CREATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS

CREATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS

20131

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Installation Crew:Frantz Brent-HarrisBruce BrownNicholas CrombachMelanie ChikofskyGerard GodinWilliam HungEvgueni Kogan

Invitation Design:

Dorothy ChanMelanie ChikofskyFrantz Brent-Harris

Sculpture Photography:Peter ShepherdSid Golden

Opening Night

Photography:Melanie ChikofskyPeter Shepherd

Book Design:Melanie Chikofsky

Editing:Thea CarvelPenny Fiksel

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The members and staff of the Al Green Sculpture Studio School will never tire in their gratitude for our benefactors: Al Green for his inspired vision and unceasing generosity in creating the studio, and to the Green family in their unwavering support. The studio is a haven for creativity and self expression for all those who have the opportunity to work here and now for those who hope to, for after 13 years we now have a waiting list of sculpture enthusiast waiting to join the fold.We are also once again thankful to the Sculptors Society of Canada for the use of this beautiful gallery, and especially Judi Young for her kind efforts.

Special thanks to all who helped

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MARY ANN GRAINGER3

MATTHEW BATESMy life and work is about balance, equality and adventure, built on a foundation of harmlessness. My artwork is at once both form and process. I like to work in a manner that affords quick feedback loops. Intent is an important aspect of my work.

“Contact” is the second in a series about connectedness in relationships. We are alone: We are together: We have known each other for a long long time. Here, I explore the moment we know that we are together.

CONTACT4

ALLANPRITTIE

Allan’s sculpture helps him to escape from the frenetic

experiences of existing within the industrial business world of his workaday life. All of his work is narrative and usually thematic.

Evoking beauty, rest, and peace are the goals of his work

WATER BIRD #3 WATER BIRD #4 5

NICHOLAS CROMBACHI derive my influences from the every day objects and culture around me. Working predominantly with human and animal figures, I create narratives by including mundane objects, suggestive titles and abnormal scenarios within my work. Dealing with my interest in the complexity of human nature, while relying on the traditions of representation, my work carries a serious tone that is represented through hints of humor

"OLD BITCH"

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DOROTHY CHANMotion, transformation, and relationship remain three enduring elements of my work. Representing the physical, spiritual, and

emotional planes, which shape and define us as individuals and the world in which we live, are the realities that form the foundation upon which my work continues to grow.

RIDING TO HOUNDS

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EVGUENI KOGANI believe in the absolute values of sculpture beyond the pressure of history. I do not attempt to comment on events of my time. I preach an untroubled hedonism of the visual experience.

BURGUNDY RED8

W.W. HUNG

shardsupon shards of broken dreamstethered to the red string of fatehe howls in the wildernessfor no one to hear

SHARDS 9

PETER SHEPHERDIn these works, I am exploring ambiguities of meaning in common symbolic forms. "Community: Contemplation" started with the yin-yang symbols - contradictions within that arises in both person (internal) and community (external). I freed the yin-yang symbols from the outer, enclosing circle and found an open system. In the centres, the echoes of emerging life (coral) and destructive transformation (slag) speak to contradictory forces that energize."Compositions I and II" started with characters who evoke chess pieces, set on an apparent chess board. But the board is incomplete, and the characters do not follow chess rules. Allies and enemies may not be who they seem to be, and resolution is uncertain and fraught with contradictions.

COMPOSITION #2 COMMUNITY: CONTEMPLATION10

TOOTSIE HALBERTI draw my inspiration from people and the diverse forms in nature. In my work, I strive to evoke an innocence to engage the viewer.

I love the challenges that arise from exploring new media and venues, allowing me to express my vision.

IN CONVERSATIONAKIMBO

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SAMAR HEJAZIMy art practice revolves around the themes of mental, physical and spiritual realities and how, intertwined, they create the way life is experienced. The combination of sculpture and hologram express and juxtapose both the physical and non-physical realms in my work. The holographic Johnson’s targets the idea of over consumption, a prevalent theme in western modern society. By looking through the window of the house, I am allowing the viewer to look into the past and present lives of the people living inside. The audio and the holograms take the listener back to specific moments when over consumption guided the characters lives. By presenting this piece I urge the viewer to question personal perceptions, the way modern society functions and their definition of “happiness”.

UNTITLED12

PENNY FIKSEL

"Retirement in 2007 gave Penny Fiksel the freedom to devote her

time to the Al Green Sculpture Studio and School where, under

the guidance and encouragement of the school's

director, Melanie Chikofsky, Penny's eye became a slight

measure more discerning.  The search for her childhood wish for

magic in nature, informs her work.  Somewhat joyful, always phantasmagorical, "Entre Nous"

is the result of exploring along the banks of the West Don, also

browsing picturesque seed catalogues.

ENTRE NOUS 13

SID GOLDENThe difficult and often unsettling question facing many people when they retire is what to do with with all their free time.In my case, after retiring from 50 years of dental practice, sculpting with all its intrinsic demands seemed a natural fit. What a pleasure and privilege it has been to become involved in this exciting often frustrating yet ultimately satisfying art form.

There is a common thread I tried to incorporate in all the pieces I have created .My goal was to develop an illusion of  balance and tension.

In order to achieve this,I often "pushed" the innate qualities of the materials with which I was working.

DÉTENTE

SWEET DREAMSALLEGRIA14

DONA SAUNDERSFor the past year I have been working with a Zen Buddhist

Koan titled, "Bodhidaharma’s Vast Emptiness".

RIVER SPIRIT

THE SECOND ARROW VAST EMPTINESS NOTHING HOLY 15

DORIS WALTEROnce we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.e.e.cummings.

