Opening Reception: March 13, 2015 / 6 – 9 p.m.
Gallery 44
401 Richmind Street West
Running from only March 13th to 21st at Gallery 44 is the exhibition Photopia 2015, a feast of photographs by a few dozen of the city’s most creative photographers. This year Gallery 44 also celebrated its 35th anniversary with Photopia. With an exciting selection of framed and unframed artwork, affordable editions, and one-of-a-kind photo and lens-based pieces, you can treat your walls to new artwork.
Top row: Highway 70, Chestnut Mound, Tennessee by Nathan Cyrprys (left); Nachtweh Fonds by Blake Fitzpatrick and Vid Ingelevics (right). Bottom row: Toronto Chinese Methodist Church Choir Room by Morris Lum (left); Oslick by Jamie Campbell (right)
Scan Failure #2, 2015 by Toni Hafkenscheid
ʻulu (Artocapris Altilis), 2015 by Brendan George Ko (bottom left)
The opening reception was bursting at the seams with visitors. The majority of the time the front of house was packed with people, making entrance into the space immediately intimate and not so easy. The turn up comes as no surprise seeing as the Gallery/Non-profit Centre has been up and running since 1979. It is a staple on Toronto’s art scene for its initiative in the realm of photography. Every photograph on display was up for sale and is likely to go fast. The energy in the room at opening was electric. A DJ/MC did a great job of adding even more life to the evening, as attendee’s weaved in and out of the crowds taking in all of the pieces. With each of the three rooms in the gallery, images, barring no relation to one another, are arranged in a salon style display. Allot yourself quite some time if dropping in. There is no shortage on what to view. I found myself moving almost in a figure eight through the crowd, heading back to certain areas to look at a piece again and again.
Photopia felt like a smorgasbord of work attempting to feed any visually-varied appetite. Gallery 44’s walls offered an assortment of color, subject matter, hue, composition and general creativity. No one photograph was quite like the other. If in the area during its week you must step in to see what Photopia has to offer.
Text and photo: Kate Pendergast
*Exhibition information: March 13 – 21, 2015, Gallery 44 | Centre for Contemporary Photography, 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue – Sat 11 – 5 p.m.