New Exhibition at Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery by artist Bernadette Peets

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The Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery is excited to announce an exhibition of works by Akin Dupont member, Bernadette Peets. Located at 1485 Dupont Street, on the second floor of the building, this miniature gallery offers a unique viewing experience to visitors in the building.

Images above: Colourful multi-media artworks by Bernadette Peets. Each piece 12”x12”. Titles in order from left to right: “Clouds”, “Crane River 4” and “Little Pond”.

About the Exhibition
In this latest exhibition, Peets invites us to explore her series of "small layered landscapes." These pieces are more than representations of physical spaces; they are windows to the emotions and sensations experienced within them. Created initially en plein air, these artworks were later transformed in her studio with the addition of striking neon plexiglass layers.

The result is these colourful pieces with depth that beckon viewers to engage with the art from various angles and perspectives, much like one would naturally experience in a real landscape. The swift, loose execution of these pieces contrasts beautifully with the deliberate layering, creating a dynamic visual experience that is both stimulating and thought-provoking.

 

About the Artist
”In my practise of nearly 30 years, I have been constantly searching for ways to express my thoughts, ideas and feelings sincerely and honestly. I am weary of becoming known for my ‘style’ or recurring themes as this would not reflect who I am as a person. I am constantly growing and evolving and my art reflects this as well.

Over the years I have worked with many tools, materials and methods and I have always tried to match the medium with the subject matter as a way to reinforce and strengthen the work.”

Bernadette’s foundation in drawing and painting, coupled with her extensive experience in theatre design, costume, and prop making, has equipped her with a diverse skill set. This versatility allows her to seamlessly blend various materials and techniques, from sculptural works and installations to multi-layered 2D images.

“There is often a subtle message in my work that invites the viewer to invest some time to look beneath the surface and to involve them in a participatory way.”

Visit www.bernadettepeets.com for more of Bernadette’s creative work.

Image Description: Artist Bernadette Peets in her studio working on a painting. Bernadette is holding a paintbrush up to a large canvas which has a work-in-progress painting in bright orange and blue paint. Image couretsy of www.bernadettepeets.com

 

About the Gallery
The Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery is a space dedicated to showcasing the diverse talents of Akin Dupont studio members. It's a small window gallery that faces the hallway, offering a novel and accessible way for the public to engage with art. Nestled beside Ink & Water Tattoo, and just down the hall from Franz Kaka Gallery. The building is open to the public from 8am-8pm.

Akin’s 2023 Career Launcher Winners Announced!

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Akin is excited to announce Damon Couto-Hill and Veerta Kumar as our OCADU Career Launcher award recipients for 2023-24. We’re excited to welcome them into the community! 

These talented graduating OCAD students will be awarded $2,000 in credits to go towards a studio space at one of Akin’s studio locations for 2023-2024. In addition to the $2,000 studio credit, each recipient will receive $450 exhibition credit for use at Akin’s Remote Gallery. 

Image Description: Damon Couto-Hill looks directly to the camera in this close up shot of his face and shoulders. Damon has short brown hair, and brown eyes. Damon is wearing a red, blue, white and black striped collared shirt. Behind Damon is a room with white walls, out of focus. 

Damon Couto-Hill is a Portuguese/Mohawk man and an interdisciplinary visual artist. He is a Six Nations of the Grand River member who grew up in Scarborough and currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He works with digital collages to entangle his body with images of Canada, nature, the Western art canon, and the internet to visualize the dysfunctions of Western collective consciousness through an intuitive, dream-like lens. He then translates the digital collage into physical form as fragmented wood panels painted in acrylic and oil, making the image again upon the scattered shards of a slanted mosaic. 

Instagram: @damond.liver

Image Description: Veerta Kumar is smiling beside a large artwork. Veerta has curly black hair and wears a black, shirt with an asymmetrical neckline. The artwork, to Veerta’s left, are bright, colourful circles mounted on a black background. Each circle contains  are backlit, translucent photographs . The circles contain photographs

Veerta Kumar was born in India in 1999 and lives and works in Toronto. She considers the flux, chaos, and fragments of our perceptions to decolonize modes of re-presentation and re-creation. In the past year, she observed the interaction of paint and light and engaged in various modes of making and materials, including ornamentation, textiles, found materials, family album photos, personal photography,  and digital manipulation.

Kumar completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting in 2023 from OCAD University. She received the John Madott Fine Art Award for her recent body of work Tedhi Nazar exhibited at Grad Ex 108.

Website:  www.veertakumar.ca
Instagram: @_veertakumar

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts

#BringingTheArtsToLife @Canada.Council

On now: Three exhibitions featuring Akin Members Jen Arron, Marcia Bianchi & Hana Elmasry

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Are you feeling the winter blues? Need some inspiration? Try going out to see some art! These three exhibitions are happening right now, featuring Akin Studio members Jen Arron, Marcia Bianchi & Hana Elmasry.

Image Description: Three large textile weavings hand on a white wall. The weavings have a variety of textures and materials and are blue, white and black in colour. Artwork by Jen Arron.

