A couple of parties and a lot of great art
Plus, a TikTok.
Good morning, art lovers! How is everyone doing? What was your top pick at Art Toronto?
Art Metropole is having a raffle wrapped up in a party. I love raffles and consider myself quite lucky, so of course bought a ticket. The cherry on top is you get to support an amazing bookstore and Canadian institution. Party tickets. Raffle tickets.
Another party announcement! C Magazine is having a petit salon at the Toronto Ace Hotel in anticipation of their upcoming auction. Saturday at 6 p.m. I will be there. Come and say hi!
Speaking of the C Magazine, their auction starts tomorrow and runs until November 13th. The prices, at least the estimates, are incredibly reasonable. I know many people who started collecting at this auction and now live with pieces from very respected Canadian artists. Here are a few of my picks: This painting reminds me of Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. A beautiful painting of lichen. A Kazya DeGraff-Ford painting for the smoker in your life. Look at this beautiful photograph. I might bid on this swan with delightful hidden details.
Min Jia, Nesting Partner, 2023 I love this drawing by Hangama Amiri! It stopped me in my Instagram scrolling tracks. Since I know Amiri as an artist who works in textiles and painting, I was pleasantly surprised to see a drawing by her. It’s nice to see a self-portrait—the location and act of weight lifting feels so contemporary, every day, and simultaneously projects strength and feminity.
David Velasco was fired after six years as editor-in-chief at Artforum after the decision to publish an open letter signed by artists supporting Palestine. The letter asked for the killing and harming of all civilians to stop. Now, artists are asking for a boycott of the magazine. I’ve enjoyed writing for the magazine, but I can’t fathom the clear censorship of free speech.
This review/article about the parasocial relationships between artists and their fans and the place of art criticism is wild. A must-read.
Opening tonight in Toronto: Brendan George Ko is presenting 1000 images from his scrapbook project, which he started in 2013. Real heads eagerly anticipate Ko’s scrapbook each year. The opening starts at 6 p.m., and the show goes until December 9th at Gallery 44.
Nick Bierk has a show with the online gallery Painters Painting Paintings. It looks beautiful. The gallery (which started as an Instagram account, hi!) is pushing the bounds of an “online exhibition space” by making a presentation deserving of the artwork.
Nicholas Bierk, The Italian Bedroom, 2023 Opening tonight in New York: Jennifer Carvalho at Helena Anrather. Next week’s newsletter will be a studio visit with Carvalho. I wish I could be there for the show.
And finally, this TikTok of Lola Clark (grandaughter of the fashion designer Ossie Clark) talking about being painted by David Hockney made me smile.
If you want to chat about anything art, have a question about what you should bid on at the C Magazine auction, or have feedback—send me an email by replying to this letter. xx Tatum
I love an Autobiography of Red shoutout (great painting, too)