The previous blog post featured a wall that was covered with ceramic tiles that created an image of a Tree of Life – It is part of “Elaborate”, a group exhibition, at Harbourfront Centre’ s Gallery 235. This blog post takes a look at some of the other art in that exhibit as well as a few more ceramic art pieces that can be seen in display in cases in the halls of the Harbourfront building.
First, in the hall, Joon Hee Kim’s wonderful busts of fanciful whimsical characters.
Also in the hallway, round pieces by Jess Riva Cooper where flowers bloom from mouths, noses, and ears of the central subject(s) swirling to form wreaths around them. The series is titled “Pullulate”
below: “Helleborus viridis” 2024, 45 cm in diameter
below: Some of pieces have hands in the central position, hands that rip the flowers from the ground and/or tear them apart.
below: Large droopy flowers in weird colour combinations on a table, sculptures by Julie Moon,
below: On the table in the background in the above photo are little sculptures by Lindsay Montgomery. This is a close up of one of them. Maybe someone spilled its cup of tea?
Montgomery’s work is in two sections. The above figurine is a newer piece from the series “Despairware” “which references books of demonology and iconographies of feral femininity with Staffordshire figurines from the 19th century” (from the words on the wall at the gallery). She is also showing some of her older work here, a series called “Neo Istoriato” which re-imagines paintings and pottery from the Renaissance. Two examples:
All together in a big pot in the fiery mouth of Hell while the demons dance with glee.
below: Kaley Flowers, cracked and broken glass to mimic water within a frame of ceramic shells, rocks and marine forms.
below: Marissa Alexander, eight women hanging on the wall. Hung up, hanging about, hanging out….
And last, there are a few individual tiles by Marc Egan that are very similar to the flowers and leaves in his Tree of Life.
as I walk Toronto 