Jen Arron: Selected Works and Studies

On until: March 8th, 2023
Where: The Lobby by Heaps Estrin, 1120 Yonge Street, Toronto
Gallery hours: Mon-Wed 10am-6pm / Thu-Fri: 10am-7pm / Sat: 10am-6pm / Sun: 11am-5pm

Jen Arron is a studio-based textile artist in Toronto. She works with globally sourced fibers to create works that have scale & presence. Weaving entirely by hand, in a freestyle approach, Jen’s large-scale woven pieces explore our connection through time, geography, and materials. There is an ecosystem of life in each of Jen Arron’s pieces. Jen’s process embodies her search for the unique feeling of discovering what she would like to come upon in her work. www.jenarron.com

Image Description: The background shows a close-up of a painting by Marcia Bianchi in swirling shapes and brown and cream colours. ON the left side of the image is white text with the exhibition information.

Marcia Bianchi: Emotive Distance

On until: January 29th, 2023
Where: Gallery 1313 in the Cell Gallery, 1313 Queen St West, Toronto
Gallery hours: Wed-Sat 1pm-5pm, Sun 1pm-4pm

Emotive Distance is a group of oil paintings that focuses on the female form, drawing from various influences including contemporary photography and ancient European sculpture. This series invites the viewer to mimic the stillness present in each painting, and contemplate their own inner state, starting with where they find discomfort. The intention is to enter the void through recognizing that which stands out to us about the work, and following it. Click here to learn more about the exhibition.

Marcia Bianchi is a contemporary figurative artist based in Toronto, Canada. Her work has evolved since pursuing a career in graphic design, when she began fusing the design principles with canvas. Heavily influenced by psychology and the exploration  of the mind, her intention is to create pieces that will allow the viewer to experience a moment of ease.  Her practice continues to evolve as she explores mediums and muses. marciabianchi.ca

Image above: An abstoract Painting by Hana Elmasry with a variety of shapes and colours

Hana Elmasry: To be conceived, group exhibition

On until: February 18th, 2023
Where: Corkin Gallery, 7 Tank House Lane
Gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am-6pm

From memories of cityscapes or the openness of the universe to the intimacy of floral motifs, To be conceived  brings  together the work Corkin Gallery’s represented artists. The exhibition commemorates recent creations in conversation with iconic bodies of work that continue enriching aesthetic dialogues. Click here to learn more about the exhibition.

Hana Elmasry investigates identity, visual expression and therapy. Through memories, the artist focuses on creating a visual cosmos, making reference at times to a connection with her Egyptian heritage. Creating a constellation of small-scale canvases, each work is also a universe unto itself. Each piece is wholly unique, often integrating collage and diverse materials within a peaceful palette; some works explore the limits of the canvas by deconstructing the traditional frame. Elmasry frequently adds materials that become a pleasure to the senses, like oils and reptile skin, achieving a multisensory experience of reflection. Hana Elmasry is represented by Corkin Gallery.

Over 70 artists featured at Akin winter art event!

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Written by Charlotte Van Ryn

Image above: A view of the Clark Centre from the outside. The night sky is dark blue and black, and the Clark Centre is brightly lit inside. A person on the street walks towards the building.

This December, Akin is host to a Winter Arts Market and Exhibition at the Clark Centre in Scarborough, nestled in the beautiful, historic Guildwood Park. It’s the perfect place to pick up one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones this holiday season, and view three floors of artwork on display by participating artists!

The event is highlighting Akin artists among artists from Scarborough and the surrounding area. Theresa Hopkins’ self reflective, whimsical portrait and Wandy Cheng’s floral, playful paintings were selected as featured Scarborough Artists. 

Image description: Jennie Town sits at her booth at the Winter and Arts Market. Her hair is in braids and she’s wearing a black hat and glasses. Jennie is sewing into a piece of birch bark. On her table is a large display of jewelry, dreamcatchers and handmade crafts. 

The event kicked off last weekend; upstairs, the market was in full swing. Prints, ceramics, even holiday decorations were on full display. Jennie Town, pictured above, had a beautiful selection of birch bark earrings, dream catchers, handmade deer hide drums and willowwork.  A multidisciplinary indigenous artist, and a Scarboroughlocal, Jennie is passionate about Guildwood park and the Clarke Centre, for which she attended the local planning meetings before it was built. 

Image Description: A long white wall inside the Clark Centre displays a series of hanged paintings. Two people stand in front of a large painting at the end of the hal

Paintings and sculpture cover the walls on all three floors of the Clark Centre. Notably, the exhibition Through A Hundred Windows features work from artists who were given the same base material, a wooden “window”,  but styled their own way.  Hung side by side, they create a unified, yet singularly unique look. Through a Hundred Windows will be up all month - all works are for sale directly through the artist and 100% of the proceeds from every sale go direct to the artist. Interested in purchasing work from the exhibition? Click here to see a list of participating artists. 

If you missed last weekend’s market, fear not! There’s another weekend market coming up, December 10 and 11 from 11-6 to pick up holiday gifts for friends and family. The exhibition will be up until December 18th, and can be visited any day of the week. Click here to find out more about the event and the participating artists. 

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
@CanadaCouncil  #BringingTheArtsToLife