FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MOCCA Launches a Transformative Summer
Exhibition Program!!
TORONTO, Ontario, June 18, 2012 – The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is pleased to launch our Summer 2012 program, featuring the exhibitions trans/FORM: matter as subject > new perspectives and The Shape of Things, with a launch party on June 22, from 8-10pm.
trans/FORM: matter as subject > new perspectives is the most recent installment of MOCCA’s ongoing PLATFORM TORONTO series of exhibitions, initiated in 2002, showcasing the current practices and histories of the Toronto contemporary art scene. Jaime Angelopoulos, Georgia Dickie, Aleksander Hardashnakov, Niall McClelland, Derrick Piens, Sasha Pierce, Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, and Hugh Scott-Douglas explore 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.
The exhibition is organized and presented by MOCCA and curated by Artistic Director and Curator David Liss. A book on themes related to trans/FORM will be published following the exhibition.
For our widely acclaimed National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art program, MOCCA presents The Shape of Things, showcasing iconic works from the 1960s to the present. The Shape of Things examines the translation of form from one state to another while tracing a shifting attitude toward a more engaged viewing experience. In this exhibition a dynamic tension is created between pieces by Joseph Albers, Ron Martin, Luanne Martineau, Elizabeth McIntosh, Claude Tousignant and Richard Tuttle as notions of pure geometry and colour are materialized and then deconstructed in hybrid works that inhabit the gallery. The Shape of Things is organized by MOCCA and the National Gallery of Canada and curated by National Gallery Curator of Contemporary Art Josée Drouin-Brisebois and David Liss.
Our summer program also includes these spectacular special features:
The MOCCA Media Space will be designed by SMASH, a Toronto-based retailer of high-quality vintage materials, furnishings, and fixtures, and in the outdoor courtyard Toronto-based artist, curator and writer Julia Kennedy presents her Peace Flags Project, inspired by Tibetan prayer flags, featuring 40 Canadian artists who have each contributed their own flags for an installation that is a meditation on peace and freedom not only in Tibet, but the world over. The Peace Flags Project is generously supported by Murray and Chris Quinn, MOCCA and the participating artists.
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.
The event on June 22nd will also mark the launch of our new, free down-loadable MOCCA mobile APP containing special features, information and an artist project by Tasman Richardson – all designed to enhance the visitor experience at MOCCA!!
Links / URLs
- Learn more about trans/FORM
- Learn more about The Shape of Things
- Learn more about the NGC@MOCCA program
Quote
- David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, MOCCA
“This summer’s extensive series of exhibitions and projects is possibly our most ambitious slate of programming to date and extends MOCCA’s ambition to make significant contributions to the lively cultural life of our great city.”
Tags / Keywords
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA, National Gallery of Canada, NGC, NGC@MOCCA, trans/FORM: matter as subject > new perspectives, PLATFORM TORONTO, Jaime Angelopoulos, Georgia Dickie, Aleksander Hardashnakov, Niall McClelland, Derrick Piens, Sasha Pierce, Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, Hugh Scott-Douglas, The Shape of Things, Joseph Albers, Ron Martin, Luanne Martineau, Elizabeth McIntosh, Claude Tousignant, Richard Tuttle, SMASH, Julia Kennedy, Peace Flags Project, Artists-on Artist, MOCCA mobile APP, Tasman Richardson
About the National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art
The National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is a three-year program that sees the two institutions co-organize and co-present a series of exclusive exhibitions in MOCCA’s newly-renovated project space, drawn from the NGC’s exceptional contemporary art collection. These include the presentation of single works, new acquisitions or full-scale exhibitions designed to complement MOCCA’s existing programming. Learn more about the NGC@MOCCA program.
About the NGC http://www.gallery.ca/
About MOCCA
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999, with the mandate to exhibit, research, collect, and promote innovative art by Canadian and non-Canadian artists whose works engage and reflect the relevant stories of our times. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to the West Queen West Art + Design District in downtown Toronto, in the heart of one of North America’s most dynamic arts communities and functions effectively as a nucleus of energies for cultural production and exchange. Since 2006, MOCCA draws 40,000 visitors annually.
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Supporters
The National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is generously supported by AXA Art Canada, Cineplex Media, World MasterCard® and The Ouellette Family Foundation. The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is grateful for the patronage of THE ART DEPT., a leadership circle of MOCCA patrons.
All programs and activities of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art are supported by Toronto Culture, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, BMO Financial Group, Cisco Canada, The Hal Jackman Foundation, individual memberships and private donations.
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Media Contact
Fayiaz Chunara
Head, Communications and Marketing
416.395.7490
fchunara@mocca.ca