Category: features

by Jennifer Leskiw

If you have never been to the Royal Canadian Military Institute on University Avenue in Toronto, you must visit and take in the phenomenal exhibition by Canada’s foremost contemporary war artist, Gertrude Kearns.

This exhibition, straight from showing at the Embassy of Canada in Washington DC, is a selection from two decades of work 2006-2025. Drawings, paintings, text/image prints as ‘propaganda-play posters’ capture the humanity and courage behind Canadian Armed Forces individuals who have commanded and form the military.

Kearns’ interest in conflict work began thirty years ago. Since then, she has worked diligently, both officially and as an independent artist. What began as a curiosity about Canadian defence progressed into years of research into Canadian Armed Forces missions. As a result, valuable contacts and relationships were steadily built on trust and respect with each sitter. Her artistic skill captures the essence of these dedicated individuals. We see pride, honour, strength and sometimes weakness, even the anti-hero in these faces. How much decision-making, questions about morality, emotional conflict and physical hardship, PTSD, have these soldiers experienced? Who are these individuals that have given of themselves so selflessly? What have they seen and lived through?  What is their message? Is there one?

The Gulf War of 1990-91 initially stirred Kearns’ interest in conflict work. From there she began to examine the Yugoslav Wars of 1991-99, considering the pressures on society and ethnic cleansing. The inability of UN peacekeepers to prevent the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 and the impact of that failure created a series of haunting work featuring Canada’s  General, Romeo Dallaire in 2001-2.

As a war/military artist, this journey led to Kearns’ admission to a training exercise at Petawawa, Ontario in 2004. Later on she was given the opportunity of real-life experiences, embedded in Afghanistan in 2006. It was during this time, about to travel in an armoured vehicle preparing to leave Kandahar City, a suicide bomber struck the convoy ahead.  Among the ten wounded were three Canadian soldiers. A diplomat and two other civilians were killed. After the wounded soldiers were brought back to base, Kearns helped clean the infirmary. Needless to say, this experience affected Kearns profoundly.  

She has worked steadily and tirelessly producing work, giving us a glimpse into a world that many of us will never see or experience. Lucky are we that are safe and sound. Concluding with more recent counter-terrorism, sovereignty and global security works, Kearns poignantly reminds us that war is never really that far away.

The Royal Canadian Military Institute is not open to the public, but Sunday afternoon tours of the exhibition led by Kearns herself, RCMI Honorary War Artist, begin on May 24 between 2:30-3:30 pm. Sunday tours continue May 31, in June on the 14th, 21st, and 28th; July 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th. There is a tour on Sunday, August 2, 2026, the last day of the show. Address: 426 University Avenue, just south of Dundas, and the TTC St Patrick subway station.

Confirm tour availability: RCMI (416) 597-0286, or contact Gertrude Kearns directly at contact@gertrudekearnsartist.com

by John Mendelsohn

Writing about Murray Hochman’s paintings is, for me, an act of time travel. I am in the present, in his current exhibition of very large, visually mysteriously canvases that have a raw, open spirit. There is my memory of Murray, many decades ago when I first met him, a daunting guy in a dim loft in Lower Manhattan, full of his art and saturated with the odor of spray paint.

And there is the man himself now, whose journey of 91 years has been a constant painter’s progress, with all the satisfactions and vagaries that that implies. Lately, Murray’s work has received well-deserved recognition in group shows and in solo exhibitions at KinoSaito and the current one at Gallery AP Space.

In writing about painting, I usually focus exclusively on the work – what it does to me, and all that it might suggest – hoping to speak for art that speaks for itself. But here I want to see how the painter’s story and the paintings merge in my thoughts.

Murray is half a generation older than me, having grown up on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1930s and 1940s. He served in the military in the aftermath of the Korean War. His deployment was in Germany, permitting him to travel in Europe, and work in ceramics in an army base crafts class. The GI bill allowed him to earn a degree in art history from New York University, and an MFA in ceramics from Alfred University.

Returning to New York in the mid-1960s, Murray’s early work drew collectors and exhibition opportunities in the burgeoning downtown scene. The influences that Murray was drawn to included Abstract Expressionism, minimalist music, and Japanese culture. Buddhism became a life-long practice for him, whose presence in his paintings is implicit in a kind of acceptance of what is, and how that can manifest itself in a kind of hard-won spaciousness.

All writing about the essence of paintings is speculative, but Murray’s move with his spouse Lois to the Berkshires in Massachusetts two decades ago seems central to the work in the exhibition. In this rural setting, the painter has a barn to work in, and the chance to produce large-scale canvasses, some of which are 10 feet in height. But beyond size, the Large Polychrome paintings have an expansiveness, toughness, and lyricism in which I intuit the presence of the natural world.

