Tag: Toronto

Bird in Hand

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery128 Comments

A mural for the coming spring.

I travelled across the city to Greek Town.

I found 5 works of art worth posting, 2 ruined by the sun’s shadows, 1 for just in case and 1 WTF.

All in all a fabulous day!

The day was made even better by the wonderful vibes, shops, restaurant patios and people in Greek Town.

I would definitely consider moving there when we eventually downsize. It’s a beautiful lifestyle.

Pics taken by Resa – March 4, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artists:

Adrienne Trent – Burdens

On By ResaIn Interviews, Sculptures96 Comments

This truly unique and fascinating collection of sculptures has caught my imagination.

It’s found in the temporary space of John B. Aird Gallery, housed in the Artscape building at 906 Queen W. during renovations of its home at MacDonald block.

Artist Adrienne Trent (pictured below) says, “the focus of installation work is not usually about sales, unless to a museum”.

Therefore she is able to project her mind’s eye without the yoke of commerciality. Hers is an honest  exposé of “art for art’s sake”.

About 2 years ago, photos of Adrienne’s  art was fed into an AI program. It came up with the image you see below. She decided to create an actual sculptural collection based on what she saw.

 Below is the result. So, a reflection is added to the mirror of art imitating life and/or life imitating art : Art – imitating artificial intelligence imitating art imitating life that is possibly life imitating art, ad infinitum.

Adrienne created the sculptures using gesso plaster and old curtains from The Goodwill.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When I asked Adrienne how she came up with the title “Burdens”; she replied that she was at home when asked, on the spot, for the working title. She looked around her home, and answered “Burdens”.

Although not raised in the house she bought as an adult, it had been in her family for 6 generations. This has kept her reticent to fully renovate the original heritage. That respect was a burden. The name stuck.

John B. Aird Gallery is one of the few avant garde galleries to show in Toronto. For me it was a breath of fresh air, after strolling through certain posh downtown galleries where there’s seemingly a second coming of Andy Warhol, and commercialized street art on canvas.

The collection of 4 at the rear of the room is sustainable art from an earlier show. I love this. Some of the items include:

An old used easel, baskets, snowshoe, baseball mitt, license plate, violin, muffin tin, plaster head, rusty can, broken chair, wheel of sorts and is that a paper cup?

The show runs until March 23, 2024. Go on a Saturday, and Adrienne will be there to talk with.

Photos (except for poster) © Resa McConaghy

Night Owl

On By ResaIn Street Art138 Comments

Owls are largely nocturnal hunters.

They might hunt from a tree like my tree (aka Resa’s Tree), which lives on Tim’s Magic Tree Sanctuary

However, I found this owl in the daytime.

You’ll notice no owls in my daytime tree!

This owl is actually sitting on rocks by porch steps.

As day closes…

My tree awaits.

Owl Pics taken by Resa – February 21, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

Tree pics © Timothy Price.