DOG DAYS
August 2020
Curated by Mathew Brower (catalogue essay)
Juried by David Liss
Publication Design by Rachel Wong
The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.
– Mark Twain
Jonathan Swift suggested that every dog has its day and the Aird Gallery is celebrating those days this summer. We have lived with dogs for many thousands of years. Over that time dogs have adapted themselves to our needs and desires and at the same time, they have been changing us – largely for the better. Our deep and complex relationship with dogs, on personal, cultural, and biological levels, has been an important subject for art practice from the beginning.
We were interested in mutts of all kinds, as well as pedigreed pooches, that explored dogs as emotional and physical support, companions, family members, mythic beings, and cultural symbols.
Matthew Brower is a writer and curator who teaches in the Museum Studies Program at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Developing Animals: Early North American Wildlife Photography and excellent exhibitions.
David Liss is a curator, writer, and artist living in Toronto, Canada. He is currently an Adjunct Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada and was Director and Curator from December 2000 through 2015. Since August 2019 he is also Curator and Programmer for Arsenal, a privately owned network of galleries in Toronto, Montreal, and New York.
55, Exhibiting Artists: John Abrams, Rhonda Abrams, Gary Beeber, Diana Bennett, Arei Bierstock, Kristin Bjornerud/Erik Jerezano, Ross Bonfanti, Christopher Cape, Christian Chapman, Nathan Cole, Eric Colquhoun, Ruth Comfort, Sara Cuthbert, Maureen Da Silva, Christine De Vuono, Kate Dennis, Giuseppe Di Leo, Claire Domitric, Carol Caulfield Dougans, C.M. Duffy, Cheryl Garrett-Jenkins, Julie Glick, Monica Gupta, Michael Hannan, Andrew Harris, Heidi Hirschmann, Richard Holden, David Holt, Sarah Hunter, Rhodri Kasperbauer, Sylvia Kim, Cindy Lam, Jihyun (Jessie) Lee, Jeeyang Lee, Miklos Legrady, Avril Lopez, Karen Ly, Lisa Martini-Dunk, David McClyment, Roshannia MirMehran, Brigitte Nowak, Moïse Piuze, Jacquelynn Poppa, Jackie Rancourt, Leena Raudvee, Jenny Reid, Phyllis Rohrbacher, Paul Shier, Carolynn Smallwood, Mara Smelters Wier, Hayley Tackaberry, Steven Volpe, Gabriel Vomisescuv and Melissa Wakefield