MIXED MEDIA: TORONTO
Graham Gillmore – Great Expectations
It seems Canadian mixed-media artist Graham Gillmore cannot decide if words or images convey his messages best so he takes no chances and employs both. The Toronto outpost of Division Gallery presents a selection of his paintings and sculptures this weekend that explore familial relations, with Gillmore’s overlaid images helping viewers read between the lines of phrases commonly heard in any household. “Do Not Disturb,” for instance, takes on different meanings depending on context; the phrase hardly means the same thing when used in an office as it does hanging off the door handle of a teenager. By naming his show Great Expectations, Gillmore is not only setting the bar high for himself, he’s also testing the perspectives of his audience.
Division Gallery Toronto, 45 Ernest Avenue. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00-18.00. Until 18 October.
CRAFT: HONG KONG
Leather Forever
Following visits to Shanghai, Rome, London, Madrid and Taipei, French luxury brand Hermès has brought its Leather Forever exhibition to Hong Kong at local creative hub PMQ. The exhibition is a showcase in celebration of the fabled fashion house’s tight-knit relationship with leather. Craftspeople from its workshops in Paris will be present at the exhibition demonstrating the art of leather cutting, assembling and stitching while working on some of Hermès’ iconic bags (two new Passe-Guide box leather bags have been designed especially for the show). Leather Forever is a chance to see fine work and craftsmanship from the best in the business up close.
PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. Open Monday to Sunday, 11.00-20.00. Until 28 September.
SCULPTURE: LONDON
Anthony Caro: The Last Sculptures
The results of British abstract-sculptor Anthony Caro’s final imaginings are now on display at London’s Annely Juda Fine Art gallery. As part of a series he began working on in 2012 before his recent passing, the exhibition focuses on Perspex, a material he had only experimented with once back in 2000. The coloured sheets of plastic in this 25-strong series impose on more tactile, rougher materials such as wood and rusted steel in order to create a strangely jarring visual dialogue. An accompanying essay from art critic Alastair Sooke offers increased perspective on what is a visually arresting, suitably bold swan song for a great artist.
Annely Juda Fine Art, 4th Floor, 23 Dering Street. Open Monday to Friday, 10.00-18.00; Saturday, 11.00-17.00. Until 25 October.
DESIGN: TOKYO
George Nelson Exhibition
Don’t miss the George Nelson Exhibition at Meguro Museum of Art in Tokyo this weekend. Devised by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, this globe-trotting showcase sheds light on the late multitalented American industrial designer who shaped the post-Second World War landscape across the US and helped bring modernism to furniture design. Nelson worked across many different fields having trained in architecture and was also a teacher, so this exhibition showcases around 300 pieces from a vast collection that includes his signature Coconut chair, Marshmallow sofa, and bubble lamps, as well as posters, photographs and films.
Meguro Museum of Art, 2-4-36 Meguro, Meguro-ku. Open daily, 10.00-18.00.
MUSIC: GLOBAL
Simian Ghost: The Veil
Swedish band Simian Ghost make music of extremes – really pleasant ones – as new record The Veil hops schizophrenically between sugary sweet Beach Boys melodies and more introspective explorations. Where this trio made up of Sebastian Arnström, Erik Klinga and Mathias Zachrisson got their permanently sunny outlook is anyone’s guess but the album’s more shoegaze-indebted, noisier chapters – often mixed in with found sounds from the real world – suggest that being part of Simian Ghost is not always a dreamy fairytale. But with tunes this buoyant and breezy, it’s quite easy to believe whatever you feel like.
'The Veil’ is available now.
