Tag Archives: public art

Living Shangri-la to unveil Zhang Huan sculpture

May 4 2012: Rising, a dramatic sculpture by contemporary artist Zhang Huan, will be unveiled Saturday at this location outside the Living Shangri-la Toronto tower on University Avenue, between Richmond and Adelaide Streets

May 4 2012: Workers prepare the giant sculpture for its official unveiling ceremony, scheduled for 1-2 pm tomorrow afternoon

May 4 2012: The large-scale sculpture occupies a space at street level …

… and soars above the glass ‘Ice Cube’ at the building’s NE corner …

… seen here, from the University Avenue median to the east. This section of the building encloses a pool on the upper level, with a Momofuku restaurant on the floor below. The Momofuku Toronto is scheduled to open in August.

Taking flight: As construction of the 66-storey Living Shangri-la Toronto draws closer to completion, the building’s developer is set to unveil the dramatic sculpture it commissioned for the public art component of its project.

Full-page advertisements published in local newspapers this week announced that the art installation — Rising, by Shanghai and New York-based contemporary artist Zhang Huan — will be unveiled at a public ceremony Saturday afternoon from 1 – 2 p.m.

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Landscaping and exterior finishing touches underway at One Bedford & James Cooper Mansion Condos

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April 1 2011: The Bedford Road entrance courtyard to the One Bedford Condos building is now being completed.

April 2 2011: Landscaping work is underway outside the Linden Street townhouses at the James Cooper Mansion Condos complex

Yard work: With winter (hopefully) over at long last, two newly-occupied downtown condo buildings are now getting their landscaping and exterior finishing touches. Work is progressing on the Bedford Road courtyard entrance to the One Bedford Condos on Bloor Street, while landscaping and other outdoor property work is underway at the James Cooper Mansion Condos on Sherbourne Street. Below are some recent pics showing what’s been happening at street level outside both condo buildings over the past several weeks.

March 24 2011: South side of the One Bedford tower viewed from Bloor Street

March 24 2011: The One Bedford Condo tower’s signature rooftop design

March 24 2011: One Bedford Condos upper south floors

April 1 2011: One Bedford Condos penthouse level and upper south floors

March 24 2011: One Bedford Condos southeast view from Bloor Street

March 24 2011: Work orders pasted to the windows of upper east side suites

March 24 2011: Glass and steel entrance canopy in the courtyard off Bedford Road

March 24 2011: One Bedford Condos main entrance off Bedford Road

April 1 2011: Landscaping underway in the Bedford Road courtyard

April 1 2011: The brick facade of the studio of noted Toronto architect John Lyle (1872 – 1945) has been incorporated into the courtyard off Bedford Road.

April 1 2011: Landscaping in progress south of the Lyle Studio facade

April 1 2011: The striking Bedford Road entrance canopy

April 1 2011: Landscaping in progress under the glass and steel canopy

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion tower viewed from Sherbourne Street

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion Condos viewed from Sherbourne St.

February 16 2011: The north side of the James Cooper Mansion condo complex. The exterior construction elevator has since been removed from the tower.

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion Condos south side along Linden Street

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion Condos south side walkway

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion Condos entrance

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion entrance at 28 Linden Street

February 16 2011: Landscaping work still has yet to start outside the James Cooper Mansion Condos townhouses along Linden Street

February 16 2011: Some of the James Cooper Mansion townhouses

February 16 2011: James Cooper Mansion viewed from Linden Street

April 2 2011: Landscaping work well underway outside the townhouses

April 2 2011: Southeast corner awaits landscaping

April 2 2011: Walkway along the Linden Street side of the property

April 2 2011: Southeast corner of the James Cooper Mansion Condos property

April 2 2011: One of Eldon Garnet’s “Inversion” sculptures, part of the public art installation at James Cooper Mansion.

April 2 2011: The north side of the property awaits finishing touches

City Scene: The Brick Man sentry at Vü condos

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Brickbats for the Brick Man: The Brick Man sculpture that stands sentry outside the Jarvis Street entrance to the Vü condominium complex seems to take a lot of flak.

When I was shooting Brick Man’s picture last November, several passersby were quick to comment on how “hideous,” “awful,” and “ridiculous” they thought he looks. And when I was standing next to Brick Man one evening in January, chatting with a friend who lives in Vü, a young woman heading into the condominium said: “Isn’t that the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen?” Her companion thought the sculpture was “a joke.”

