ArtBeat

Today on ArtBeat, we speak with Adrienna Matzeg, an artist whose work serves as a bridge between memory and material, crafting stories out of thread and light. Adrienna's art operates in that space where the tangible meets the ephemeral, where photographs and textiles blend to capture the ineffable essence of the past.

Our conversation winds through the sunlit streets of Los Angeles and the intricate architecture of Europe, places that have left indelible marks on Adrienna’s imagination. Her art is both a reflection and a reconstruction of these landscapes, weaving them into textiles through the meticulous punch needle technique. 

Adrienna shares how her early influences—steeped in the textile traditions of her family and the disciplined art of photography—shaped her artistic vision. These elements come together in a practice that cherishes process and precision, echoing the textures of reminiscence and the colours of nostalgia.

Adrienna's work is gaining momentum on an international stage, poised for her new collection launch with Tacit, available here, and a feature at the Affordable Art Fair in New York.

Adrienna’s work can be viewed on her website, through her Instagram, and is available through Peggy. Her pieces also reside in the physical spaces of Earl's restaurants in Toronto.

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Moses Salihou's reflections take us into the world where portraiture and abstraction converge, demanding more than a cursory glance. Moses speaks with the gravitas of someone immersed in the nuances of emotion and representation, describing his shift from detailed, realistic portraits to the expansive freedom of abstraction.

His thick applications of oil paint, combined with the visceral strokes of his palette knife, create a textural richness that beckons both sight and touch. This complexity is not to be passively observed but actively felt, each layer revealing his inner landscape and challenging the viewer to engage more deeply.

Moses’s work spans continents, finding homes in private collections from Europe to New Zealand, Africa to Asia, and North America. His exhibitions cover the United States and Canada, each piece reflecting his global impact. His insights on the Canadian art scene are both hopeful and sharp. Moses envisions a growing recognition for minority artists, an art world blossoming with the energy reminiscent of New York. His perspective is a clarion call, an invitation to engage with an evolving artistic frontier.

Anticipation builds for his upcoming show at Metivier Gallery on September 7, 2024. Moses shares his excitement for a series of smaller, abstract figurative works that explore themes of emotion and human interaction. His work is available through Metivier Gallery in Toronto, at the Tanya Weddemire Gallery in New York, or viewed on Instagram.

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Delali Cofie's journey into photography is rooted in a time of stillness. It began with the ordinary act of documenting school life in Burkina Faso with a digital camera. However, it was in 2018, during a period of significant personal loss, that photography evolved from a simple pastime into a vital practice.

Delali’s work is intrinsically intertwined with his Ghanaian-Nigerian heritage and the duality of living between cultures. His thesis project, "At the conjuring of roots, I wished to meet Me," is a visual exploration of identity through the lens of West African masquerade. These images blend personal and cultural histories, creating a narrative that is both intimate and universally resonant.

Join us as we walk with Delali through the intricate terrains of memory and identity, where art transforms into a lifeline and a medium for self-understanding.

To explore more of Delali's work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. You can also see his work in person at the upcoming group exhibition “It comes to me in waves” at Patel Brown Gallery in Toronto, opening on August 1—September 7, 2024.

Delali's work has been exhibited across Ontario, including Gallery 44 and Gallery 101, and is currently in the "Black Dreams and Aspirations" exhibit at Union Station in Toronto until August 31, 2024. His photography was featured in legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor’s retrospective catalogue at the Arles Photography Festival in 2022. Delali's first solo exhibition, "A Place of Ours," was included in the CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto in 2022, and he has created commissioned work for the Royal Bank of Canada. Delali will also participate in the Photo Vogue Festival in Milan in March 2025. An upcoming photobook is also in the works. 

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We meet Vanessa McKernan, an artist who unspools the threads of her journey with a kind of visceral honesty that recalls those elusive moments in life where art and existence intersect.

Vanessa speaks of art as a sanctuary, a retreat from the bustle of her upbringing, a method of dissociation that later evolved into a deliberate practice of immersion. The studio becomes a crucible where personal history and emotional landscape meld into the canvas, a space where the outside world fades, and the act of creation takes precedence.

Her body of work, an exploration of the human condition and the cycles of life, can be discovered on her newly launched website, and through her Instagram. Vanessa’s paintings can also be found at Spence Gallery and Wall Space Gallery.

Upcoming highlights include her participation in the Seattle Art Fair with Spence Gallery from July 25-28th and a feature in NOD Magazine, Issue 29, launching July 18th.

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In this week’s episode of ArtBeat, we follow the contours of David Constantino Salazar’s artistic journey, a narrative woven with the intricate threads of family, choice, and destiny. David’s childhood, filled with days of drawing, led him to a pivotal decision between further studies or military service. His brothers intervened, steering him towards art school and igniting a path of life-changing artistic discovery. Transformative travels in Latin America, especially the Amazon, offered moments of stillness and reflection, shaping his ongoing series "Forever Birds Botanical." This work captures the dance between life and decay, embodying our fragility and resilience.

