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CAROUSEL Magazine
Special Project

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Curated by Mark Laliberte
Toronto / June, 2012

"By flipping the concept of the art gallery inside-out, window galleries expose people of all ages,
backgrounds and histories to a diverse selection of work utilizing a wide range of media. They allow the public to experience
contemporary, experimental art comfortably and conveniently. The preconceptions of art gallery etiquette and protocol
become non-issues at street level. There’s no threshold to cross. There’s no dress code in effect.
The intimidation and boundaries of a traditional gallery disappear. Only the art remains."

— excerpted from “The Gallery is Always Open”
by Jason Paradiso, CAROUSEL 29

WNDW is a multi-site project that links a cross-section of Toronto’s independent street-level window galleries for the first time, exploring how vacant windows in downtown cores are transformed into unquestionably accessible, 24-hour walk-by galleries. Taking place throughout June, artists Robert Dayton, Larry Eisenstein, Happy Sleepy (the collaborative duo of Marc Ngui and Magda Wojtyra), Eunice Luk and Magda Trzaski take on these playful and sometimes challenging spaces, presenting five new, solo artworks united under a common curatorial umbrella. Participating spaces include WINDOW BOX G1313, FINE & DANDY, HOWARD PARK INSTITUTE, ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS and *QUEENSPECIFIC.
		WNDW is the latest installment of the 'Carousel Exhibition Series' — occasional gallery shows that bring together groups of artists, who have, through their practice and aesthetic, strongly connected to the community developing around CAROUSEL magazine — and each of the artists involved in this project appears in the pages of CAROUSEL 29, out on newsstands in June. The article “The Gallery is Always Open” by Jason Paradiso also appears in the issue, as a precursor to the exhibition. : : : : For more info on CAROUSEL 29, go here

 

May 31 - Jun 30, 2012 Larry Eisenstein / Shadow God @ Window Box at Gallery 1313 – 1313 Queen St W While the Damien Hirst 'Dot' eclipses all other marks, the Shadow God implodes the cannibalization of method and returns light to the medieval laboratories of craft. Join the WNDW1 Facebook Event: here Larry Eisenstein is a Toronto-based visual artist obsessed with making strange marks on paper. Through countless drawings of free-form viral shape-clusters, he compulsively exploits line and explores form.

larryeisenstein.com : : : : : Gallery 1313 : : : : :

 

Jun 01 - 30, 2012 Happy Sleepy / Braveland @ Fine & Dandy – 2017 Dundas St W Braveland presents a pair of giant medals made of brightly painted cardboard and textiles and emblazoned with the phrases "Forza" and "Bon Courage". Set in a fantastical, geometric landscape, the medals celebrate the viewer's many daily acts of courage. Join the WNDW2 Facebook Event: here Happy Sleepy is an art and projects collaboration by Canadian artists Marc Ngui and Magda Wojtyra. Their projects often merge craft and design with influences from subjects as diverse as comics, biochemistry, models of human consciousness, physics and cultural iconography.

happysleepy.com : : : : : bumblenut.com : : : : : Fine & Dandy : : : : :

 

Jun 01 - 30, 2012 Eunice Luk / New Crust @ Howard Park Institute – 2088 Dundas St W New Crust describes the eruption of new land as a fantastical phenomenon. Mapped by imagery of creation, pseudo biology and extraterrestrial matter, Luk constructs a new landscape through painting and fugitive sculptures. Join the WNDW3 Facebook Event: here Eunice Luk was born in Hong Kong. Now in Toronto, Luk strives to create work that maps the imagination in a synthetic world. In 2010, she founded Fantasy Camp, an independent publisher of artist books and zines.

euniceluk.com : : : : : euniceluk.blogspot.ca : : : : :

 

Jun 09 - Jul 13, 2012 Robert Dayton / The Canadian Romantic's Window Display @ Roadside Attractions – 911 Davenport Rd 'The Canadian Romantic' is a larger-than-life character by artist and entertainer Robert Dayton that explores the grey area of impossibilities that intersect with Canada and romance. This window display will revolve around these notions and this persona. Join the WNDW4 Facebook Event: here Robert Dayton is a multidisciplinary artist and entertainer, musician and writer. Listen to his musical projects Wet Dirt, Hallmark, July Fourth Toilet, Canned Hamm, Points Gray. Follow his character 'The Canadian Romantic' on YouTube.

robertdaytons.blogspot.ca : : : : : The Canadian Romantic : : : : : Roadside Attractions : : : : :

 

Jun 14 – Jul 27, 2012 Magda Trzaski / Pulled Apart By Horses @ *Queenspecific – 787 Queen St W Nature, mortality, still life composition and fairytale culture inform and inspire Magda Trzaski's mixed media work. For her *Queenspecific window exhibit, Pulled Apart By Horses, Trzaski will create one of her stylized, anthropomorphic figurative works at large-scale — a first for an artist who is well known for her petite, 'narrative-noir' shadowbox scenes. Join the WNDW5 Facebook Event: here Magda Trzaski is a mixed media artist who lives and works in Toronto, with a BFA in Fine Arts from Ryerson University. Her work has been shown in Canada and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions, and is in many private collections.

magdatrzaski.com : : : : : magdatrzaski.tumblr.com : : : : : * Queenspecific : : : : :

 

Thu May 31, 7pm: an opening reception for this multi-site project will be held at Gallery 1313 — come celebrate with us, and see Larry Eisenstein's WNDW 1 project Fri Jun 01, 7pm: join us for a combined WNDW 2 (Happy Sleepy) / WNDW 3 (Eunice Luk) reception at Pho Nho (2060 Dundas St W) — with an 8:30pm walking tour to both windows led by the artists Sun Jun 10, 2pm: come out to WNDW 4 for a picnic in Hillcrest Park (directly across from Roadside Attractions) — featuring a brief in character performance by The Canadian Romantic! Fri Jun 15, 6-7pm: come out to WNDW 5 for a brief celebration of Magda Trzaski's new work at Dufflet Pastries (right next to the *Queenspecific window gallery)

 

All sites are within Toronto's downtown core: WINDOW BOX G1313 (1) FINE & DANDY (2) HOWARD PARK INSTITUTE (3) ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS (4) *QUEENSPECIFIC (5) Please pay attention to individual exhibition dates, which vary at some venues Get on your bike and go see the entire show!		View Carousel Presents: WNDW in a larger map

		Mark Laliberte is an artist-author-curator-designer hybrid. His artworks and pageworks have appeared in galleries and journals across the land. Recent books include: BRICKBRICKBRICK (BookThug) and Grey Supreme 01 (Koyama Press). Recent curatorial projects include: Dehuman, Sequential Desire, and an extended look at the work of the Z'Otz Collective (a Toronto-based collaborative made up of Nahúm Flores, Erik Jerezano and Ilyana Martínez). : : : : : marklaliberte.com : : : : : marklaliberte.tumblr.com : : : : : greysupreme.com

 

Thanks to all the gallery owners who cooperated with us on the coordination of this special project: Phil Anderson, Catherine Beaudette, Elia Morrison, Roy Kohn and Kate Vasyliw, Joy Walker. Additional thanks to Jason Paradiso, author of the article "The Gallery is Always Open" (appearing in CAROUSEL 29)