Being an active artist in Toronto often leads to exploring the great neighbourhoods of the city. The downtown core, established gallery areas, emerging gallery areas and just isolated pockets like The Junction, Kensington or Roncey just to name a few.

Ben Navaee Gallery on East Queen Street is one of those funky up-and-coming places. Old, new, chic and shabby all at the same time. Ben provides as much a community service as an art gallery. No art snobs here, just a good place to be, go to see some local art and exhibit/share ideas with other artists. Go to see art in the spacious gallery and maybe end up in a Yoga class.

I’ll have about a dozen pieces on exhibit March 13-22. There will be a simple reception 3:30 pm on Saturday March 14. Stop by and say hello if you’re around.

The Hangman Gallery has a special place in my heart. I had one of my my first exhibits there after my third coming. Many emerging artists get their first chance to exhibit here. I have a small studio in the back of the gallery, but, alas, have had little time to spend there … I’ll try to stop by more often if I can get art life a tad more focused.

756 Queen Street East, Toronto Ontario, M4M 1H4
416.465.0302
Open 12-5 Tuesday - Sunday


http://web.me.com/rachelconduit/TheArtistsNetwork/Current_Show.html

The last time I exhibited the work currently on display at Hangman was last May at The Vogue Room, a now de-funked nightclub. I had to do battle with the Toronto Sheriff to get my work out of hock … artists beware.

The theme is big and splashy … I actually attempted to capture the math of a champagne party and it somehow worked. Exhibit will be up until March 8.

For the Month of February I’ll be exhibiting at the Rainbow Artist Gallery. The exhibit is hosted by Art for All Canada. www.artforallcanada.org
Sheila Mithchell heads up this organization and actively seeks out venues for artists to display their works. Sheila, incidentally, has an exhibit of her own this month.

The Rainbow space is quite unique. It is located on Front Street in Toronto’s Lawrence Market. It has a sort of art-deco commercial feeling and has a huge amount of traffic. Certainly, most folks are rushing off for popcorn and pop … and more likely to pay attention to the movie trailers than art … but some do stop. It really is the artist’s responsibility to get people to look.

Sculptor Fran Bouvman www.franbouwman.com has some truly creative work here along with Diane Feaver.

This is a nice opportunity to catch a flick and enjoy some interesting art.

Group Show at Ben Navaee Gallery

Will be in group show at Ben Navaee Gallery Oct 20-29. This is a Fall members show and there will be some interesting and very talented fellow artists exhibiting. Recpetion is on Saturday Oct 25 3:30-5:00pm and should be fun, especialy if you live on the Eastside of Toronto. Ben always puts out a neat spread and there will be live music.

Spending Nuit Blanche at Ben Navaee Gallery!

This weekend I’ll be hanging at Ben Navaee Gallery for the annual Toronto Nuit Balnche event. For those not from the Toronto area this is now like Halloween for artists. Dance, Art, Poetry, Music and whatever else can be dreamed up. The pressure is off and anything (well almost anything) goes. I’ve contributed 3 small pieces to the walls. What you can expect is lots of new and old artists just relaxing together with the public invited.

Winding Down at Lens Factory

This will be the final weekend for my exhibit at the Lens Factory. Located in the heart of the Queen Street West gallery district it was a new experience. If you don’t learn something from each exhibit than it has certainly been a waste … this gig was full of lessons … some not very profound.

The hanging was interrupted by a Labour Day Parade. Me and my art on the south side of Queen Street and the gallery on the north side. It took about an hour to cross a 40ft road and by then the parade was over anyway. Lesson #1 … maybe when life puts up barriers look for a bar instead of a solution … things might just work themselves out … especially parades.

Opening reception was under the shadow of Toronto’s TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and a broken toilet at the gallery. Turns out some of my friends were involved with the TIFF and still others blocked by the Queen Street Galas downtown that seemed in conflict with the streetcars. Some showed but the day was saved by the Queen Street gallery folks. A constant stream of viewers for two hours. Most of those invited turned up over the course of the month so overall it was a good show. Lesson #2 … location plays a huge role when it comes to off-the-street traffic. Wine and beer also help

Many thanks to gallery owner Leonard V. for his lay back help.

Exhibit at Lens Factory September 2008

The Lens Factory is located in the heart of Toronto's Queen Street West "gallery alley" ... lots of fun to stroll and browse ... at least until it becomes ultra hip and the condos and lofts start.

For this and upcoming fall shows I've done a series of new works on canvas ... worth a visit.