Christina Zeidler of The Gladstone Hotel

There are two venerable cultural landmarks–institutions, really– on Queen Street West. One is the self-consciously glamorous Drake Hotel (about which we’ll be posting material here shortly) and the other is the no less glamorous but possibly more culturally earnest…

Woolfitt’s: Staffed by Artists, for Artists

Ben Woolfitt has been a painter for forty years and, for the same amount of time, has run his famous art supply store on Queen Street West. We talked to him recently about both his art and his business.…

Art We Love: Tidal Waves and Sea Bathers by Y.M. Whelan

By the time you read this, Y.M. Whelan’s sparkling exhibition at the Fran Hill Show Room–called Book of Dreams: New Paintings–will probably be officially over, but gallerist Fran Hill will still be happy to show you the work, which…

Art We Love: Sacred and Profane Love (Self-Portrait II) by Harold Klunder

Harold Klunder is everywhere regarded as one of Canada’s most powerful painters.  His latest exhibition, Black Sun, now at the Clint Roenisch Gallery is a remarkable experience, both for the majestic trio of paintings making up the Black Sun…

Art We Love: Ominous Footpath by Susanna Heller

Veteran painter Susanna Heller–Canadian born, educated at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax and now living in New York City (where she has lived, in fact, for many years now)–is a maker of exceedingly vigorous, searching,…

Design We Love: Black Cat Lamp

We were both attracted and, at first, a bit put off by the funky directness of this little lamp. Its tasteful black shade is profoundly belied by the body of the map—which is a feral-looking black cat-made of fired clay!…

Design We Love: Horse Brasses at Index G Gallery

This personable cat is a typical example of what are known as horse brasses – that is, solid brass castings used as tackle fasteners and sometimes just as decoration for parade horses. They were at the height of their popularity…

Art We Love: Art Brownies

These hotly coloured, inventively composed mini-blocks of art activity are, in fact, Art Brownies: small, unique works of art made by various artists, both local and international, on one standard format, each Art Brownie being a mini-canvas consisting of…

John Petcoff of Little Lennox

As well as being a tireless and successful restauranteur–see our video about his seafood eatery, Oyster Boy–John Petcoff is also passionate about art and about running a gallery.

His former art gallery, Lennox International, was at Queen West…

Art We Love: About the River by Thrush Holmes

When a relatively unknown, soft-spoken, 26 year old artist with the lyrical name of Thrush Holmes (his full name is Thrush Keats Byron Holmes) came from what appeared to be out of nowhere (actually out of Welland, Ontario) in January…