Libations of Liberated Living
January 21 – March 06 2022
Micah Adams, Joshua Augusto, Dexter Barker-Glenn, Sophie Dannin, Melissa Fisher-Rozenberg, Ryland Fortie, Lauren Goodman, Alastair Martin, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Julie Oh, Ciar O’Mahony, Pascal Paquette, Gord Peteran, Diana Lynn VanderMeulen, Meichen Waxer
Presented as part of DesignTO festival
Organized by Laura Carusi, Emma Green, Alison Postma, Callum Schuster, and Emma Welch
The idea of turning “garbage” to “gold” is as old as alchemy and has misled many if not most about its meaning ever since the first pursuit. Beyond materiality and through the objects we possess, the combination of function and fictions formed around one’s life create the transcendental spark that generates our manifested environments true worth.
Artists and designers have always been at the forefront of these explorations. When stepping into the field of interior design, no stone — or in this case, couch cushion — goes unturned.
The familiar yet atypical nature of artistic design practice modifies our expectations of materiality and experience which will be seen through ergonomic exploration and (re)fabrication of everyday things remade into new.
upcoming programming:
Reading Group and Discussion led by Ciar O’Mahony
Not Just Themselves: Engaging art objects through the writing of Fredric Jameson
Sunday February 27, 3 - 5pm
To register please contact us at info@theplumb.ca
Reading Group and Discussion led by Ciar O’Mahony
Not Just Themselves: Engaging art objects through the writing of Fredric Jameson
Sunday February 27, 3 - 5pm
To register please contact us at info@theplumb.ca
A collective reading workshop looking at Fredric Jameson’s 2015 essay The Aesthetics of Singularity. Hosted by artist Ciar O'Mahony, the workshop will facilitate a collective reading of the text by all participants. No pre-reading will be required and texts will be freely distributed at the workshop held on Sunday Feb 27 from 3-5pm. The reading will be followed by a conversation responding to the text and exploring its potential relationships to works within the exhibition.
Fredric Jameson is an American cultural critic and philosopher best known for his analysis of capitalism and postmodernity. His essay, The Aesthetics of Singularity explores the conceptual conditions of art objects from a postmodernist perspective, provocatively stating that artists no longer create objects but rather create events. The reading session will examine this and other ideas put forth by the essay activating the many discourses channeled by the exhibition.
To give the essay a presence within the exhibition beyond the reading session, a takeaway poster with fragments of the text will be available for free in the gallery space. The poster contains a QR code leading to a download of the essay, which O'Mahony uploaded to Library Genesis.
Fredric Jameson is an American cultural critic and philosopher best known for his analysis of capitalism and postmodernity. His essay, The Aesthetics of Singularity explores the conceptual conditions of art objects from a postmodernist perspective, provocatively stating that artists no longer create objects but rather create events. The reading session will examine this and other ideas put forth by the essay activating the many discourses channeled by the exhibition.
To give the essay a presence within the exhibition beyond the reading session, a takeaway poster with fragments of the text will be available for free in the gallery space. The poster contains a QR code leading to a download of the essay, which O'Mahony uploaded to Library Genesis.
Photo documentation courtesy of Alison Postma
Meichen Waxer, Horus, 2021, white beeswax candle, cast of commercially produced polystyrene ceiling rose, edition of 3, 12” diameter
Micah Adams, Friendship Lighters, 2021, welded steel, Bic lighters, 4” x 3 ½” x 2 ¾“. Courtesy of MKG127, Toronto.
Diana Lynn Vandermeulen, strawberry milk plaid baby chairs, 2021, Hand laminated acrylic plaid on 1” lucite, 28¼” x 20” x 17½”
Dexter Barker-Glenn, Kill Cord, 2021, oil on canvas, emergency pull cord, 7” x 5”
Lauren Goodman, from The Providence Project, 2021, salvaged, discarded steel, processed with oxy-acetylene, connected through a MIG welder and spray painted
Dexter Barker-Glenn, Doctrine of Signatures, 2021, oil on engraved wood, Apple Earpods, 12” x 9”
Ryland Fortie, Bottle Module (Temple 1 & 2), 2020, soda bottles, plywood, aerosol paint, and epoxy resin, dimensions variable
Lauren Goodman, from The Providence Project, 2021, salvaged, discarded steel, processed with oxy-acetylene, connected through a MIG welder and spray painted
Sophie Dannin, Magnet I, 2021, various carpet remnants, fiberglass mesh, felt
Sophie Dannin, Magnet II & III, 2021, various carpet remnants, fiberglass mesh, felt
Micah Adams, Friendship Lighters, 2021, welded steel, Bic lighters, 4” x 3 ½” x 2 ¾“. Courtesy of MKG127, Toronto.
Melissa Fisher-Rozenberg, picking scabs in reverse, 2016 – 2019, wood spindles, pine dish holder, acrylic display, sign vinyl, acrylic paint, 10” x 7” x 5”
Dexter Barker-Glenn, Under the Lilacs, 2021, oil on canvas, steel, 36” x 8”
Joshua Augusto, Pile of Scraps, 2021, an accumulation of selected construction debris and curb finds, assembled onsite, dimensions variable
Julie Oh, Time, 2021, thermostat, 12” x 12” x 1 ½"
Pascal Paquette
Brick, formerly 328 Richmond Street West, 2011, spray paint, brick
Brick, formerly 82 Divadale Drive, 1-3, Toronto, 2015, spray paint, brick
Art Child, formerly 433 Richmond Street West, 2011, spray paint, brick
Kwest, formerly 431 Richmond Street West, 2011, spray paint, brick
Bacon, formerly 328 Richmond Street West, 2011, spray paint, brick
each approx. 8” x 2” x 3”
Pascal Paquette, Concrete Block, formerly 553 Clinton Street, 2014, spray paint, cinder block, 12” x 8” x 16”
Dexter Barker-Glenn, Whip and Tongue, 2021, oil on canvas, graphite, paper, steel, 12” x 7”
Alastair Martin, Propane Accessories Bowl v1 & v2, 2014, cut propane tank, textured lacquer, enamel, each 12” x 8” x 12”
Dexter Barker-Glenn, Plover Bird, 2021, oil on canvas, computer mouse, 6” x 8”
Gord Peteran, Electric Chair, tubular metal chair frame, light bulb, 31” x 14” x 16”
Matt Nish-Lapidus, Allegory, 2020, Python, Raspberry Pi, LCD, “The World is Too Much With Us” (William Wordsworth), “Mindstorms” (Seymour Papert), non repeating loop, 3 ½” x 3”
Matt Nish-Lapidus, DO WHILE TRUE, 2020, Python Turtle (LOGO), Raspberry Pi, LCD, infinite, 3 ½” x 3”
Micah Adams Bic/Pilot/Staedtler, Bic/Starlite/Uni-ball, Bic/Sharpie/Staedtler, Bic/Papermate/Bic, Bic with Paper Clip, Bic/Bic/Pencil Co, 2021, welded steel, Bic lighter, pen pocket clips, each 2 ⅓” x ¾” x ¾”. Courtesy of MKG127, Toronto.
Dexter Barker-Glen, Substrate, 2021, oil on canvas, wire, 14” x 11”
Joshua Augusto, Nail Works 1, 2021, dimensions variable