Affordable Art Round-up!

Sarah Clifford-Rashotte: Stacey (2010). Print of photo-collage, editions of 10, 8 x 10 inches. Price: $175Sarah Clifford-Rashotte: Model mash-ups

Clifford-Rashotte is among a new generation of young female artists coming of age in a culture that, more than ever, bombards young women with conflicting images of what they ‘should’ be. Clifford-Rashotte usually works on a large scale, making drawings with collage elements that cast a detached, critical eye not only on her own life experiences but over cultural trends around female identity in general. Accompanying her large scale work at her recent show at her Toronto gallery, LE, Clifford-Rashotte showed a series of nine photo-collages of models from fashion magazines, their facial features mixed and matched, resulting in jarring, cartoonish masks. While critiques of the fashion industry’s images of women are nothing new, the poke-in-the-eye directness of these collages feels refreshing.

Greg Girard: Condemned Neighbourhood, Renmin Lu (2004). Inkjet print, edition of 25, 28 x 34 inches (framed). Price: $1,500.Greg Girard and Jon Sasaki: Editions for Charity

Ever since it was founded in 1988, Casey House’s goal has been to provide exemplary treatment, support and palliative care for people affected by HIV/AIDS. This year, Casey House’s biggest fundraising event, the contemporary Canadian art auction Art with Heart, takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the Carlu in downtown Toronto. Bidding gets fierce at this auction, but you don’t need deep pockets to support the cause and get some terrific art in the process. Two exclusive, affordable editions are produced each year for Art with Heart. This year, the editions are by Shanghai-based Canadian photographer Greg Girard and Toronto up-and-comer Jon Sasaki.

Girard’s image comes from his ongoing series documenting the rapid transformation of the city of Shanghai, as modern developments encroach on older neighbourhoods. Girard’s photographs of the city feel cinematic with their saturated colours and dramatic lighting. Greg Girard is represented by Clark & Faria in Toronto and Monte Clark Gallery in Vancouver. Girard’s first monograph, Phantom Shanghai, was produced by Magenta Publishing for the Arts in 2007, and Girard speaks with Magenta about his recent photo project in Hanoi in this issue.

Jon Sasaki: Skeleton Key to Many Cities (2010). Cast pewter with a black velvet case, edition of 125, 1.5 x 5.5 inches. Price: $125Jon Sasaki, who was long-listed for this year’s Sobey Art Award, has produced a sculpture that plays with the notion of ‘the key to a city’. Sasaki’s video, sculptural and photographic work often addresses the idea of people’s aspirations (often frustrated or only achieved after a lot of struggle) in a wry and humourous way. His ‘key to many cities’ can be interpreted in a couple of different ways: either that most people have unrealistic aspirations, or, more positively, it could serve as a reminder that there is a big world out there, full of excitement and waiting for us. Sasaki is represented by Jessica Bradley Art + Projects in Toronto.

Jason McLean: Mild Toronto Observation (2010). Hand printed, three-colour serigraph on black Maidstone paper, 23-7/8 x 17-3/8 inches, edition of 30 with five artist proofs. Price: $300Jason McLean: Toronto Wanderer

Emerging artist Jason McLean seems to enjoy city living. His loopy, dense drawings chart his walks around the neighbourhoods in which he’s lived, his hand converting landmarks into fanciful shapes. Originally from Vancouver, McLean now lives in Toronto, and his recent print with Paul + Wendy Projects is based on an earlier drawing from 2000, Mild Toronto Observation, which charted his wanderings around Toronto’s West End. McLean has reproduced the black and white line drawing in white and grey tones against a black background, giving the work additional visual impact. It also feels a bit elegaic, as if McLean is in mourning for a Queen St. West that is now quickly gentrifying. McLean is represented by Jessica Bradley Art + Projects in Toronto and Allegra LaViola Gallery in New York.

Kerri Reid: Drips (2010). Ceramic, dimensions variable. Price: $5 each.Kerri Reid: Drip Drops

In the 1940s, Jackson Pollock revolutionized painting with his poured and dripped painting technique, and artists seem to have been grappling with the legacy of the drip ever since. (As recently as 2008, Rodney Graham created a series of ‘inverted drip paintings’.) On a humbler (and affordable) scale, Canadian artist Kerri Reid has created her own series of drips — white ceramic casts of dollops of paint — that seem to stick it to the notion that painting is a dying art. Reid’s charming little painterly nuggets are made to stand the test of time. Available through www.allcitizens.org.

Michael Dumontier: Two Envelopes (2010). Screenprint on Artique Conservation Mat Board, 22 x 30 inches, edition of 15. Price: $500.Michael Dumontier: Maximum Minimalism

Winnipeg-based artist Michael Dumontier seems to have mastered the making of spare, minimalist work that still manages to hold one’s attention while maintaining an element of playfulness, as well. His latest print, produced collaboratively by The Other Gallery and Martha Street Studios, depicts just what its title says, Two Envelopes. Rather than simply being two envelopes, however, the image becomes a study in interlocking triangular shapes, with the sharp white forms jumping out at the viewer from a neutral background. Dumontier, who was a founding member of the Royal Art Lodge, is represented by The Other Gallery in Winnipeg, and his work can be found in the collections of the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

Angus Rowe McPherson: Hunting, from the series Hunting and Fishing, 2008. Available at Eye Buy Art: $25 for an 8 x 10 print from an edition of 250 up to $1,000 for a 30 x 40-inch print from an edition of five.Eye Buy Art: Photography Fanatics

Eye Buy Art’s slogan is ‘because art makes life better’, and we couldn’t agree more! This Toronto-based online gallery features art by emerging photographers from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. If you’re interested in starting a photography collection, here would be a good place to start, especially if you don’t have a lot of money. Most of the artists produce their images in several different sizes with correspondingly higher prices; the number the photographer will print at a particular size also decreases as the dimensions and price increase. Visitors to the site can browse the photographs by price, size, even dominant colour palette. Our favourite works currently available on the site? Eamon McMahon’s evocative landscapes, Angus Rowe McPherson’s cinematic tableaux, Robyn McCallum’s retro photo-collages, Caleb Charland’s playful experiments with light, and Joakim Boren’s high-rise apartment facades. Trust us, there is an image here for everyone.