A return to the North (Harris pt. 2)

Sunday was just not a great day, or at least I had trouble getting started.  I got some work done, though not enough (probably I was spending more time blogging) and then I had to get the groceries.  In the end, I didn't leave the house until 1:05 to try to get down to the AGO by 2.  I have no idea what happened, but the TTC was just not running well at all.  I had checked the service announcements and they only said the Jones bus was going to be affected by some Danforth event, but there was no Pape bus in either direction for 15 minutes.  I was starting to panic, and by this time it was too late to ride my bike (I could have done that if I had set out to bike from the start).  Ultimately I had to walk over the bridge to the mall just to find a cab that would pick me up!

So I was not too happy.  In the end I ended up spending about as much as I would have on a ticket (I was going to a free concert at the AGO).  I made it to the concert, but it was a very close thing.  Anyway, I tried to relax and enjoy the music (mostly successfully) and read a bit more of Vladislavic's The Loss Library.

Since I was already there, I spent a bit more time looking at the Lawren Harris paintings up in Thomson Collection.  I thought these three would fit well into the exhibition that Steven Martin is curating, but they obviously have not made the trip.

Lawren Harris, Lake Superior Sketch XIII, ca. 1926

Lawren Harris, Baffin Island Mountains, ca. 1931

Lawren Harris, South Shore Bylot Island, 1931

In the course of looking up the painting details, I found this other view of Bylot Island (below).  This painting is owned by the Vancouver Art Gallery, and it was in their 2014 Harris exhibition.  I am not sure if it has been included in the new show, currently down in L.A.  I'll report back once I can verify one way or the other.

Lawren Harris, Mount Thule, Bylot Island, 1930

I had just a bit of time to kill, and I went over to the Bau-Xi Gallery.  (The painting gallery was open, but not the photography gallery, since they needed to staff the booth at the Toronto Art Expo.  I'm sort of sorry I didn't go, but honestly I just was not up for any more crowds this weekend.  Maybe next year...)

The one painting that really caught my attention was by an artist they just added to their roster, Chris Temple.  I actually found this painting really uncomfortable, as if was going to trigger agoraphobia (as far as I know I don't actually suffer from this).  I might see what else Mr. Temple is up to down the road.

Chris Temple, Park, ca. 2013-15

Then I ran next door to the Art Square Cafe and Gallery.  They had a one-man exhibition by Johny Deluna.  I thought these were quite colorful, interesting pieces.  There were a few elements that reminded me of Jim Flora, but then the way he covered most of the canvas with dots within dots reminded me just a bit of Vance Kirkland or Chris Ofili (though with Ofili you often have to get very close to the surface to see the second level of dots -- as with the picture below).

Chris Ofili, No Woman, No Cry, 1998

As it happened, Deluna was there, and I chatted very briefly with him.  He said he had never heard of Jim Flora before.  I didn't ask about Kirkland or Ofili. There were a few pieces I liked in the show, though none quite enough to actually acquire one.  This one (The Long Road Home) may have my favorite.

After this, I did go into the office for a while.  I didn't get everything I needed to get done, but I made some headway.  I do hope I am not feeling quite so behind next weekend, since I have a lot more obligations, including taking the kids out on Halloween and probably giving out candy the rest of the night.