From certain angles and in certain lighting I think he looks cool, but other times he does look cheap, tacky, or toy-like, and simply doesn’t suit the spot where he has been installed. Perhaps he’s not appreciated because he’s been put in the wrong place (though I’m not sure just where, on the Vü property, he might look better).

Clearly, he’s one of those public art installations that people will either love or absolutely hate. Like the Eldon Garnet wildlife sculptures at James Cooper Mansion on Sherbourne Street, which have drawn sharp criticism here in the blog since I posted their pics a month ago.

Either way, Brick Man looks like he’s a strong, thick-skinned guy, and I’m sure he can handle anything that gets thrown his way.

A tacky marketing tactic for X2 Condos

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A condo ad detracts from views of Shayne Dark’s bold red “Double Vision” sculpture outside X Condos

An affront to art?: I remember the first time I saw the Shayne Dark sculpture, “Double Vision,” outside the new X Condominium tower. The slender, long lipstick-red tubes rising from the sidewalk at the southeast corner of the tall coal-black condo tower caught my attention from more than two blocks away, so I hurried up Jarvis Street to take a closer look.

Because of its striking visual impact next to the building, Dark’s sculpture, which reminds me of bamboo shoots, instantly became one of my favourite pieces of public condominium art. But it didn’t take long before the eye-catching art unwittingly became a tacky marketing tool for X Condo’s sister project, X2 Condos. In next to no time, a garish black, white and hot pink billboard advertising the X2 condo sales centre was plunked in front of “Double Vision.”

Not only does the sign spoil views of the stunning sculpture, it also cheapens the artwork — which I’m certain cost the condo developer a pretty pile of cash. And speaking of cash, I’m willing to bet lawyers could make a good case demonstrating that the sign violates Dark’s moral rights … after all, remember what happened when the Eaton Centre tied Christmas bows on artist Michael Snow’s Canada geese sculpture, “Flight Stop?”

Memo to the clever marketing people at X2: Time to find a more appropriate place to park the sales office sign; perhaps on the south side of Charles Street, away from the sculpture. Please show some respect and class for the art, folks.

For readers who haven’t seen it, here is a photo from last August showing “Double Vision” when it wasn’t obscured by advertising. A pink sandwich board sign for the X2 sales office looks much less obnoxious placed away from the artwork.

This is what you see now when you view “Double Vision” from the south

Gravity-defying moose, foxes and wolves bring call of the wild to downtown condo’s front yard

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One of the sculptures in Toronto artist Eldon Garnet’s latest work, Inversion, at the new James Cooper Mansion condo complex on Sherbourne Street below Bloor.

Wild in the city: A moose was the last thing I expected to see while walking past the new James Cooper Mansion condo building on Sherbourne the other day.

I was on the opposite side of the street, approaching from more than a hundred feet away, when a tall stainless steel platform standing beside the south wall of the historic mansion caught my eye. I could see that a sculpture was mounted on it, but I couldn’t tell what it was — a moose walking down the shiny vertical surface — until I got closer. That’s when I noticed that the antlered acrobat wasn’t alone: nearby were sculptures of other wild animals, including a deer and some fierce-faced gravity-defying wolves and foxes.

Entitled “Inversion,” the captivating sculptures are the work of Eldon Garnet, a Toronto-based artist, photographer, sculptor and writer. A heritage plaque explains that Inversion “is a commentary and a reflection on our urban interaction with nature. Not long ago, the wilderness was considered somewhat threatening and something we should fortify ourselves against. Today, our relationship with nature has turned into a nostalgic yearning to embrace something that no longer exists.”

So very true, though I think that, nowadays, some of the sketchy people wandering our downtown streets look far more menacing than the snarling, ferocious wolf hanging upside down on the Sherbourne Street side of the mansion!

Garnet’s sculptures were stealing glances from a few curious and amused passersby on Thursday, but most pedestrians rushed past without appearing to notice the art. But the creatures will be hard to miss once the chainlink fence surrounding the condo property is removed (which should be soon, since building occupancy begins next month).

Below are photos of the mansion and Garnet’s work; at bottom is an adjustable slideshow of James Cooper Mansion condos construction from start to finish.