Ontario Society of Artists 149th Open Juried Exhibition: Colour Splash

Vivid Vivian by Ciara Campbell, Mixed media, 2022

Ontario Society of Artists 149th Open Juried Exhibition
Colour Splash!

April 6 – May 4, 2023
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto

Opening Reception: Saturday April 15, 2-5pm
Artist Talks: Saturday April 22, 3-4pm
Colour Splash! Wine Tasting: Saturday April 29, 3:30-5pm (Register below)

The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) presents its 149th Open Juried Exhibition at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto. This annual exhibit of the OSA promotes art from both emerging and established Canadian artists, with originality, artistry in composition and design, and excellence and skill in the chosen medium being the applied criteria.

This year’s playful theme is Colour Splash! where we welcome spring with splashes of reviving and re-invigorating colour after the dormancy of winter. Colour touches our lives in so many ways. We communicate and make sense of the world with it. It invigorates, soothes and heals, and brings us joy. Many works in the show reflect colour’s role in healing both during and after the pandemic. Colour Splash! presents an uplifting, diverse look at colour’s expressive impact.

Creation by Sheryl Shapiro, Acrylic on canvas, 2023

THANKS TO JURORS Anne Cavanagh, David Griffin & Joshua Heuman

Josh Heuman attended York University (BA and MA in Art History). He has since worked nearly 25 years as a curator, an educator, and in visitor services at Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha, NE); Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University (Logan, UT); Salt Lake Art Center, now Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (Salt Lake City, UT); Museum of Fine Arts Houston (TX); The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (Toronto, ON); and for Art Toronto, Canada’s largest international art fair. He has developed 1,000+ public programs, organised nearly 50 exhibitions, juried exhibitions, and lectured at many museums and universities.

David Griffin (born Kingston, Jamaica) works with drawing, colour, and writing, and has presented, published, and exhibited work across North America and the UK, most recently in the journal “Drawing: Research, Theory, Practice” (2019, Intellect Press, London UK). David is currently Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada, and is Chair of the University’s Research Ethics Board. He holds a PhD from the Glasgow School of Art, an MFA from the Pratt Institute, and a BFA from Parsons School of Design.

Anne Cavanagh studied in the United States, France, and England, obtaining a Bachelor of Art in Pre-Medical Illustration (2004). Recent exhibitions of her work have included Connections an exhibit by the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Breath. Heart. Spirit. 150th Anniversary Launch Exhibition at Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford, Ontario, the Art Gallery of Northumberland’s 43rd Juried Exhibition in Cobourg, Ontario, and the 7th Biennial Alumni Art Exhibition at the VAB Gallery, Carrolton, Georgia, USA. In 2015, Cavanagh’s work was published in Strokes of Genius 7: The Best of Drawing (North Light Books, Rachel Rubin Wolf, Cincinnati, OH, USA). Cavanagh was the Ontario Society of Artists Eastern Hub Director from 2018 until 2020.

House on Landsdowne by Julia Nathanson, Photo print, 2021

ETHEL RAICUS AWARD
Each year the Ontario Society of Artists present the Ethel Raicus Award to a deserving Central Tech Art student. The award is funded through a bequest from OSA member, Ethel Raicus, who taught at Central Technical Institute. The bequest funds an annual award to an art student at the school. We are pleased to award the 2023 Ethel Raicus Award to Grade 12 student Anna Hapon.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
We will run Artist Talks on Saturday April 22 from 3-4pm. Come and meet the artists!

Juror Josh Heuman will host a Colour Spash! Wine Tasting event on Saturday April 29, 3:30-5pm.

The Ontario Society of Artists was founded in 1872 and the very next year, the first commercial winery was established in Ontario’s Niagara region. Can that be a coincidence?

To complement the theme of the OSA’s 149th Annual Open Juried Art Exhibition, Colour Splash!, sign up for this adventure in the many colours and styles of wine… from white to orange, and rosé to red… and from sparkling to still, and dry to sweet.

Josh has selected Ontario wines inspired by some artworks in the exhibition. Click here for more information and to register (cost $55, capacity 24).

Organized for the OSA by: Robin Kingsburgh
John B. Aird Gallery Director: Carla Garnett
Graphic Design by: Paul Brandejs

John B. Aird Gallery
906 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1G6

Gallery Hours
Wednesdays-Sundays 2-5pm (except April 7 and 9, 2023)

Accessibility
Please note that the Aird Gallery is not accessible.

Questions? Contact info@ontariosocietyofartists.org