What comes after the flood?

We’re back curating the sixth edition of Grow Op at the Gladstone Hotel in April 18-22, 2018. In the upcoming exhibition, we contemplate AFTER THE FLOOD. What lies beyond once the floodwaters recede? What emerges once the smoke clears? As cataclysmic climate events multiply in tandem with our species’ continuously expanding footprint, we are re-conceiving our relationships with the organic and inorganic world around us in unprecedented ways. The call for submissions closes September 30th.

Image by Drew Desharnais Photography

August 13 2017

Art Underground

Join us June 5th for a Public Art Concept Presentation of our proposal Outside the Lines for Wilson Station on the Toronto Transit Commission’s subway system. The proposed project seeks to capture the site’s capacity for dynamic movement through bursts of colourful sculptural forms. Rather than a singular static art piece, Outside the Lines is playfully fluid. Popping out of walls, shooting through floors and coiling around columns, it flows through the sprawling station in the form of ten vibrant installations.

May 14 2017

Grown Op

The fifth annual Grow Op 2017 wrapped up earlier this month, an incredible exposition of contemporary art exploring themes of landscape, ecology and design that we co-curated, taking over all 4 floors of the Gladstone Hotel. Thanks to the amazing work of the 39 participating artists who created 30 innovative projects that engaged and enlightened visitors over the course the show.

Catch up on some of the coverage in Azure Magazine, Toronto Life, GROUND, and Canadian Architect.

Image: ‘Extreme Cloud Gazing’, Julie Gladstone (photo by Gabby Frank)

April 29 2017

Allied Arts Medal 2017

We’re happy to announce that Christine Leu, on behalf of LeuWebb Projects, has been awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s (RAIC) Allied Arts Medal for 2017.

The RAIC bestows the Allied Arts Medal every two years. The award honours a Canadian artist or designer for outstanding achievement in artwork created to be integrated with architecture. Any medium allied to architecture is eligible including murals, sculpture, glass, fabric, lighting, furniture, water, sound, site-specific installation, video, digital and industrial and landscape design.

“Each one of Christine Leu’s permanent works and temporary installations manifests a thoughtful and thought-provoking approach to its architectural or environmental context,” said the three-member jury.

“This is an extraordinary body of work that bridges art and architecture,” said the jury. “It demonstrates skill in response to site interpretation. There is a high-quality craft element.”

The medal will be formally presented in May at the RAIC’s Festival of Architecture in Ottawa.

 

March 21 2017

Nature’s Wild Backyard

We’re pleased to announce that we’re creating a new public artwork for the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Our piece Animal Family will be integrated into the new Urban Barn as part of the zoo’s Nature’s Wild Backyard revitalization. The redevelopment’s design by the Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative has already won an award and the real thing will be well worth a visit once it’s complete. We’ll keep you posted as our project develops.

February 16 2017

Cultivating Curiosity

This week spring has finally arrived in Toronto, just in time for the Gladstone Hotel’s Grow Op exhibition. The fourth annual landscape, ecology and art show that we’re co-curating with Graham Teeple promises to be a thought provoking ensemble of works that seek to make sense of our unprecedented ecological present.

We’ll be present throughout the exhibition and will be participating in the Grow Op Talks and several workshops over the course of the show.

Exhibition Hours:
April 21: 11am – 8pm
April 22: 11am – 10pm
April 23: 11am – 10pm
April 23: 10am – 5pm

Special Events:
April 20: Grow Op Talks: Cities of Alchemy, Ballroom, 8-10pm
April 21: Grow Op’s Alternative Food + Drink Show, Ballroom, 7-10pm
April 22: Opening Reception, 2nd Floor Gallery, 7-10pm | After Party, Melody Bar, 10pm-late
April 23: Offsite Installation by Robert Cram + After Party, OCADU Gallery, 7-10pm
April 24: Gladstone Flea Goes Green, Melody Bar, 10am – 4pm

Image: Twig Chair by Shelly Dwyer

April 18 2016

On Collaboration

We recently shared our perspectives on collaborating as part of the 2016 Toronto Design Offsite Festival’s TO DO Talks: Collaborate and Listen!  Thursday, January 21st, in The Gladstone Hotel’s Ballroom. Central to our conversation was the piece we created for that space in 2011, The Ballroom of Sounding Light.
Along with Symon Oliver (Also Collective), Stanley Sun (Mason Studio), Steven Beites (Studio Kimiis), Viz Saraby (Invention Squad), and  William Haskas (+Collective), we chatted about the enriching and sometimes challenging processes involved in successful collaboration.

 

January 28 2016

Radiantactivity at the Drake Devonshire

We recently mounted our piece ‘Radiantactivity’ at the Drake Devonshire Hotel in Wellington, Prince Edward County, Ontario. The commissioned work integrates with the hotel’s cladding and fronts onto a soon-to-be poured skating rink to take advantage of the joys of winter. Stay tuned for ice skating updates!

Image by Johnny Lam

 

 

 

December 20 2015