I sense in the painting Silver and Copper Abstraction, that that the metallic surface seems to evoke an iced-over pond, with a calligraphy of whipping, inscribed lines. In Stormy Polychrome, we feel the presence of gathering clouds and dying, persisting light. In Large Polychrome No. 6, the golden illumination of dawn or dusk fills the canvas, marked allover with a rapid sgrafitto.

In a number of paintings, we are in a watery realm, with thinned-out pigment becoming rivulets in a broken field. Here the exhibition’s title, Dissolution / Resolution comes into play most evidently. Murray uses solvents to open up stained or sprayed paint, resulting in droplets or flows in the shifting atmosphere. Large Polychrome No. 2 is a prime example of this painterly process almost creating the painting by itself. In contrast is the more vividly colored Large Polychrome No. 5, with its zones of red, yellow, aqua, white, black, and tan, animated by airborne, graffiti-like sprays.

In the gallery’s lower level is Murray’s Inner Spaces series, small-scale works on paper, elegantly mounted on silver grounds. These intimate works show the artist exploring a range of flows where pigment and solvents mix in surprisingly expressive ways. Also, on the lower level is a single sculpture, Camo Tower, representing a whole other body of Murray’s work. Found detritus from consumer culture is assembled into a cubic form, painted in a range of moody greens. In concert with this work is Murray Hochman, A Labyrinth, a sound piece by Fior Daniela, with an original score and Murray’s spoken reflections on his
work.

Murray’s work is resolutely abstract, but full of emotion, turmoil, light, and hints of transcendence. Constructive and destructive forces are both always present, playing out the performance of an existential drama. The painter allows paint to become a practice and path, a way of losing and finding oneself.

Murray Hochman Dissolution / Resolution at Gallery AP Space, New York, April 2 – May 10, 2026

by Roy Bernardi

A lifetime devoted to artistry. The illustrious Sybil Goldstein  (1954-2012) currently having a retrospective of a lifetime of painting and artistic endeavours. A dedicated artist that couldn’t stop working and creating. She created art everyday leaving a massive collection of paintings, drawings, and works on board, canvas, and paper. The exhibition showcases Goldstein’s previously unseen pieces to the public, celebrating her vital role in Toronto’s cultural narrative.

Sybil Goldstein / URBAN MYTHS, an extensive exhibition showcasing her life’s work. Curated by David Liss, it is currently on display at Koffler Arts from January 20th to March 1st, 2026. “By bringing her long-hidden pieces into public view, the exhibition not only honours Goldstein’s remarkable legacy but also reaffirms her place within the cultural history of Toronto and the wider artistic movements that shaped her generation ,” says Liss. 

A number of her works were sold at an auction that took place shortly after her passing. Any pieces that did not sell — which comprised the majority of her artistic creations, amounting to over a thousand works — were kept by her family. Now, thirteen years following her death, Sybil’s family is seeking assistance within the Toronto art community in finding homes for the many pieces of art within the estate.

Koffler Arts, an organization that champions community initiatives, has made the decision to present this posthumous retrospective. It is especially noteworthy that an unprecedented exhibition is currently being held, providing visitors with the opportunity to take home one of her original artworks following the exhibition’s conclusion. The family due to the difficulty in marketing art regards the monetary significance in the Canadian art market as nonexistent; however curators and scholars are visually able to identify the significant importance of the art works placement and contributions to the Canadian identity. On a personal level, the artwork carries a charm that resonates with personal feelings and interpretations, permitting individuals to choose an image that will resonate within their homes, enrich their spirits, and ideally bring joy to their lives.

While pausing silently to appreciate the artworks showcased in a salon-style arrangement within the exhibition, one experiences an uncanny feeling that Goldstein is somehow present. In the midst of the admiration permeating the room, one can detect a pleasurable enjoyment alongside an intellectual appreciation for the contrasting elements within the pieces that embellish the walls. Furthermore, there is an element of empty calmness, as if the traces of her journey are indicative of having traversed a difficult path. It is this essence that generates a lingering admiration for a talent that clearly was well accomplished.

Sybil concentrated her artistic efforts on urban culture, depicting individuals at street corners engaged in their everyday activities, alongside the interiors of offices, bars, subway stations, and shopping malls, wooded areas, and neglected spaces. Numerous scenes featured mythological beings such as angels, satyrs, and spirits. Additionally, she drew inspiration from classical old masters like El Greco, Velasquez, and Rubens.

