May, 2004 - Nr. 5
Exhibitions by Swiss-Canadian Artist Rudolf Stussi
A double exhibition of new paintings by the well-known Swiss-Canadian artist Rudolf Stussi will take place in Toronto in June.
‘torontoXpress’?A series of six 4 x 8 foot oil/acrylic paintings titled ‘torontoXpress’ are the centre piece of a solo exhibition at the First Canadian Place Gallery. The exhibition runs from May 31 to August 9. The official opening is on Wednesday, June 9, at 12:15.
Xibition at 7PM on Friday, June 4, Xibition, a show of his smaller works, oils and water colours, will open at Painted City, 655 College St W. (near Grace. Tel: 416-364-0269). The exhibition continues to June 27.
The focus of both shows is the urban environment and its inhabitants.
‘torontoXpress’ specifically targets the core of downtown Toronto in the distorted Stussi perspective. The canvases reflect the city in a striking variety of moods and interpretations, on a scale not previously seen.
"The urban scene is central to my concept of humanity. Cities express the best and worst of our nature, the creative and the artificial. I look for the expression of the human form and mind in their dramatic shapes and lifestyles. Each is different, Toronto, Berlin, Zurich, Manila. The figures I use are an integral part of their environment, emerging from it, or simply part of the décor.
"A city to me is also a symbol for the mind, a symbol that often crops up in my dreams. It is a place of many constructs, of varied and unexpected spaces and moods. My experiences colour it. I am not interested in realism.
The subjective is at least as important as the objective in my work.
"The distortion expresses many things, including the anxiety of the age, a different perspective, change, the belief that nothing is as it seems, the idea that buildings have the tortured souls of their creators. But it also, paradoxically, betrays a sense of fun and movement, dance and music."
For a sneak preview open the exhibitions page of his
website,
www.rudolfstussi.com
