Toronto Art Expo 2008

This year’s Toronto Art Expo is billed as showcasing over 300 of the finest artists Canada has to offer. Myself and my darling husband went there on the second evening to see for ourselves. We have been collecting Canadian artists works over the last few years and make an effort to go to several galleries and events both summer and winter, so far mostly in Ontario. Both of us have lived in Europe for a number of years and continue to travel there every year and although we have been to numerous art exhibitions, galleries and showings in a number of countries, this was our first time since returning to Canada to attend the annual Toronto Art Expo. We were somewhat disappointed. Not because there wasn’t good art, there was plenty. What was disappointing was the vast range of skill and the limited variety of art available. While there are clearly some exceptionally fine artists on display, several whom we have been following for a number of years and some new ones we will definitely add to our list to watch, and hopefully purchase, there were also a number of artists who have clearly not progressed beyond their art classes. Their presence at this expo is more to do with affording the $2000 stall fee than being able to compete with their peers. It is difficult to say whether this is a reflection of Toronto as not yet having sufficient numbers of patrons willing to buy and as a result raise the bar and thereby increasing the competition stakes or whether sufficient numbers of artists were able to afford the entry fees. Certainly being so close to the One of a Kind Spring Show, many artists likely decided to opt for the more likely retail success of One of a Kind, which no doubt draws much larger crowds. Most noticeable at the Toronto Art Expo, there were predominantly painters. We had hoped to see more sculptural works and while there were also some textile and mixed media artists, for the most it was painted canvases.

Artists I particularly liked included Stephanie Ford Forrester, whose silk quilts were luminous and exquisitely styled. Debra Tate-Sears had several wonderfully drawn watercolours, one scene of horse drawn threshers racing across a wheat field with gathering storm clouds in the distance was very dramatic. Greg Shafley, artist and printmaker, had an exceptional array of work which included finely drawn nudes and hauntingly beautiful landscape prints. I could not resist and bought one of his moonlit scenes, elegantly framed and very reasonably priced. He apparently trained under David Blackwood and his drawing skills are certainly of a high caliber. Marjolyn van der Hart is a personal favorite also, we have two of her works in our collection. Her colours and themes are reminiscent of the Impressionists with refreshing modern elements.

It was surprisingly quiet for a Friday evening downtown event like this. We expected there would be many more visitors. Perhaps the snow has kept people away or many patrons were on their way south for some much needed sunshine and warmth. We will return next year. Toronto needs to support the artists, they are the makers of our cultural fibre.