Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
I’m so excited about today’s releases. Artist Darren Rigo is still a student at the Ontario College of Art & Design but already garnering rave reviews for his work. At the Artist Project Toronto earlier this month Darren placed first in the “Queen Competition” for his work “Transfer” which also won the Corporate Purchase Award. During a talk at the Project, Art InSight founder Betty Ann Jordan credited Darren as “innovatively updating the well trodden path of landscape photography”. You can catch a clip of her speech here. Darren is also making waves all the way across the pond in Australia. The lovely Heidi Romano from the art journal, UYW included Darren’s work in their most recent issue. Be sure to check it out.
It’s my pleasure to introduce two of Darren’s images from his displacement series. In Displacement #18, Darren has photographed a burning newspaper on an icy pond. A lot of comments could be made about this but I love the fire and ice imagery that this photograph brings to mind. While I’m pretty sure Darren’s vision was not born of it, I couldn’t help but think of my favorite Robert Frost poem. At the time of it’s writing, Fire and Ice was marveled at for its compactness and some say it signaled a new style for Frost. Sort of fitting when you think back to Betty Ann’s comment about how Darren is “innovatively updating” landscape photography. In Displacement #19, the yellow aerosol streamer strewn about a branch brings a touch of whimsy to an otherwise ordinary early spring landscape scene. In his statement for the series, Darren describes images as “an attempt to beautify what we normally view as ordinary while they dissect the ways we are connected to nature”.
We are featuring 3 sizes in each edition. The very affordable 8 x 10 at just $40.00, a 16 x 20 for moderately serious collectors and a 24 x 30 for serious collectors. When I asked Darren if we could do an 11 x 14, he responded that he preferred to do the 8 x 10 so that everyone could afford his work. I love this! Like a lot of true artists, money is not the main objective. Sure, they want (and deserve) to make money but, more importantly, they want their work to be seen. It’s due to artists like Darren that we are able to offer fabulous art at price points for everyone. In fact you’ll often find that our prices are lower than you would pay if you bought directly from the artists.
In other exciting news, PAS artist Andrea Stultiens will be releasing a new book May 6th, titled Intensive Care. The book done in conjunction with Dutch poet, writer and journalist Vrouwkje Tuinman will be released at the opening of the exhibition of the photographs. For more information check out Andrea Stultiens website. PAS artist Nico Oved also has a show coming up at The Department (link). We’ll keep you updated as the dates are confirmed.
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