Globe and Mail: R.M. Vaughan's review of the Wilson and Genda exhibitions

R.M. Vaughan
Globe and Mail: Jan 28, 2012

Dagmara Genda and Jay Wilson at KWT Contemporary:

"Painter Dagmara Genda and sculptor Jay Wilson are an odd couple, or coupling.No sensible curator would put Genda’s mad, cacophonous paintings of worlds flooded in flesh-pink waves next to Wilson’s meticulous toothpick towers and laser-cut steel assemblages. But common sense is a bore.

Genda is a part of a burgeoning school of painting I am dubbing the New Neo-Expressionists (okay, yes, that tag needs work). In such paintings, the strategy is to draw the viewer in via a whirlwind (or whirlpool) of kineticism, with bold flourishes of blended colours, and then hold the viewer tight with feverish daub-and-swipe brushwork juxtaposed against clusters of maniacally detailed illustration.

Wilson, on the other hand, is about as open to accident as a heart surgeon. His works are so exquisitely crafted and make no gesture toward covering their labour-intensiveness, so that they make you a bit light-headed and cause the hands to tremble in a sympathetic attack of nerves.

The connection between the two artists is thus one of point-counterpoint. Genda masks her labours with decoying, bold strokes. Wilson practically sits you down and makes the work with you.

Pick your favourite style of high-wire act."

Rachael Wong: "Markings" extended to Oct.15

We are happy to announce that Rachael Wong's Markings has been extended for two weeks, until October 15.

R.M. Vaughan had this to say about the installation:

"Winner of the 2010 RBC Glass Award, Wong twists the hard liquid around her little finger like a besotted lover. Seashells and single-cell organisms, intestines and seed pods, all captured in pristinely painted and polished glass, bounce off the gallery walls in a mad cascade. Let’s give her the 2011 prize too."

Wong's artistic practise extends beyond glass. Drawing and printmaking are also an important piece of the puzzle: witness her shimmering, gorgeously complex digital prints on aluminum.