In the Galleries
Fair Game
Making sense of the art fair fray By Steven Dam
Edward Burtynsky
Image credit: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
When culture and commerce collide in an orgy of paint-strewn canvases, toothpicked cheese cubes and excessive chin stroking, it can only mean one thing: art fair season—a daunting prospect for even the most seasoned aesthete. Here, a look back at last year’s wildly different fairs, designed to help you navigate this year’s with ease (or at least pretend to).
Toronto International Art Fair
Where: The Metro Toronto Convention Centre, a 100,000-square-foot hangar with all the charm of a big-box store.
Number of artists on offer: 2,000.
The crowd: 18,000 affluent collectors who want to bag a big-name artist to hang above the mantel. Previous buyers have included theatre maven David Mirvish and TV bubbleheads Ben Mulroney and Jeanne Beker.
The party: Michael Kors–clad guests noshed on Indian-themed hors d’oeuvre (veggie samosas, tandoori shrimp) from AGO executive chef Anne Yarymowich. A three-piece jazz trio provided mingling music.
Standout artist: Establishment shutterbug Edward Burtynsky, showing large-scale photographs from his China series.
Highest selling price: A last-day $3-million sale, likely of a striking, oversize Riopelle.
Toronto Alternative Art Fair International
Where: The Gladstone and the Drake, Queen West West’s rabidly faddy art hubs.
Number of artists on offer: 200
The crowd: 5,000 Parkdale bohos who’d sooner exchange bodily fluids in a performance art piece than bag a status symbol. Last year’s attendees included onscreen provocateur Bruce Labruce and lesbian rock chanteuse Carole Pope.The party: The event (aptly named “Boner” to keep the bourgeois at bay) featured electro-raunch queen Peaches screaming “just remember an ass is an ass, so roll over, have yourself a blast”—the lyrics to her hypersexual anthem about boy-on-boy action, “Two Guys for Every Girl.”
Standout artist: Performance artist Tanya Mars, who tied helium balloons to her skirt, which lifted to reveal she wasn’t wearing panties.
Highest selling price: $14,538 for a four-by-four-foot dangling wire and crystal mobile—a formalist piece by American artist Bill Smith.
Toronto International Art Fair. Nov. 9 to 13. $16. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, 222 Bremner Blvd., 416-872-1212. Toronto Alternative Art Fair International. Nov. 10 to 12. $7. The Gladstone, 1214 Queen St. W.; and the Drake, 1150 Queen St. W.; 416-537-3814.
TEST Originally published November 2006
Comments
Please note that neither Steven Dam nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments. Read our full policy
You must have a Torontolife.com account to post comments. If you do not have an account you can register now.
There are no comments for this article yet. Be the first to post a comment below.
Post a comment