Zack Rosen: A Brush With The Wild
Zack Rosen, Less Taken
Zack Rosen: A Brush With The Wild
Paintings of Toronto Dog Parks
November 16 – 22, 2023
Opening Reception: Friday, November 17, 6-10 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, November 19, 4 pm
Northern Contemporary Gallery, Toronto
This November, Toronto artist Zack Rosen will exhibit a series of artworks in celebration of our city’s beloved dog parks. A Brush With The Wild will be hung at the Northern Contemporary Gallery (420 Roncesvalles Ave.) from November 16 to 22. The opening reception is Friday, November 17 from 6 to 10 pm, and the artist talk is Sunday, November 19 at 4 pm.
The show explores local dog parks as a hinterland between our manicured city life and the truly wild spaces at the edge of it. Though used for leisure and human/canine bonding, dog parks also serve as a site of sacred blurring between ourselves, our animals and our environment.
Zack Rosen, One Free Afternoon
Rosen is a certified trainer at Unleashed in The City, a school for dogs. A significant portion of his job involves taking large groups of dogs to off-leash field adventures at places like Doggy Hill in High Park, Bickford Park in Little Italy, Stanley Park in King West and many others. The success of these adventures depends on being familiar with both his dogs and the places he takes them. It is this intimate familiarity that lights up the drawings, paintings and photos that make up this series.
Zack Rosen, Wonderland
Local politics has trained Torontonians that their outdoor oases might fall at any time to developers or other man-made disasters. Pollution from a factory fire in Etobicoke forced the closure of Humber Bay West dog park, one of Toronto’s most beautiful natural resources. In times of environmental destruction, Ontario’s parks are just as threatened as its forests.
A Brush With The Wild is a special gift for the Toronto dog owners, celebrating the unshakeable bond they share with their canine companions and the places they play. Dog owners know better than any city dwellers that nothing can be truly tame in its heart. Our everyday spaces can show us their mysteries if we know how to look.
Zack Rosen, Second Summer
Zack Rosen is an American emigrant who has exhibited works at The Outsider Art Fair, The Northern Contemporary Gallery, Propeller Gallery and others. His previous exhibition, Take Me Back to Happiness, centered around Hanlan’s Point and was featured in The Toronto Star and CBC Arts. Rosen currently works as a dog trainer and paints custom pet portraits by commission.
More information can be found at the artists’ instagram page or official website, and the artist may be emailed at ZackRosen1@gmail.com.
Northern Contemporary Gallery
420 Roncesvalles Avenue
Toronto, ON M6R 2N2
www.northerncontemporarygallery.com
Instagram @northerncontemporary
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