Maria Gabankova & Maureen Paxton @ Loop Gallery (Toronto) March 7, 2009

Loop Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by Loop Gallery members Maria Gabankova entitled Puzzle and Maureen Paxton entitled Little Babel.


Maria Gabankova’s exhibition Puzzle uses the parable of the blind, words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, as a starting point for her drawings and paintings. She interprets the parable by referencing current social unrest caused by global economic and political uncertainty, corruption and confusion to bring to mind a contemporary adaptation of this Biblical illustration.


Enticed by the disturbing imagery and mysterious meaning of a painting by Pieter Bruegel (1524-1569) titled The Parable of the Blind, Gabankova has “entered” the Bruegel image mindset by painting some of its parts and placing them into a visual dialogue with fragments of current events. She explores how these will resonate and morph.


Maria Gabankova, who was born in the former Czechoslovakia and currently lives and works in Toronto, has worked as a professional artist and has exhibited her drawings and paintings in Canada and internationally since 1980. Her work is represented in private and corporate collections in Canada, USA and Europe.


Maureen Paxton's Little Babel is the artist’s version of a certain infamous tower. It is also the name given an ape appearing throughout the exhibition. In some incarnations, Little is as naked as the day she came home from the dollar store; in others, a pilgrim wearing her road, her hook, her hoop, her ignorance and her knowledge. She is Sisyphus, the Climber and Pusher, her body now a brave but ungainly amalgam of rock and hill. She’s a walking billboard: We Bring Ourselves Wherever We Go.


In this exhibition, there are large drawings and tiny paintings. The drawings are based on a tower constructed by the artist, a cipher for a building that went through many trials en route to becoming a new studio. To date, both tower and studio are still standing.


Maureen Paxton is a writer as well as visual artist and at work on a novel. Awarded a Works-in-Progress grant by the Ontario Arts Council in 2007, she has been a member of the Tarragon Playwrights'; Unit, children’s book illustrator and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s medal for one. She also works in animation.


Please join the artists in celebrating the opening reception on Saturday March 7th from 2-5 pm.


The exhibition runs from March 7 - 29th, 2009.


Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat 1-5pm, Sun 1-4pm

Official Website: http://www.loopgallery.ca