projects that challenged his expectations. His work often centers on meaning-of-life topics, which he delivers with a glimmer of charm and wit. Hence, he’s often reminding people that the sun is a burning ball of fire floating in outer space!

Justin’s work is inspired by the impossibility of a seed becoming a tree, thrift stores, clever lyrics, and human perseverance.

Justin will be have a selection of drawings and collages for sale and auction this weekend, some from his recent residency in Miami.

www.justinbroadbent.com

www.hotdoggarbage.com

 

Joy Broadbent

 

Joy lives and works as a painter in Toronto. She completed her Honours BFA at the University of Western Ontario. Her paintings combine abstraction with representation by way of a diverse range of painterly techniques. The paint itself seems to mask and sometimes reveal bits of organic material and human‐made creations in flat planes of ambiguous origins. Her current works present a mystical vision of rose gardens at night, with themes of revelation, time, destruction and renewal.

Joy will have a selection of large and small paintings for sale and silent auction at Greenhouse Gallery.

www.joybroadbent.com

Greenhouse Gallery | Art Fundraiser for the Everything Roof, this Saturday and Sunday! Facebook event here

Greenhouse Gallery Featured Artists Announced

We are just a little over a week away from Greenhouse Gallery, our fundraising art event with Fresh City Farms at their Downsview Park greenhouse. Yay! (Also, eek!) Also, howww is it November next week? Guh.

Between now and then you probably have a gourd to carve into the likeness of your favorite pop star or (least) favorite municipal politician and some combination of spandex and sparkles and rainbow wig to don. That sounds fun and all, but you're really just counting down the days until you get to enjoy (and buy) the work of 30 renowned local artists in an urban greenhouse while sipping some local wine, and swaying to tunes from talented T.O. musicians, aren't you?

Over the next week we will post features on some of these incredible artists on our blog (here!). Check back through the week to see some sneak previews of some of the work that will be sold and silent-auctioned off.  Check the Facebook event for full details, and go ahead and invite your friends (and your favorite municipal politicians). And come! Of course, we welcome costumes.


Greenhouse Gallery Art Fundraiser for The Everything Roof 
Featured Artists:

Adrian Forrow
Alex Kurina
Childface Sausage
Claire Hall
Danielle Hession
Darlene Huynh
E V Mary Stephens
Emily Stoddart
Erica Brisson
Eunice Luk
Josh Raskin
Juliana Neufeld
Justin Broadbent
Justyna Werbel
Kathryn Macnaughton
Laura Mensinga
Lauren Pirie
Lisa Visser
Mahmood Popal
Mark Harris Sherman
Owen Wong
Rodrigo Marti
Rose Broadbent
Sarah D'Angelo
Srdjan Segan
Talia Shipman
Tammy Yiu
Virgil Baruchel

Plus:

Jewelry byKate Schwan

Hand-knit accessories from Muttonhead
 
And art classes for auction by Erica Beyea of Fine Oak Art School


See facebook event for more information on music line-up, workshops and more!

Greenhouse Gallery | Field Trip to Fresh City Farms

Our curating team, led (and transported) by Rodrigo Marti, ventured up to visit our friends from Fresh City Farms at their greenhouse at Downsview Park this morning. I was lucky to get to know the FCF crew while working with them on their branding and web design earlier this year. Their mission to empower young people in the GTA to farm organically everywhere from backyards to rooftops to this greenhouse had the AFC pretty excited. So when they suggested that we work together on an event this Fall, we were all over it. And when they told us we could hang art in their greenhouse, we got more than a little nerdy about it. I mean, what more perfect a setting to raise funds for an urban rooftop garden created by local artists than in an urban greenhouse with an art show? Hence our little art team field trip.

Our visit timed up with FCF seeding their greenhouse for the season. So by the time we convert this space into a gallery (for the weekend of November 5th & 6th) these beds will be green with organic veggie leaves. You can get these same veggies delivered to your door each week straight from Fresh City if you live in T.O. Check them out, check back here for more info on the event and mark the date down on your calendars!

Sustainable Clothing & Art Camping Out at Our Fave New T.O. Creative Space

Our friends at Muttonhead are camping out at the top of Trinity Bellwoods Park with their Fall line this weekend. We've posted about Muttonhead in the past; all of their garb is locally-produced here in T.O using fabrics like hemp and recycled leather. The line is perfectly androgynous; comfy and steezy and  equally appropriate for bonfire or bar, and as we've confessed before, one of our hands-down favorites.

Starting today, they're parked at one of our new favorite T.O. spaces, Miracle Thieves, alongside Ottawa's Raised By Wolves, Cuchara jewelry and recycled cards and prints from Lauren Pirie, as well as some other art, books and for the opening tonight, burgers and beers! Come by 249 Crawford (at Dundas) to check it all out - look for the window art by Justin Broadbent. And keep an eye on Miracle Thieves for tons of great local art and lovely things!

Facebook Event Here

Cards and Prints by Lauren Pirie and Our Liner Notes, by Justin Lee

Rack of Mutt

Window by Broadbent

dog!

Raised by Wolves moccasins and such