Collision Artist Spotlight: Maren Boedeker

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months.

This week we caught a glimpse of new work in progress by Maren Boedeker.

Maren Boedeker studied visual arts and art education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Münster, Germany.

Her abstract, large-scale canvases have been shown in galleries in Germany, Belgium and Canada. She received the artist-in-residency-grant Liguria, Italy and was awarded first place in the exhibition "Art for Europe", curated by the European Community in Brussels, Belgium.

Besides her artistic practice, she has continuously been working with children, teens and adults as an art teacher and instructor.

Since 2013 she lives and works in Toronto. She was selected for the AKIN Studio Program 2018/19, first year, having her studio at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA).

Video by Maren Boedeker. Filmed in Toronto, ON.

To learn more about this artist and her practice visit www.marenboedeker.com/ or via instagram at @marenboedeker.artist

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Collision Artist Spotlight: Maria Kim

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months.

This week we caught a glimpse of new work in progress by Maria Kim.

"During the past three years, I have been given opportunities to participate and work with international artist residencies for six months each in Paris, Barcelona, Seville and a full year in Leipzig. After returning to Toronto last September to participate as a Resident Artist at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre (MLAC), I had to decide to lengthen my stay to be with family through the events of the pandemic, and have now joined AKIN X Collision residency for the rest of the year.

Current conditions have opened my mind in redefining blurred boundaries of interior and exterior spaces, public and private realms, the lucidity of time, and notions of progress and regress. Personally, I have always been heavily informed by histories, individual and collective experiences, distorted and manipulated memories, altered perceptions of the world through the intergernerational transferring of beliefs, values and stories, and notions of truth. These interests were born initially from being a Korean-Canadian, as I long searched the tangible stories of Korean diaspora left in lands without citizenship throughout Asia during WWII and the Korean War. Through constant research and exploration of transgenerational trauma and how it affects individuals in present situations, I paint the figures using the face and body as the place which holds the traces of human experience.

This exhibition titled: "Singled Out" reveals some of these expressions, and blurred lines of memory with reality, painted during my time away and upon returning home." - Maria Kim

Video by Maria Kim. Filmed in Toronto, ON.

To learn more about this artist and her practice visit www.mihyunmariakim.com/ or via instagram at @singmariamaria

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Collision Artist Spotlight: Lindsay Chambers

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months.

This week we caught a glimpse of an ongoing series of painted photographs by Lindsay Chambers.

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months. This week we caught a glimpse of new work in progress by Lindsay Chambers.

"Hello, my name is Lindsay Chambers and I am an artist at Akin's Collision Studio''. “Paper, by virtue of its intended function, has a relationship with the human need to communicate with others. With or without obvious markings upon its surface, crumpled and discarded or particularly arranged, there is an under-standing that a piece of paper has been created and influenced in content, form and gesture by its previous handler. Paper is made to capture a piece of ourselves, and my work explores this relationship.”

Lindsay Chambers is a Canadian artist currently practicing in Toronto, Ontario. Her work explores the delicacies of the human condition through paintings based on crumpled paper sculptures. All reference material, including any pattern or text, is carefully executed by the hand of the Artist. Chambers’ painting objective is always to explore materials, to manipulate paint and maintain the visibility of layers. The subject matter, as it explores our relationship with paper, is at times representational while at other times aims to find a space between realism and abstraction.

Chambers has an Honours BA from the University of Waterloo in Fine Arts and Psychology, a certificate in 3D for Broadcast Animation and Design from Humber College and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor. Her work belongs to collections across Canada, as well as in the United States, UK, Dubai, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. View the full video via the link in our bio. Video by Lindsay Chambers. Filmed in Toronto, ON.

To learn more about this artist and her practice visit www.lindsaychambers.ca or via facebook/instagram at @lindsaychamberspainting.

Stay tuned for updates on Lindsay Chambers’ upcoming programming onsite at Collision Gallery this Fall!

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Collision Artist Spotlight: Janne Reuss

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months.

This week we caught a glimpse of an ongoing series of painted photographs by Janne Reuss.

