As a Torontonian, I often find that I skip out on hanging in city spaces that have been around for a while, spots that I know will always be there, or constructed spaces that might just be a tad touristy. Take the Distillery District, for example. Is this cobblestoned industrial compound cool, or is it just another consciously developed tourist trap?
With nothing else to do last Sunday, and dying to take advantage of the unexpected and oh-so-rare sunshine tearing its way through the clouds, I ventured to the Distillery in search of a unique baby gift for one of my girlfriends who’s this close to popping. Not only did I find the perfect little present (a tiny, plush, hand-crafted star at Millicent Vee), but I also got over myself and tuned in to the very obvious fact that this fortressed pocket of Toronto is genuinely hip.
First: shopping as art. Aside from Millicent Vee, I fell in love with the work of distill gallery’s artisans, from the cute, handmade, one-of-a-kind vintage leather bags of Baggage Handbags to the kitcshy sewn-up badge/brooches of Lee Meszaros. Roam around the entire Case Goods Warehouse at 55 Mill Street and watch artists work and then buy their work right in their studio. My blood was buzzing while I roamed. Who knew that art shopping could be just as good a high as any old drug?
For some traditional art without a consumerist bent, spend some good quality time at Clark & Faria, the gallery space just across the street from Case Goods. I was blown away by the current exhibition of Graham Gillmore’s work, So the Band Broke Up and It Looks Like We Will Never Play Again. Gillmore’s gift lies in his ability to re-contextualize random text, causing both heartbreak and hope. If I had extra thousands, I would have walked out of Clark & Faria with some glossy new art.
Also worth a good meander is Thompson Landry Gallery, particularly the Cooperage Space. The current exhibition of work by Laurence Nerbonne, the 24-year-old Quebecois virtuoso, had me contemplating the faces of her portraits all afternoon. Nerbonne’s portraits pop with complexity and intimacy. By the time I wandered out of the show, I had fallen in love with a painted girl smoking a cigarette, a still image that looks beautifully caught off the frame of a Godard film.
With all this talk about art, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that there are actually moving images of artists reeling their way through Toronto this weekend at the Reel Artists Film Festival. For those of you who prefer to sit in comfort in a darkened theatre and learn about contemporary artists and their process, head to this festival. It’s cheap ($10 in advance or $12 for a rush ticket at the door), and I already have three must-sees picked out.
Tonight at 9:30 p.m., Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, famous for her use of polka dots, is profiled in Yayoi Kusama: I Love Me. Saturday features an up-close and personal look at the revered Chuck Close, and I’m crossing my fingers that I can grab some rush seats for the Sunday 4:30 p.m. screening of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child; the advance tickets are already sold out. All three films screen at the Miles Nadal JCC at Bloor and Spadina. Check the schedule for more screenings and other events listings.
Leanne Milech is a lawyer turned freelance writer. She reviews theatre, publishes children’s books and spends her free time hunting for Toronto’s best cultural escapes. Her column appears every Friday here on lawandstyle.ca.
Photo by Sam Javanrouh