Covering surfaces of canvas, paper, or on board, her lively lines and occasionally hurried, rugged brushwork reflect an artist’s pursuit to encapsulate the fleeting movements and moments of her life, illustrated through images like Satyr Family Overlooking the Don Valley, After El Greco, Dundas Windows A&B-Birth of an Angel, Untitled-Lion Killing It’s Prey, College Street at 2:00am, Queen & Roncesvalles, Adelaide & Spadina, Spadina & Dundas, Dufferin Mall, Queen & Yonge, Joe Shuster Way, Union Station, among others, depicting various locations in downtown Toronto.

In 1981 Goldstein was one of the founding members of the ChromaZone Collective, along with Andy Fabo, Oliver Girling, Rae Johnson, Brian Burnett, Tony Wilson, and others, who organized exhibitions and events that were characterized by their support of a figurative Neo-expressionist movement gaining international recognition during their early years.

It is important to note that Goldstein was the artist responsible for the stunning Sistine Chapel-inspired artwork on the ceiling of the Cameron House located on Queen Street West. Goldstein passed away unexpectedly on July 2, 2012.

by Roy Bernardi and Jennifer Leskiw

Art Toronto is Canada’s leading art fair, held annually at the Metro Convention Centre located on Front Street in the vibrant downtown area of Toronto. It is the largest art fair in the country, showcasing works from both emerging young artists and established masters. Under the leadership of Mia Nielsen, the Director of Art Toronto, the fair has consistently thrived, with a new central theme introduced each year. This year, the focus is on Latin American art (Arte Sur), curated by Karen Huber, a Mexican curator and gallerist based in Mexico City. Huber is recognized for her innovative approach to presenting contemporary Latin American art from Central and South America. She has assembled 11 esteemed galleries for Art Toronto, which are featured in a dedicated section of the fair’s exhibition space. The participating galleries include Alejandra Topete Gallery from Mexico City, Mexico; Aninat Galería from Vitacura, Chile; BLOC Art from Lima, Peru; Crisis Gallery from Lima, Peru; deCERCA from San José, Costa Rica; Judas Galería from Valparaíso, Chile; Isabel Croxatto Galería from Santiago, Chile; PROXYCO Gallery from New York, USA (featuring Latin artists); Subsuelo from Rosario, Argentina; Swivel Gallery from New York, USA (featuring Latin artists); and The White Lodge from Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The Latin American focus is a must see. According to Huber, every art fair in the world needs a section for Latin American art. This huge continent brims with creativity encompassing all mediums resulting in fresh works touching upon all aspects of humanity stemming from young voices, indigenous peoples, well seasoned artists and those artists no longer alive. In talks with fellow colleagues, curators and friends, Huber feels Latin America is no longer seen as a minority. In her opinion, it has become very active in every country and in every city in the world and it is an important part of the economy. Huber feels it is essential to give visibility to Latin American artists in spaces like art fairs, galleries, museums and institutions. Many feel there has been a void in the art market for contemporary Latin American art. More galleries are now expanding to exhibit Latin American art opening the world to more conversations about art, to more story telling from different backgrounds and linking various cultures together. There is a growing curiosity among individuals regarding Latin American art. Individuals are increasingly seeking to travel to fairs in Latin America to witness and discover the wealth of offerings that this continent presents.

Although most galleries within the Art Fair showcase emerging contemporary artists, there are exceptions like Christopher Cutts Gallery booth A71, who highlights emerging talents such as Alexander Rasmussen alongside the renowned Canadian master Harold Town. Director Christopher Cutts made a noteworthy observation: “They positioned me in a corner this year, so I thought there was no more fitting artwork to display in that corner than Harold Town’s piece titled Tyranny of the Corner Puzzle Set from 1962”.

This year signifies a milestone for innovators Rob Cowley and Lydia Abbott, who are continually expanding the limits of art sales. Together, they operate Cowley Abbott, Canada’s Art Auctioneers, which specializes in showcasing and selling secondary market artworks both regionally and internationally. Their Private Sales section, featured within the auction house and exhibited at the Art Toronto art fair booth A51, highlights Canadian masters such as David Blackwood, A.J. Casson, and Franklin Carmichael, alongside international icons like Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Larry Poons.

The Rebecca Hossak Art Gallery, booth C54, located in London, UK, showcases two remarkable artworks by the artist Nikoleta Sekulovic, who was born in 1974 in Rome, Italy, and has German/Serbian heritage. Sekulovic is among the most sought-after artists represented by the gallery. Last year, she presented two pieces at Art Toronto, successfully selling both, and subsequently featured her work at Miami Basel, where several pieces sold out. Sekulovic is a contemporary figurative painter renowned for her vividly conceived portraits that pay tribute to iconic women throughout history. She employs a unique style that she has cultivated, characterized by a contemporary craftsmanship reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite design.

The art fair offers a wonderful experience for those seeking inspiration and knowledge from the numerous art dealers and artworks displayed.