DRAWING 2012: February 7 - March 2, 2012

DRAWING 2012: 13th Annual Juried Exhibition February 7 - March 2, 2012 The John B. Aird Gallery is pleased to present its 13th annual juried drawing exhibition. Running from February 7 until March 2, DRAWING 2012 presents 35 original works by emerging and established artists that demonstrate the skill and creativity of the discipline at its best. The Aird, one of the few galleries in Canada to showcase a juried exhibition where drawing is promoted as an art form unto itself, is on the ground floor of the Macdonald Block, an Ontario government building at 900 Bay Street in Toronto. It is open Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year, 78 artists from across Canada submitted more than 150 works in a variety of styles, media and techniques for consideration. From these, two jurors selected the 35 works in the exhibition and awarded prizes. The jurors for DRAWING 2012 were Olexander Wlasenko and Dale Barrett. Olexander Wlasenko is a respected artist and curator of the Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. In 2011, Wlasenko’s large scale charcoal drawing “The Waiting” was awarded the DRAWING 2011 First Prize. Dale Barrett is Director/Curator of the John B. Aird Gallery. The following artists’ works have been selected for the exhibition: Amanda Burk, Martha de la Fuente, Kendra Gadzala, Peter Large, Nancy Oakes, Lois Schklar, Susan Farquhar, Joel, Fullerton, Kelly O'Neill, Irene Vaisnoras, Ivo Arnaudov, Toni Hamel, Phyllis Gordon, Pamela Dodds, Nomi Drory, Lilian B. Lampert, Ruth Greenlaw, Erin Finley, Pegi Kosa, Lulu Ladron de Guevara, David Woodward, Julia Vandepolder, Victor Gad, Arash Akhgari, Monika Raciborski, Neil Harrison, Jaymie Lathem, Marie-Eve Martel. The jurors awarded two First Prizes, one to Erin Finley of Toronto, Ont. for an ink, watercolour and gold leaf drawing entitled “Conversion of Saint Paul in Brogues”; and one to Julia Vandepolder of Hillsburgh, Ont. for a charcoal, graphite, oil/chalk pastel & conté drawing entitled “The Green Room”. The second prize went to Amanda Burk of North Bay, Ont. for a large scale charcoal drawing entitled “Dual”. Two Honorable Mentions were awarded. Peter Large of Stella, Ont. received the Japanese Paper Place Award for a graphite and colour pencil drawing entitled, “Spike’s Nest”. David Woodward of Kingston, Ont. received the Curry’s Art Store Award for a colour pencil drawing entitled “The Century Lost Its Hold”. Background to the Aird: Established in 1975 under the auspices of the Ontario Government Services Branch as the Macdonald Gallery, it was renamed in 1985 in honour of the 23rd lieutenant governor of Ontario. At the same time, responsibility for selecting the exhibitions and for day-to-day operations was handed over to a volunteer management committee. The Aird became a registered charity in 2008 and today’s volunteer board of directors are as dedicated as ever to fulfilling the aims of the gallery, notably creating awareness and enjoyment of art works by contemporary professional artists and encouraging excellence in a variety of disciplines and styles of visual art. For further information, please contact: Dale Barrett, Director director@airdgallery.org www.airdgallery.org