June 22 – August 12, 2012
This exhibition features eight Toronto artists exploring new approaches to producing artworks whose meaning and essence are revealed through the materials from which they are made. Working primarily in recognizable media such as painting, sculpture and installation, they combine found, vernacular and traditional materials with lo-tech, industrial and handcrafted processes. Astutely resourceful, informed by various conceptual strategies and working with an open attitude of experimentation, their inventive processes are meant to animate the latent expressive potential of matter, transforming materials into a coherent, poetic language of form. For these artists materiality is the core subject of their work. trans/FORM presents new perspectives on form, meaning and material that are essential to the -very definition of art. trans/FORM is the most recent installment of MOCCA’s ongoing PLATFORM TORONTO series of exhibitions, initiated in 2002, showcasing the histories and practices of the Toronto contemporary art scene. Previous exhibitions in the series include Synthetic Psychosis, (2002), examining new approaches to painting; Impulse Archaeology, (2005), celebrating the seminal 1980s art magazine Impulse; Love/Hate: New Crowned Glory in the G.T.A., (2007), a broad survey of divergent practices and trends; Empire of Dreams, (2010), a thematic exhibition exploring our relationships to the built environment; and This Is Paradise, (2011), a retrospective survey of the art scene in Toronto during the 1980s. In addition to the exhibition’s focus on materiality, trans/FORM features work by an emerging generation of artists living and working in Toronto. The exhibition is organized by MOCCA and is curated by Artistic Director and Curator, David Liss.
Jamie Angelopoulos/ Georgia Dickie/ Aleksander Hardashnakov/ Niall McClelland/ Derrick Piens/ Sasha Pierce/ Jennifer Rose Sciarrino/ Hugh Scott-Douglas Curated by David Liss Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art
Installation Shots
Opening Reception
Friday June 22, 8 – 10 pm
Programming
Curator and Artist Talks Engaged with the theme of trans/FORM, MOCCA is also presenting a 3-part public programming initiative Artists-on Artists, featuring participating artists and guests such as National Gallery of Canada Chief Conservator John McElhone and Toronto writer Saelan Twerdy, generously supported by the Hal Jackman Foundation.
