The Haptics of Optics

Colleen McCarten, Interlocking Black and White, 2023, 24 x 39 x 2 in, Handwoven cotton and monofilament on canvas and linen

The Haptics of Optics

Curated by Jessica Thalmann
An exhibition of artworks by Eva Kolcze, Robert Davidovitz, and Colleen McCarten

October 10 – December 7, 2024
Opening reception: Thursday, October 10, 5 – 7 pm
NAMARA Projects, Toronto

Eva Kolcze, The Image in the Stone – Descending, 2024, 39 x 46 in, Archival pigment print on cotton muslin

“Threads were no longer as before three dimensional; only their resemblance appeared drawn or printed on paper.” – Anni Albers

The Haptics of Optics is an exhibition that brings together three Toronto-based artists examining the intersection of weaving and image making through painting, experimental film, photography, and textile. Using the paradigm of one medium to influence and shape another, Eva Kolcze, Robert Davidovitz, and Colleen McCarten are artists actively engaged in the conceptual and formal practice of unraveling perception and time through material.

All three artists speculate on materiality in their respective medium and question notions of perception and time. The Haptics of Optics as an exhibition, ruminates on the tactility of vision and the hand manipulated ways that space and time can be shaped, warped, and twisted much like the threads of a woven textile.

— Jessica Thalmann, Curator

View the full curatorial statement here.

Robert Davidovitz, Arch, 2024, 39 x 27 in, Acrylic on Panel

About the Curator

Jessica Thalmann is an artist, curator and educator currently based in Toronto and New York City. She received an MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP-Bard College and a BFA in Visual Arts from York University. Thalmann has taught at the International Centre for Photography, Akin Collective, MacLaren Art Centre, Toronto School of Art, Gallery 44 and City College of New York. She has been an artist in residence at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Alberta, Canada, and at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a recipient of grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council.

Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at Aperture Foundation, International Centre for Photography, Camera Club of New York Baxter St, and Humble Arts Foundation (New York), VIVO Media Arts Centre (Vancouver), Museum of Contemporary Art, Harbour- front Centre, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, Angell Gallery, Gallery TPW, Art Spin, and Gales Gallery at York University (Toronto).

About the Artists

Eva Kolcze, a Toronto-based artist, explores the fluidity of time and its expression in natural and built spaces through projects involving geology, architecture, and the environment. Her projects incorporate material explorations with analog film, fabric, and digital imagery. Her work has been exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), MOCA Toronto, the Gardiner Museum, Nuit Blanche, Cinémathèque québécoise, Birch Contemporary, and the Images Festival. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University and a Master of Fine Arts from York University.

Robert Davidovitz is a Toronto-based artist working in painting and weaving. He studied Visual Arts at York University and after graduating in 2007, his work has been exhibited in public galleries and museums including: Durham Art Gallery, Thames Art Gallery, Harbourfront Centre, and Museum London to name a few. Davidovitz has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, and has been featured in various publications and press including the Huffington Post, Moco Loco, and Bizarre Beyond Belief.

Colleen McCarten is a material based visual artist & educator residing in Toronto, Ontario. She holds a Bachelors of Design in Material Art & Design (Textiles) from OCAD University, a Diploma in Fashion Techniques & Design from George Brown College, and a Certificate in Landscape Design & Horticulture Techniques from Niagara College. McCarten has taught textile programs through various places including the Toronto School of Art, the Toronto District School Board, the City of Oshawa, and the Design Exchange. She is currently a CLTA Lecturer at OCAD University, in the Material Art & Design department.

McCarten has held solo shows at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery and Angell Gallery in Toronto. Her work has also been included in group shows at The Harbourfront Centre, The Idea Exchange, Ontario Place, as well as the Textile Museum of Canada. She has received grants from both the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Her work is in the permanent collection at the Bank of Montreal, La Maison Simons, Canopy Hotel, along with various private collections.

About NAMARA Projects

Located in the Dupont Arts Building, NAMARA projects is a privately funded, not-for-profit venue for research, deliberation, and presentation of curatorial work.

NAMARA works around the fluctuating borders of the traditional art world. The explorations conducted in the Project Space inform both independent and commissioned presentations. Through our work, we celebrate thoughtful work by contemporary artists; challenge traditions, experimenting with untested methods; and welcome new collaborators and audiences.

NAMARA Projects is pleased to offer treats by Sidnichka during our receptions. Sidnichka works with our curators and partners to conceive of bites that integrate the themes, content, or ideas represented in NPS programming.

IG: @namaraprojects

About NAMARA

NAMARA is a curatorial firm under the direction of Natalie MacNamara. NAMARA bridges the gap between the art world and broader commercial, public, and educational fields. We align partner interests with the goal of producing meaningful and engaging cultural projects.

We deliver art strategy, curatorial direction, collections, exhibitions, public art, permanent installations, temporary experiential and visual projects in digital and physical space, and art direction.

What sets us apart is our interdisciplinary approach to bringing together client and commissioning bodies’ priorities, with artists’ conceptual and aesthetic faculties. The result is concept-driven, artist-led projects that engage audiences and deliver impact.

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NAMARA Projects
915 Dupont Street – Unit 103
Toronto, Canada M6H 1Z1
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