Janne Reuss is a multidisciplinary and conceptually-driven artist. In her recent series Rewriting the Story, she combines photography and painting, creating ambiguous spaces that evoke imaginary and spiritual landscapes. A constant theme in her work is the exploration of the human condition of freedom and confinement. The process of liberation and transformation of false narratives and identities.

She studied Fine Arts at the Academy of Art & Design in Stuttgart, Germany, and History of Art in Mexico City, where she was born and raised. Her work is held in private as well as public collections: The Donovan Art Collection at St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada (2013), and the Municipal Gallery Ostfildern, Germany (2008).

Video by Janne Reuss. Filmed in Toronto, ON.

To learn more about this artist and her practice visit www.artjanne.com or https://www.instagram.com/jannereuss.

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Interested in viewing Janne's work in person? Visit Remote Gallery (568B Richmond Street West) September 14-23, 2020 for 'Selfreflections3'.

Join the virtual opening on September 14th at 7pm. RSVP to join via selfreflections3@gmail.com.

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Collision Artist Spotlight: Antonio Pendones

This month we checked in with some of the resident artists in our studios at Collision Gallery to see what they have been working on over the last few months.

This week we caught a glimpse of an ongoing series of mixed media sculptures by Antonio Pendones.

Antonio Pendones works with a variety of media including digital canvasses through the use of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Harnessing the skills and knowledge earned after years of working as a designer, Antonio’s art is bold and colourful, intricate and complex, refined and elegant, and, as he says, “wondrous and surprising”. 

Since 2004, Antonio has lived and worked in Toronto, both as an artist, as well as an Art Director. His work has been featured in galleries, venues and events throughout Toronto, such as Moniker Gallery, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, the Pan-American Food Festival and Koyman Galleries in Ottawa. In 2014, Antonio exhibited at Spectrum Miami Art Fair during Art Basel. 

Born in Guananico, The Dominican Republic, Antonio moved to New York City at the age of 20 to pursue his passion for design. He earned an Associate’s Degree from Bronx Community College. He then went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design degree from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in 1999. After completing his degree, Antonio began his design career at the prestigious The New Yorker magazine, where he held the position of Senior Designer.

At the core of each of his pieces is a story Antonio is driven to tell. Moments and experiences from his life are woven into each of his pieces, whether directly influencing the subjects he chooses, or reflected in the overall look and feel of his works. The vibrant colours characteristic of much of Antonio’s work, are inspired from his Dominican upbringing. Not easily categorized or defined, Antonio’s work continues to evolve alongside the digital technology from which it originates.

Michael Vickers of Akin Lansdowne profiled in the Toronto Guardian

Congratulations to Michael Vickers of Akin Lansdowne on being featured Artist Profile in the Toronto Guardian.

“Michael Vickers is a Toronto-based artist with a practice that works in the space between sculpture, painting and installation. His recent work investigates the limits of different materials and presentation methods – painted, curled and bent forms made of various painted aluminums and steels, etched and engraved stone and marble works, and installations that activate the exhibition space in different ways. ”

— Joel Levy for the Toronto Guardian

Click Here to read the rest of "A Day in the Life" with Local Toronto Artist Michael Vickers

Shanna Van Maurik interviewed on Hayley's World

Our very own Shanna Van Maurik of Akin Dupont was recently featured on Hayley's World , the blog of infamous and influential Canadian fashion designer Hayley Elsaesser. 

In the interview, Shanna talks about her work, inspiration, fashion and of course SCUMLAND:

“Everyone in Scumland is kinda gross, imperfect and a second-rate version of their real world selves. I’ve always felt a little bit out of place and I think that’s part of where being an artist comes in. I love doing things with my hands and creating. If you can’t afford something or something isn’t given to you, you can make what you have special as long as you’re creative. If you don’t fit into this world, make your own. ”

— Shanna Van Maurik for Hayley's World

Akin Collective Interviewed on CBC - Video

After the tragic events of the Oakland warehouse fire, CBC News interviewed Akin's founder Oliver Pauk about art collectives, studio safety, and Akin Collective.

Why Artists Make Better Landlords / artFcity Interview

Click here to read Why Artists Make Better Landlords: An Interview with Akin Collective’s Oliver Pauk and Michael Vickers on the artFcity blog.