Vokunji

Scavenger (top photo)

Vokunji – show statement

Some artist’s statements are hilarious, some are infuriatingly complex and filled with pompous referents, and yet prove utterly insubstantial when deciphered. And then there are those which are packed with directly accessible narrative and empathy for audience. They know you are here for a show – and they want to set your head up right. My favourite approach of all!

Curiously domestic perambulations

Yesterday I had the fun and pleasure of catching a very cool new show by one of my favourite young artists – Rewfoe – at one of my favourite independent galleries – Northern Contemporary – which this year moved to spacious (and much easier to find) new premises at 1605 Queen W. (at Triller, just E of Roncesvalles) – and in the process added much studio space and also the Koffee Kween coffee shop.

Gone fishin’

Rewfoe (Andrew Foerster) is probably best known as a very busy and well-regarded animator (I posted about a few of his warm, charming and richly imagined gems, here).

Scouting for the next big thing

He’s also a very talented illustrator and print-designer – plus he makes sculptures which are at once macabre and beautiful, combining many found elements, to deliver ultra rich implied narratives, in a single static piece (one almost feels their individual films are holographically attached, so as to unpack later, in your imagination).

Fellow Travellers

Even the body-language of his robots and cybernauts speaks volumes – and almost always suggests a warmth of sentiment that defies the common use of such themes to shock or horrify.

Total sweetheart – you can just tell

Couldn’t help thinking of Guillermo Del Toro’s ideas about monsters – and especially his conviction that empathy there, where it is most difficult, is key to understanding the humane in its full richness and depth.

Hunters at the ready