UAL and OCAD University, Canada, are pleased to return to Art Toronto to present Radiance: an exhibition showcasing recent alumni from our 2 institutions.

29 October to 7 November 2021

Curated by: Dr Lois Rowe, Fine Art Programme Director (PG), Camberwell College of Arts, UAL

Radiance curator, Dr Lois Rowe:

"Radiance proudly presents a diverse and exceptional range of multimedia works that have been selected for the way in which they offer a lens through which to reflect on this unprecedented moment within our recent history.

Borrowing its title from Mekayla Dionne’s beautiful and optimistic painting “Radiant”, 2021, Radiance presents a range of work that feels particularly poignant today. From the meditative voids that are the subject of Ellie Davies’ Seascapes 9, 2020 to the sublime tidal sounds captured digitally in “Disinhibiting Stimulus” by Gabriel Esteban Molina there is the mood of quiet yet powerful reflection in many of the works. Luma Pool (Edition), 2021 by Jordan Söderberg Mills reflects upon the intersection between perception and the sublime by activating an interplay between materials and colour. With Wajeeha Abbasi’s “ME, MYSELF & AI-1”, 2019 we return to a more playful mood, which is echoed in the movement and vibrancy of several of the other extraordinary abstract works, such as Raquel da Silva’s “The Fall of Phaeton (again)”, 2021. The theme of identity that emerges in many of the works is channelled through the energy and momentum of climate emergency in Sarah Arsenault’s “Erasure”, 2021.

Radiance also boldly presents works that are harder to ascribe precise meanings to; works that feel necessarily evasive. Heather Gentleman’s mysterious ‘It is the lot of 'man' to strive no matter how content he is, Spock’, 2020 allude obliquely to a wider influence on humankind and Devon Pryce’s “Chrome Bed”, 2019 hints at a gritty unknown narrative.

Perhaps it is this, the unknown narratives that lie beyond darkness, that shines through in this selection of works. We are delighted to present this innovative group of artists, each approaching the current moment in profoundly diverse and inspiring ways and celebrate the ways in which they tell a story together. A story that needs telling: that is, the story of today."

Opening 29 October

This exhibition forms part of an ongoing collaboration between UAL and OCAD University, showcasing our 2 world-leading communities. Both institutions are committed to a partnership investigating the boundaries of creative practice and innovative ways of displaying and engaging with artists’ work.

Take a VR tour of the exhibition and view and purchase the artworks from 29 October.

Featured alumni

UAL

• Wajeeha Abbasi, MA Illustration Visual Media, London College of Communication
• Alexander Appleby, BA Painting, Wimbledon College of Arts
• Sarah Arsenault, MA Painting, Camberwell College of Arts
• Isha Bøhling, MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins
• Sokari Douglas Camp, BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins
• Jaeeun Chang, BA Fine Art: Painting, Wimbledon College of Arts
• Ellie Davies, MA Photography, London College of Communication
• Heather Gentleman, MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts
• Nicole Katsuras, MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins
• Joon Hee Kim, MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts
• Jordan Söderberg Mills, MA Design: Ceramics, Furniture, Jewellery, Central Saint Martins
• Gabriel Esteban Molina, MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts
• Jeni Snell, MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins

OCAD U

• Raquel da Silva, BFA, Painting & Furniture Design, OCAD U
• Mekayla Dionne, BFA Drawing and Painting, OCAD U
• Kaya Joan, BFA Indigenous Visual Culture, OCAD U
• Devon Pryce, BFA Drawing and Painting, OCAD U

ArtTO 2021

Art Toronto returns in person this Autumn, with 60+ galleries focusing on contemporary art from across Canada, with notable historic works and international galleries, creating a context for the art of our time. It combines exhibitions in-person at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and online with a VR art fair platform powered by Artland. The fair’s Platform series of panel discussions will take place exclusively online this year.

This exhibition is funded with the help of the North America and Canada Regional Group at UAL and UAL International Relations Unit.