Scenes from the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 09, 2023

Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 09, 2023

Hi, art lovers!

 
Acrylic painting in red, blue and black of a desolate planet resembling a desert landscape until a dark sky and enormous red sun or moon. A lone figure walks the plains.

Sasha Q

 
Two of our top stories last week happened to feature artists appearing at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair: we profiled Sasha Q, a Ukrainian artist who fled Kyiv for Canada last year; and Darrell Chocolate, a painter who told us about his life juggling two full-time careers, art and mining. Today’s your last chance to attend the event in person at Nathan Phillips Square. (Readers beyond Toronto: there’s an online fair, too!)

I was there for the kickoff, actually; I skipped away from my desk Friday afternoon, spending my lunch break dashing up and down the rows of tents. On foot, I usually move at a pace best described as an Olympic-qualifying speed walk, but there were plenty of booths that forced me to slow down for a closer look. I’ve dropped a few of them in the eye candy section below, although that selection is really just a slice of what I enjoyed — and an even tinier fraction of what you can find at the fair. More than 350 artists are participating, and there’s a schedule of live events including guided tours and workshops to explore as well.
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo resembling a gestural charcoal drawing of moving figures, their motion a blur of wide strokes.

Zahra Saleki

This storm is you by Zahra Saleki. The Toronto-based artist is showing a series of similar images at TOAF — and they’re photos, by the way, not charcoal drawings! I joined a brief tour during my whirlwind of a Friday visit. Zahra’s tent was the first stop, and I’m so glad it was.
 
Image of a colourful silk scarf, featuring a dense illustrated pattern of graphic flowers, arranged in a way to suggest a hidden image perhaps.

Yaw Tony

Yaw Tony’s tent was another stop, although I’ll admit I was eyeing this particular silk scarf online before I arrived at the fair.
 
Illustrative goauche painting. The canvas is in the shape of a child's drawing of a house. The border is painted to look like housefronts. The centre depicts multiple rows of triangles painted in cool colours, containing red and purple lumpy figures. They rest on yellow ground. The Toronto skyline is pictured on the horizon.

Hyunsun Park

Closed House by Hyunsun Park. A painting for when the cost of living is getting you down.
 
Photo of a large square acrylic painting on an easel. Artwork is a detailed drawing, in paint, of a head in profile, comprised of a thicket of tangled roots and veins, all beige.

Steven Minh Kenny

Because I’m drawn to spooky stuff (and drawings with a spooky amount of detail), check out Steven Minh Kenny’s work. This one’s an acrylic painting called Flowers on the Mind.
 
Detail of a resin art project by Stephanie Sing. Various leaves, flowers, seeds and spices float in shiny black liquid.

Stephanie Singh

OK, so this is just a tiny detail of what Stephanie Singh has brought to TOAF. The Toronto-based artist created an all-new installation for the fair’s Art Nest program (A seat at my table), and you can find it inside a shipping container on the southwest side of the square. The centrepiece is a tabletop of Jamaican botanicals encased in glossy resin, a nod to “the coming together of family and friends for celebration” (as she writes on Instagram). The texture is wonderfully evocative. I was struck with a wave of sensory memories as soon as I saw it, imagining the scent of the spices. Check out this video of how she made it.
 
Abstracted scene of a figure lounging on a blue sofa with three sleepy poodles: green, peach and blue. The background is a grid in shades of green. A square in the background suggests a window where a child's drawing of a house, tree, and five people holding hands is visible, drawn in black.

Esther DOË Kim

Esther DOË Kim is part of TOAF’s online-only fair, and her work has inspired one of the live events happening today: a kids’ workshop where the littles can play with yarn and paint, learning to make art like Esther’s. More info here. 
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Still from Weekend at Bernie's. Three white men sit in a golf cart. Boats are visible behind them. The man at centre, who wears sunglasses and a heavy moustache, is slumped onto the shoulder of the man riding passenger, who appears to be visibly uncomfortable.
20th Century Fox

Weekend at Bernie’s and beyond: 7 nostalgic movies that are secretly Canadian

 
The directors are from Canada?! We rented these movies a million times and never had a clue. (Bonus feature! The following movies also have Canadian directors but were left on the listicle’s proverbial cutting-room floor: In the Army Now; Definitely, Maybe; Sybil; Yellow Submarine and Ladybugs.)
 
Portrait of filmmaker Luis De Filippis, a trans woman with long straight brown hair. She rests her chin on her hand and looks at the camera with a slight smile. Text reads: CBC Arts: Rising Stars Luis De Filippis.
Samuel Engelking/CBC Arts

Luis De Filippis is over 'super serious' trans films — she's ready to have some fun

 
The Toronto-based writer and director is our latest Rising Star. Her new film, Something You Said Last Night, is a tender and funny family story. 
 
Still of Jordan Gavaris doing an interview on CBC Arts series Here & Queer. He is a young white man with a light ginger beard and tousled short hair. He wears a blue and white striped button-down shirt and sits on a grey sofa.

CBC Arts

 

Jordan Gavaris is the big queer heart of The Lake

 
The Canadian actor stars alongside Julia Stiles in the horny, hilarious cottage comedy.
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Emily May Rose

@emilymayrose
Cartoon-style illustration of the CBC Arts logo. A blue cartoon raccoon is pictured in the centre of the logo's gem design, holding a can of spraypaint. A brick wall is visible through the geometric shapes of the gem. Text in a dripping graffiti style reads:

Emily May Rose

First they took Toronto. Then they came for our logo. This month’s contributing artist is Emily May Rose, whose cartoon raccoons have conquered the city. 
 

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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time!

 
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