Art Toronto, Canada’s only Modern and Contemporary Fine Art fair, opens to the public this week, October 25–28, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, located in the heart of downtown Toronto. Founded in 2000, this annual fall event will showcase more than 100 galleries including Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Tezukayama Gallery, Osaka, and Mike Weiss Gallery, New York. The schedule will include special projects, exhibits, and a full VIP program. Not to be missed is the Art Toronto Opening Night Preview, October 24, benefiting the Art Gallery of Ontario. Funds raised will help support AGO’s exhibition and education programs, with a portion of the proceeds going to purchase works of art at the fair.

Pierre Blanchette, Razzle Dazzle III, 2011, acrylic on canvas, Lacerte Art Contemporain, Québec, Canada

PLATFORM returns with a full schedule of panel discussions, keynote speakers, and tours, aiming to inform visitors about the international art scene and inspire collectors to build their own collections. On Friday, October 25, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., you can see Trust the Experts: Intimate Tours with Experts from the Art World. Presented by the Art Dealers Association of Canada, Trust the Experts is a program of tours designed for all levels of art buyers and collectors that explores the complexities of Canadian Art. Join Merete Lewis, specialist at Mayberry Fine Art, for a tour highlighting Canadian Modern Art.

Lee Jaehyo, Functional Art Installation, 2012, juniper wood, Cynthia Reeves, New York, NY

Also returning this year is the much-anticipated MOCCA Benefit Edition. Since 2009, Art Toronto has collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art to commission a benefit edition by a Canadian artist. The limited-edition work is made available for sale exclusively at Art Toronto and all proceeds from the sale will support programming initiatives at the museum. Previous editions have included both emerging and established artists. This year, Sarah Anne Johnson (Canadian, b.1976) will produce a limited-edition chromogenic print with applied gold leaf, titled Gold Box. The artist’s work appears courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto and Julie Saul Gallery, New York.

Mel Bochner, Blah, Blah, Blah, 2013, monoprint with collage, engraving, and embossment on hand-dyed Twinrocker handmade paper, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada

In collaboration with Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Toronto will present Power Talks, a series of lectures by influential art-world figures speaking in the context of Art Toronto 2013. Running for its eighth year, admission to Power Talks can be enjoyed for free as it’s included with daily Art Toronto admission. On Sunday, October 27, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Julia Dault (Canadian, b.1977), a Toronto-born artist based in Brooklyn, NY, will present Coming to America at the Art Toronto Stage. Julia will discuss her work in relation to the fluid concept of home and will touch on topics such as installing sculptures in situ and the resonance of pop-culture touchstones like Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth.

Satoru Tamura, Point of Contact for 20 Incandescent lamps, 2007, incandescent lamps motors, wood, metal, and others, Tezukayama Gallery, Osaka, Japan

Another must-see exhibit, entitled ALL THE ARTISTS ARE HERE, is a large-scale installation that explores the visual impact of all the artists exhibited at Art Toronto 2013. Each artist is represented by a red-framed black and white photographic portrait which they or their gallery participated in selecting. ALL THE ARTISTS ARE HERE allows for interactive engagement with the artists and the works through the use of a smartphone. Searching for and registering a connection with the artists and their works by scanning a legend of associated QR-Codes provides a personal relation that can be bookmarked, used during the art fair, and taken home. As part of ALL THE ARTISTS ARE HERE, artist Thom Sokoloski and Jenny McCowan collaborated to design and lead an arts education program, entitled HANDS ON WITH THE ARTISTS. It will invite a collective of at-risk and art high school students to participate in realizing a large-scale installation and experience Art Toronto firsthand.

Jean-Paul Jérôme, Volutes de tous temps, 1971, acrylic on canvas, Galerie D’Este, Montreal, Canada

Art Toronto

October 25–28, 2013
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
North Building, Exhibit Hall A & B
255 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2W6
Canada

Participating artnet Galleries Members: