The challenge each week in writing these reviews is to say something non-obvious or otherwise original about the things that I see. However, when the work is uninspired, I'm uninspired. Then again, when it's ripe with meaning, my job is easy. The sculptures I looked at this week seemed to fall in the latter case, but I still struggled with what to say. It all started with the Louise Bourgeois exhibition at the MOCCA. Apart from the undeniable presence of her large Cell installation (I would pay big money to see a complete collection of her Cells) and the so obvious, it's genius of the Echoes pieces, the real stars of the show are the sixty year old Personnages that stand in a loose cluster like a crowd of loners or a dying grove. These have been intentionally matched to the subsidiary exhibition of David Armstrong Six, whose abstract and angular figures are similarly personified through the use of titles (The Solicitor, The Changeling) and our natural tendency to anthropomorphize even the most unlikely of objects.
David Armstrong Six
While the comparison of these two artists was clearly pre-planned by the curators, a serendipitous conjunction happens when you stroll down the street to Erin Stump Projects and suddenly find yourself in familiar surroundings amidst the sculptures (not to mention the wall works) of Beth Stuart. She too takes a long narrow form and makes us see it as a frail adolescent in the latest fashion, or, at least, a radically reduced form of the same. Perhaps the teen's essence?
Beth Stuart, Too-Bright Light, 2013, oil on linen on panel, and Teens in Tight Jeans, 2013, found objects, ceramic tile, wax
And while all these new friends are a delight to behold and I long to spend more time in their company, getting to know them, learning to appreciate their personalities in the manner we get to know all our acquaintances – in bits and pieces over time – I'm not sure there's much more that I can say. I could describe each one, but that would be like hearing the ingredients of a cake instead of getting to eat it. I could tell you what I learned of them, but in this case – and as a professional critic, I don't often defer to subjectivity (what would justify my exorbitant fees?) – I think it's better if you meet them yourself.
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art: http://www.mocca.ca/
Louise Bourgeois & David Armstrong Six continues until August 11.
Erin Stump Projects: http://erinstumpprojects.com/
Beth Stuart: LOUD. BROWN. SHROUD. continues until July 14.
Terence Dick is a freelance writer living in Toronto. His art criticism has appeared in Canadian Art, BorderCrossings, Prefix Photo, Camera Austria, Fuse, Mix, C Magazine, Azure, and The Globe and Mail. He is the editor of Akimblog. You can follow his quickie reviews and art news announcements on Twitter @TerenceDick.
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Louise Bourgeois & David Armstrong Six at MOCCA | Beth Stuart at Erin Stump Projects
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