NATHAN16

BRUCE BROWN

My new work illustrates how sculpture can be displayed in non-traditional ways by using

the structure of a room and the architecture of space. The work enlivens these otherwise

underused areas. Walls, corners, pillars and crown

mouldings are just some of the examples of the areas

around which I plan to develop my sculptures,

enhancing those spaces.

THINAFUR FATTYPUFF 17

GERARD GODINI am influenced by humankind's religious /spiritual quest and its relationship to the celestial .

VOYAGE 118

Fantasy and aesthetics fuel my art.

THEA CARVEL

THE ATLANTEANS19

JANET HUNTERI enjoy the physicality of sculpture, the most primitive desire to just make, build, and construct something beautiful. I have been greatly influenced by my love of archaeology and antiquity. I am a classicist, working with the nude alone or in combination with drapery. I draw from life on a regular basis and use these sketches as inspiration for my sculptures. The model's pose is adapted to reinforce my preferred theme, which is mytho-historical.Although my medium of choice is WInterstone, I like to "walk" a sculpture through different media to see changes in effect that occur as a result. The stressed surfaces of WInterstone are reminiscent of the antique object; the weight and encaustic finish of resin can imitate bronze.

PROMETHEUS20

IRENE FROLICI am grateful to have the

opportunity to explore new materials at The Al Green

Sculpture Studio School. In the piece in this exhibition, I have used resin and nickel

slag, which is a by-product of smelting and is usually used

for sandblasting or for making asphalt.

In our society, sculpture is considered precious and I

have enjoyed using this commonplace waste material

to create my piece.

BEWARE OF GIFT 21

ANVAR D. GHARVIANSince childhood, I was interested in making dolls, fashioning them from bits of leftover bread and other scrap material. When I grew I became more sophisticated in the pursuit of my desire. Later on, marriage and raising children occupied most of my time and energy. However, despite the duties of raising a family I enrolled at Shahab Institute of Sculpture in Tehran, where I worked, studied and had several exhibitions of my work. The Al Green Sculpture School and Studio has allowed me to continue to pursue my art in a supportive and inspiring environment.

BEAUTY

SWEETTANGO22

SYLVIO SUGACreating shapes from a variety of materials has always fascinated

me. What really thrills me is giving life to a block of stone and

transforming it into something beautiful that has its own meaning. I am inspired mostly by the beauty of the human body and I am

devoted to its realism but also to the abstract. Each of my sculptures has its unique representation of the state of

mind I was in when I created it and it has its own message of my desire to give life to something beautiful that might please every eye.

 To me, art is an extension of myself.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

DUALITYETERNITY 23

BRIANHANDSBrian Hands is a graduate of Ryerson’s landscape design program.He paints in oil, pastels and does ceramics. He also knits and weaves in wools. Brian loves to cycle, sail and kayak.He joined the Al Green Sculpture Studio School in December 2012. When not participating in his myriad extra-curricular interests, Dr. Hands is an Ear, Nose and Throat physician, whose particular area of expertise is treating performing artists for voice problems.

ETHEREAL BLUE LADYONGEPATSHKET24

Mary Ann Grainger's figurative pieces at The Canadian Sculpture Centre’s "Creative Consciousness" show are her first figurative sculptures.  The reaching hand is a motif signifying constant striving.  The remaining body is stuck, unable to move.  This conflict between action and inaction, hope and despair is both personal and universal.  The figures turn towards the outreached arm in a conscious act of

movement towards hope and away from despair.  Mary Ann primarily works in sculpture and mixed media.  In 2009 she became a full time artist and in 2010 joined the Al Green Sculpture Studio where she took her fear in hand and began to experiment.   

 “Embarking on my first figures was terrifying, yet exciting.  In my wildest dreams I never imagined myself capable of the human form.  I hope to inspire others to tackle exciting new challenges in their lives." 

MARY ANN GRAINGERHOPE

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ALEXANDRATYTARENKO

When I put my hands on a piece of clay for the first time, it delighted me so much that I felt this connection would last a long time, if not forever. I am inspired by the idea of expressing human emotions through sculpture and I strive to portray my interpretation of aesthetics through both classical and modern forms.

SONG & DANCELADY IN SUMMER

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GLORIA ROBINSI have, for many years, found my happiest artistic

expression sculpting in clay and wax – casting in bronze, Winterstone and Hydrocal. My greatest joy and

challenge is creating human “life” – modeling all ages of figures and heads, from babies to the aged; creating

commissioned portraits that are cast in bronze. Sculpting to reflect the wide and fascinating range of

human life in the world around us is my endless source of inspiration.

COME FLY WITH ME GOOD MORNING WORLD 27

PROFESSOR THADDEUS “GLITZY” GLITZMORE / JOHN SPROULEProfessor Thaddeus “Glitzy” Glitzmore and his counterpart in this dimension, John T. Sproule, are continuing their exploration into the marvelous world of “steampunk”. This exhibition unveils two more treasures from Glitzmore’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Conundrums and Oddiments.

INFANT TERRORWRATH ELEGANT STEAMPUNK SEWING CADDY

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FRANTZBRENT-HARRIS

Born and raised in Kingston Jamaica, Frantz now makes his

home in Toronto.  Growing up in a culture of many contrasts: intense

beauty and vibrancy along with great poverty and death, had its influences

on him creatively. Frantz learned to see and appreciate the exquisite,

which has given him a desire to create expressions of beauty.

Frantz has been a graphic designer for 20 years, however he has always

made the time to paint and sculpt. Frantz feels that it is very important

to express his own vision artistically, purely out of his love and desire for

beauty, not having to be constrained by the needs of a client or a

particular audience.

TROPHY, LIQUORICE, MAVERICK 29

DONNA ZEKASThe suggestion of a passage of time is a common thread that runs through my work. My fascination by the consequences and unpredictability of time has led me to explore textured surfaces.

DELINEATED CONTACT30

OPENING NIGHT

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