David’s residencies at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Gardiner Museum further honed his craft, blending meticulous academic representation with raw, unfiltered creativity. His pieces, rich with metaphor, traverse the landscapes of human emotion and experience, using birds and botanicals to explore themes of impermanence and metamorphosis. The tactile process of hand-modeling clay, contrasted with the permanence of bronze, invites viewers into an intimate exploration of renewal.

Looking ahead, David prepares for a solo exhibition at Museum London in 2025. He is also working on a public art commission in Toronto, set for the same year. To explore more of David Constantino Salazar’s work, visit his website, follow him on Instagram, or see his pieces at Samara Contemporary.

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In this episode of ArtBeat, Katie engages with Holly Stapleton, an illustrator and painter rooted in Toronto. Holly's narrative unfolds from the innocent artistry of an IKEA playplace to the vibrant streets of Montreal, where she discovered a community that fostered her evolution. Her work, suffused with gouache textures and the ethereal glow of golden-hour light, captures moments of selfhood, the complexities of relationships, and the bittersweet pangs of nostalgia. In editorial and commercial realms, she wields her brush with self-taught freedom, translating her instincts into a visual language that speaks to the human condition.

Holly's life oscillates between the relentless tempo of New York and the reflective cadence of Toronto, each city imparting its influence on her art. She explores the trials of rendering mental images onto canvas, the balance between editorial constraints and personal voice. Her portfolio, a testament to her talent, features collaborations with The New Yorker, Airbnb, Warby Parker, Google, ELLE, Architectural Digest, Netflix, The New York Times, Rolex, and more. As she looks forward, Holly envisions a return to personal projects, a deeper exploration of oil painting, and a closer connection with the Toronto art scene. 

Holly’s work can be found at Abbozzo Gallery in Toronto, on her website, and Instagram.

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In a landscape often marked by the banal and the predictable, Dominique Sirois emerges as a voice of exquisite dissonance.

Dominique speaks of her early days, sketching in the quiet corners of her youth, and the surrealist currents that swept her into the realm of oil and canvas. Her first piece—a woman entwined with a tree, a dreamscape that entranced the surreal into her young consciousness—marks the beginning of her journey.

We explore the mental cartographies she constructs in her installations, where space becomes poetry and objects transform into ideologies. Her work embodies the alchemy of art, transforming ceramics and sculpture into vessels of spirituality and a critique of capitalism. Dominique's quest to channel the intangible energies that vibrate just beneath the surface of our material world is a central theme in her creations.

Dominique's work can be experienced in person at Patel Brown Gallery. To explore more, visit her website or Instagram. Mark your calendars for her solo exhibition at l'Écart, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, in February 2026.

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Today, we trace the improbable journey of Vlad Kanic. From the Adriatic shores to the vibrant pulse of Toronto, Vlad's journey is marked by tenacity and ingenuity. In the enforced stillness of the pandemic, he found inspiration in the most unassuming of places – his refrigerator. Seaweed salad, a favourite staple, became the catalyst for his living sculptures that breathe, capture carbon, and produce oxygen.

Vlad’s apartment became a laboratory of innovation, where failure was not an endpoint but a mentor, guiding each step toward brilliance. Recognized with the Enbridge Sustainability Award, Vlad's vision defies the boundaries of traditional art. He is set to present this vision at the Collision conference in June 2024, North America's largest tech gathering, offering his work as a beacon of hope in the ongoing climate crisis.

Follow Vlad's ongoing journey on Instagram and explore his creations on his website. Find Vlad's work at Abbozzo Gallery in Toronto.

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In this episode of ArtBeat, we explore the multifaceted journey of Briony Douglas, an artist whose story is a tapestry of strength and creativity. From childhood memories of crafting stop-motion animations with her father to navigating disparate jobs—factories, marketing, and more—Briony’s route to professional artistry was anything but direct. An adverse work environment led her to resign and fully embrace her artistic ambitions, soon landing her photography on magazine covers.

A serendipitous request to build a giant elephant sculpture for a charity event revealed another dimension of her creativity, one that involved transforming discarded materials into striking art. This reclamation theme mirrors her personal experiences, infusing her work with deep emotional ties. The true reward lies in the public’s reaction, especially the joy of children, validating her countless hours of dedication. In these moments, Briony finds not just success, but a sense of connection and purpose.

Find Briony on Instagram and explore her portfolio on her website.

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Alex Garant's work is a symphony of surreal, overlapping visions layered over traditional portraits. In this episode, Alex contemplates the relentless chase for a style now unmistakably hers, and the weight of burnout that shadows the pursuit. She recounts the defining moment after her heart attack in 2012—a juncture that demanded a steadfast dedication to her art, charging her work with an intensity both stark and liberating.

Her reflections urge us to strip away the facades of identity, revealing the raw interplay between the feverish drive of creativity and the elusive quest for personal peace. Alex narrates the evolution of her "Queen of Double Eyes" style, where traditional portraiture collides with graphic elements, creating a hypnotic dance of perception and reality.

Discover more of Alex’s mind-bending creations and purchase her artworks on her website. Follow her journey on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

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