Secondary Occupants @ SUNY Fredonia

I had an installation open last night at the Marion Art Gallery at the State University of New York at Fredonia. It was a mix of work from the Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the show.

Installation Shots from TH&B 2

The Ruins of 270 Sherman Ave. North opened last night in Hamilton, Ontario.  It consisted of a cycling slide show of abandoned spider webs that I photographed in the space and two overhead projections of portraits of the species that made the webs. As described in an earlier post, it was part of an installation group show in an enormous space in a 19th century textile factory. My installation was in a small room off of the main hall.

TH&B's wooden projection logo

 Gareth Lichty's "Hamper" made from 7 kilometers of construction fence

Ivan Jurakic's "Pylon"

An Installation in Hamilton, Ontario

I have a new installation opening in Hamilton tomorrow night. It is part of my Secondary Occupants Project. The installation (title: The Ruins of 270 Sherman Ave. North) consists of a cycling slide show of abandoned spider webs I photographed in the space. There are some other elements that will be evident when I post the installation shots on Sunday. You will find a description of the exhibit/event and a list of participants below.


TH&B appropriates the moniker of the defunct railway that once connected Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo, and uses it as an emblem of cultural production in this decentralized region. TH&B2 follows in the footsteps of an earlier project in 2008, in which 18 artists were invited to respond to the post-industrial context of the unoccupied third floor of 270 Sherman, a historic textile mill that has been transformed into a creative industries complex deep in the north end of Hamilton. Focusing on site-responsive installation, sculpture, video and performance, TH&B2 sets out to connect new and established interdisciplinary artists operating in the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo corridor.

Featuring projects by:

Roy Caussy // Tara Cooper & Terry O'Neill // Susan Detwiler // Niall Donaghy // Simon Frank // Dave Hind & the Aluminum Quilting Society // Ivan Jurakic // Gareth Lichty // Tor Lukasik-Foss // Steve Mazza // Andrew McPhail // Julian Montague // Janet Morton // Crystal Mowry // Vessna Perunovich // Shake-n-Make: Claudia Manley & Liss Platt // Professor William Starling // Svava Thordis Juliusson

April 21–May 12, 2012

270 Sherman Avenue North, Third Floor, Hamilton
Located North of Barton Street on the corner of Sherman and Lansdowne Avenue
Parking in rear

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 21 from 8:00–10:00 pm
Closing Performances: Saturday, May 12 from 8:00–10:00 pm

Visiting Hours:
April 28–29 12:00–4:00 pm,
Doors Open Hamilton May 5–6 10:00 am–4:00 pm

Free Art Bus on April 21:
Pick up at OCADU, 100 McCaul Street, Toronto, Bus departs at 7:30 pm

Secondary Occupants at UWAG

I spent last week at the University of Waterloo (Canada's M.I.T.) installing my Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project at the University's art gallery. The show is up until December 17th. Check it out if you are passing through the Waterloo/Kitchener area. Thanks to everyone at UWAG and the students and faculty in the art department. 

UpArt/Rooms of Wonder at the Gladstone

I was in Toronto last week from Tuesday to Sunday participating in UpArt at the Gladstone Hotel. I was there thanks to Hallwalls and John Massier who curated me into the show. The Gladstone is a boutique Hotel that uses its second floor exclusively for art installations and exhibits. I've been to a number of really cool art and design shows there over the last couple of years. I re staged my Abandoned House/Decay Community/Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed that was part of the Ecologies of Decay show that just ended in Buffalo. I had a much smaller space in which to intstall, but I was happy with how it turned out. Unfortunately, despite being part of the Toronto Art Fair, attendance was lower than everyone expected. The weather played a part, it rained from Wednesday until Saturday, and on Friday night, just as the big opening party was about to start there was a blackout that lasted for an hour. But a good number of people passed through the space, and there seemed to be a lot of enthusiasm for the work. It was also nice to spend time in Toronto, I took my bike with me which was really liberating. Normally when we go up we basically trudge up and down Queen St. but this time I got to see a lot more of the city.

The real show stopper was Cologne based artist Achim Zeman's installation in the foyer/hallway

Achim Zeman

Hallwalls curator John Massier and artist Jennie Suddick having a conversation during the blackout.

Drinks by flashlight

UpArt at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto

I'm headed up to Toronto in an hour to participate in UpArt: Rooms of Wonder at the Gladstone Hotel. I'll be taking the installation I did for Ecologies of Decay and re-staging it in a hotel room, a fairly large hotel room, but still, it is bound to be a very different installation. More later.