Darkness at the edge…

Curated by Thom Sokoloski

June 13-July 7, 2013

Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts : Annual Curated Exhibition

Toronto Ontario Canada

 

Opening reception: Thursday June 13, 7- 10pm

 

There are places we find ourselves where light fades and darkness arrives. That edge, precipice, or boundary, where the light meets the dark, can become a threshold into an unknown abyss or terrain. It might be the moment after opening the door to reveal the darkness of your home or studio. Entering a cave on a bright day. Looking out at a moon-lit lake of dark water that you would never dare dive into. The end of an affair, marriage or friendship. We have all looked into the darkness at the edge, the place where we let go of what we had, knew or cherished.

 

Darkness at the edge is about those moments of liminality; the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in life and dream when you no longer hold what you held, but have not yet begun the transition to what you will hold. During a ritual's liminal stage, a participant "stands at the threshold, often in a state of contemplation of what was and what could be.

 

As a curator, it is always fascinating to propose a theme for an exhibition, since you never can guess what the response might be. It arouses artists to respond in different ways with their practice; from what was their initial inspiration and concept to the process of rendering their final work. A kind of collective engagement occurs, unknowingly, between every artist until they each deem what work will be relevant. With over 130 submissions, Darkness at the Edge, hit a chord with a wide spectrum of artistry. My hope is that the 36 selected works you experience throughout Propeller will conjure up not only each artist's response to liminality but also provoke a momentary mirror into each of our own.

Thom Sokoloski

 

Curatorial Intern: Vjosana Shkurti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Participating artists: Karen Abel (Canada), Salvatore Insana (Italy), Peter Barelkowski (Canada) , Lisa Johnson (Canada) , Sarah Casey (UK) , Paul Kilbertus (Canada), Charles Chadwick and Matthew Bambas (USA), Jennifer Laiwint (Canada), Connie Chappel (Canada), Miklos Legrady (Canada), Morgan Chivers (USA), Irina Litinsky (Canada), Mary DiPaola (Canada), Eileen MacArthur (Canada), Daniel Djamo (Romania), Slawomir Milewski (UK), Olujic Dosic (Canada), Ben Ng (Canada), Gerry Dotto (Canada), Randall Okita (Canada), Pat Dumas-Hudecki (Canada), Anastasia Pronsky-Stojanovic (Canada), Stu Edwards (Canada), Robert Quance (Canada), Johanna Evans-Colley (USA), Luis Rodrogues (Portugal), Ronald Gonzalez (USA), Sirima Sataman (USA), Shannon Griffiths (Canada) , Giovanni Senisi (Canada), Natasha Gusta (Canada), Heather Smith (Canada), Brian Hawkins (USA), Evan Steenson (Canada), Todd Herman (USA), Keijo Tapanainen (Canada), W.W. Hung (Canada), Kira Varvanina (Canada)