Shirley Wiitasalo
17 Apr - 24 May 2014
Shirley Wiitasalo
17 April - 24 May
Toronto, ON – opening on Thursday, 17 April from 7 to 9 p.m., and continuing through to 24 May 2014, Susan Hobbs Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Shirley Wiitasalo.
Shirley Wiitasalo’s paintings demonstrate what critic Barry Schwabsky has called, in his catalogue essay for her 2001 solo exhibition at The Power Plant, “the ineffability effect.” Her paintings hold a certain inscrutable power, of image and non-image, of feigned “haphazard” marks that are actually the result of a deliberate and selective working practice. In this exhibition, she presents two suites of paintings, all of which were created using a transfer process. Among the paintings on the first floor, bold colours like teal, orange, and pink fill each frame, each one interrupted by distinct floating fields held in place by ribbon-like boundaries. In the paintings on view on the gallery’s second floor, Wiitasalo has laid down parallel bands of black paint over metallic silver grounds. Variations in the opacity of the paint or the pressure of its application cause the stripes to undulate and fold as they run across the canvas. Here, the eye strains to see the residual ghost of an image, but as always, Wiitasalo’s paintings prefer not to divulge any of their secrets. They remain comfortably, and agreeably, elusive.
Shirley Wiitasalo was born in Toronto and continues to live and work here. Recent exhibitions include Goodwater, Toronto; Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax; Galerie René Blouin, Montréal and Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton. In 2000, The Power Plant hosted a major exhibition of her work, and produced a catalogue with an essay by Barry Schwabsky. Her work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario; Musée des beaux arts, Montréal; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Art Gallery of Hamilton; Department of Foreign Affairs and numerous private collections. In 2011 she received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art. She teaches in the Department of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto.
Susan Hobbs Gallery is open to the public Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment. The gallery is located at 137 Tecumseth Street, Toronto.
For more information about this exhibition or the Susan Hobbs Gallery, please call (416) 504.3699 or visit www.susanhobbs.com.
17 April - 24 May
Toronto, ON – opening on Thursday, 17 April from 7 to 9 p.m., and continuing through to 24 May 2014, Susan Hobbs Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Shirley Wiitasalo.
Shirley Wiitasalo’s paintings demonstrate what critic Barry Schwabsky has called, in his catalogue essay for her 2001 solo exhibition at The Power Plant, “the ineffability effect.” Her paintings hold a certain inscrutable power, of image and non-image, of feigned “haphazard” marks that are actually the result of a deliberate and selective working practice. In this exhibition, she presents two suites of paintings, all of which were created using a transfer process. Among the paintings on the first floor, bold colours like teal, orange, and pink fill each frame, each one interrupted by distinct floating fields held in place by ribbon-like boundaries. In the paintings on view on the gallery’s second floor, Wiitasalo has laid down parallel bands of black paint over metallic silver grounds. Variations in the opacity of the paint or the pressure of its application cause the stripes to undulate and fold as they run across the canvas. Here, the eye strains to see the residual ghost of an image, but as always, Wiitasalo’s paintings prefer not to divulge any of their secrets. They remain comfortably, and agreeably, elusive.
Shirley Wiitasalo was born in Toronto and continues to live and work here. Recent exhibitions include Goodwater, Toronto; Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax; Galerie René Blouin, Montréal and Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton. In 2000, The Power Plant hosted a major exhibition of her work, and produced a catalogue with an essay by Barry Schwabsky. Her work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario; Musée des beaux arts, Montréal; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Art Gallery of Hamilton; Department of Foreign Affairs and numerous private collections. In 2011 she received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art. She teaches in the Department of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto.
Susan Hobbs Gallery is open to the public Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment. The gallery is located at 137 Tecumseth Street, Toronto.
For more information about this exhibition or the Susan Hobbs Gallery, please call (416) 504.3699 or visit www.susanhobbs.com.