Art in the Workplace Project
SAVAC presents solo exhibitions at the Canadian Heritage Ontario Region office in Toronto as part of the Art in the Workplace Project.
A standout feature of the Art in the Workplace project is the “Lunch ‘n Learn” where the artist presents an informal discussion of his or her work providing context and insight into the creative process and the artwork. The installations continue to stimulate thought and debate about the role of art, to create connections with the local art community, and to contribute to a truly vibrant workplace.
The exhibitions are not open to the public. However, if you are interested in viewing the exhibition you may make an appointment with Valerie Pagnotta, 416-973-4038
Soheila Esfahani
Poetic Compositions
March to May 2005
Soheila K. Esfahani grew up in Tehran, Iran, and moved to Canada in 1992. She graduated in 2003 from University of Waterloo with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with studio specialization in painting. She was short listed in 2004 for the New Canadian Painting Competition through RBC Investments and the Canadian Art Foundation. She is the current artist-in-resident at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener and works from her studio at Kitchener’s artist–run center, Globe Studios.
Soheila Esfahani’s paintings incorporate traditional Persian calligraphy revealing an eastern origin in her work. A western abstract influence is recognizable in the forms, lines, and texture of the compositions. She creates her handwritings by squeezing acrylic paint and medium mixture from a bottle. In some areas words are clearly recognizable, in others they overlap, transforming into unrecognizable lines and shapes. Thus, the paintings do not need a literate viewer to appreciate them aesthetically. In the Poetic Compositions series, the concepts of transformation, spirituality, and alchemy manifest through the meaning of the verses of a poem by Persian poet, Rumi.
I. M. Martinez
Chronic Flux (2003-2005)
10 June – 31 August, 2005
Chronic Flux (2003-2005) is a series of 50 archival photographs. The series begins Sept. 22, 2003 and ends Jan. 5, 2005, representing a diaristic chronicle of the temporal aspect of the photographic image and memory. Each image is made with multiple exposures creating a layering of image and time spent.
“My images denote more the memory of a thought than the memory of an event” states the artist.
Each print is displayed in a shadow-box and under every print is an engraved metallic plaque bearing date(s) and time(s) that correspond to every in-camera exposure of the negative.
I.M. Martinez is a Chilean photo-based artist and newly landed immigrant living in Toronto. She holds a BFA from Universidad Catolica de Chile and an MFA from the University of Guelph. Her work has been exhibited in Chile, the UK and Canada
Jesus Mora
Fluid Expressions
1 September – 20 November, 2005
“In response to my concern about our materialized and destructive era, I concentrate on nature and “primitive” civilizations. Concepts from personal experiences based on places; cultures, history, legends, mythologies and ancestral symbols are assimilated through watercolour. These concepts represent our vulnerability and transcendental role in this world. Overlapped figures bring a 3D illusion depicting time passing and therefore, the infinite.
The visual information obtained from cities, landscapes, eroded walls and archeological discoveries are represented through contemporary vision. The viewer is invited to explore the painting while letting their subconscious and imagination work with no boundaries. Organic shapes and natural patterns are some of the images that are in my work and can be read in different ways. However every figure is connected by the minimum line or shape. A microscopic illusion can transport the viewer into a universe of life and death.”
Jesus Mora was born in 1971 in a suburb near Mexico City. In 1995 he studied drawing and painting in “Casa de la Cultura de Chapultepec”, Mexico. During a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico he got involved with Antonio Mandarin who taught him the technique to make “alebrijes”. Two years later he started his studies at the Toronto School of Art and the Ontario College of Art. In 2002 he studied for 8 months in Florence, Italy where he expanded his knowledge in sculpture and art history. Currently he participates in the Latino Canadian Cultural Association and works for a Community Centre “Art City”.
Taha Ahmed Yasin
Garden of my Labyrinths, An exhibition of drawings
15 December, 2005 – 31 March, 2006
Garden of my Labyrinths is a series of drawings based on my personal experiences in a city of corporate culture. My drawings are analogies of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. I was practicing as an architect, working on one of the biggest amusement park projects in South Asia, the Capital Park Islamabad, at a time when the country’s political landscape was in turmoil. In 1999, after working on this project for a year, the designs were all completed and the project was ready to be constructed. In October, the country was taken over by the military regime. Within days all the investors of the project were no where to be found. The city, the faces and the environment started to change in front of me. As a response I began these drawings which were very spontaneous and an expression of what I was going through, what I felt and how I was seeing the city and the society fold and unfold.
Taha Ahmed Yasin is a new media artist and animator. Yasin did his undergraduate in Architecture in 1999, from the National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan. Since 1995 he has been involved with experimental puppet theatre, worked in different mediums and directed performances on various social issues such as child abuse and the environment. In 2003 he completed his MFA in computer animation and special effects from Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, USA. Along with his art practice in Toronto he continues to do independent new media theatre and works as a Technical Director at Nelvana Ltd., designing animation for kids.
