Relinquished aims to illustrate the folly of demolition by neglect. The photographers of the DK Photo Group (DKPG) aim for their images to change human behaviour and to instill an appreciation for what has come before. Without the information the photographs provide, viewers will not even know what they are missing. DKPG strives to provide a better understanding of abandoned buildings in order tocreate a sense of wonder about history.

galleryDK
April 29 – May 30, 2010
Opening April 29, 7:00–11:00 pm

1332 Queen St W
Toronto, M6K 1L4
Thu – Sun 12 – 5pm (or by appt)
416-913-7116
info@gallerydk.com
www.gallerydk.com

galleryDK seeks to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring all facets of the urban experience. Not only in Toronto, but around the world. We bring you images and issues of social and urban pertinence such as transportation, consumerism, poverty, built environments and the urban space.

galleryDK is now accepting submissions for new gallery members. The deadline for submission is June 15th, 2010.

galleryDK is a photography gallery on Queen Street West in Parkdale, and has been in operation since 2008. Now in its third year, the gallery is evolving and is becoming a membership-based gallery.galleryDK is looking for photographic artists that are ultimately interested in joining a small collective/community of other photographers to grow their own skills and profile, and help the others do the same. As such, galleryDK is now accepting applications for membership from photographers, at any stage in their artistic career. Up to eleven artists will be offered membership with a minimum one year commitment of $140 per month.

Members will receive one 2-person exhibition each year, to be chosen by a combination of lottery and “first come, first served”. Members will be responsible for the mounting of their own show. This includes the hanging and striking of artwork, gallery clean-up, opening reception, and promotion. Members will be able to take advantage of the gallery’s developed resources to assist them, and the guidance and assistance from the other members will also be encouraged. Many costs (for postcards, Akimbo listing, show lettering, opening reception) are covered by the membership fees. All members should work together to assist the exhibiting artists, if need be, to help coordinate these tasks. The exhibiting artists are invited to sit the gallery as much as possible during their show. The normal gallery schedule will apply the remainder of the time.

Membership exhibitions will take place in every month of the year except for May (Contact Photography Festival – participation in which is included in membership fees), August (vacation), and November/December (galleryDK’s annual PhotoLab exhibition). There is a degree of flexibility in this schedule that can accomodate membership requests.

Members will be required to sit the gallery once a month during normal operating hours. There may also be the need for a few extra hours here and there for gallery maintenance and meetings.

Artists who are accepted for membership will be required to make a one-year commitment to the gallery. The gallery is viewed as a platform for artists’ professional development but it is understood that members might pursue other avenues as well, such as public, artist-run, or commercial galleries. Membership in the gallery is non-exclusive.

Interested artists should prepare a package that contains the following:

* A letter of intent stating why you wish to join and how you hope to participate in the gallery.

* An artist’s statement that discusses the direction of your current body of work or the ideas behind your art practice in general.

* An artist’s CV that outlines exhibitions, publications, reviews and related experience.

* A CD containing 10 to 20 jpgs (800-1000 pixels wide maximum) which demonstrate your artistic practice or define the direction your artwork is currently following. Please do not submit other formats such as a website.

* A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) if you would like your package returned to you.

Please be sure to include all of the above. Incomplete application will not be reviewed.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 15, 2010

Submissions must be post marked no later than the deadline date. Artists will be notified of their status by August 1st, 2010. Membership begins July 1st, 2010, and the first member exhibition will be August, 2010. galleryDK has a prior exhibition commitment for September, 2010 and April, 2011 during which members will not be expected to sit the gallery. Membership fees are due upon acceptance of membership, and post-dated cheques for the remainder of the 1 year commitment are also required upon acceptance.

Please address all submission packages to:

galleryDK
1332 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario Canada
M6K 1L4

Questions can be sent to the gallery at info@gallerydk.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday to Sunday: 12pm-5pm, otherwise by appointment.

Why Join galleryDK?

You Always Have a Place to Show:

Once you are a galleryDK member, as long as you pay your membership fees and fulfill your volunteer commitments, you are entitled to have one two-person exhibition every year. There are also group show opportunities such as Contact and Nuit Blanche.

Non-Exclusivity:

Your membership in galleryDK is non-exclusive; you can exhibit at any other galleries as you choose.

Promotion Is Included:

Unlike most other galleries and collectives, many promotional materials are included with your membership fees. Postcards, Akimbo, show lettering, openings, etc. Rarely do we ask for extra costs (but extra costs would be born by yourself and your co-exhibitor).

Very Low Time Commitment:

The gallery members will have scheduled days to sit the gallery, generally one per month. Thus, members monitor the gallery during all the open hours. Members are asked, though, to sit their own shows as much as possible.

Commission is Very Low:

The gallery retains only 10% of sales. Try and find a lower commission rate anywhere in the city!

Use of the Gallery Credit Card Services:

Sales you make outside of the gallery at outdoor shows can be processed through the gallery for the same low commission.

FAQ

What’s the Monthly Membership Fee?

The monthly membership fee for the upcoming schedule is expected to be no more than $140 per month.

What does the Membership Fee get me?

This fee will enable you to a two-person exhibition every year, and the following promotional materials associated with your exhibition: window lettering, Akimbo mailing, some postcards (and maybe some other things, depending on cost). It also gives you access to the basement storage area for some of your artwork and supplies, networking opportunities with other artist photographers, and a guaranteed place to exhibit on Queen West every year! Plus, all gallery artists are invited to exhibit in the space in a group Contact Photography Festival exhibition (splitting costs equally).

What Are the Additional Fees Associated with My Show?

Of course, all costs to prepare your exhibition (printing/mounting/framing) are the responsibility of the artist (we have good contacts to help keep these costs down). Some costs associated with your opening reception will likely require extra costs (food, alcohol, and a special occasion permit), but they should be fairly minimal. If there ARE extra costs associated with your exhibition, you and your co-exhibitor will cover those costs.

What Marketing Materials Am I Responsible For?

You will have to design your own postcards, plus arrange for their pickup or delivery (the gallery has contacts for the actual printing, should you wish to take advantage of them). You should also arrange for the window lettering. Both are paid for by the gallery, but you are responsible for the design and delivery. Special occasion permits and food is also the responsibility of the artists. Assistance with all of these can be provided as needed.

Are Out of Town Artists Eligible?

Members of galleryDK do not have to be from Toronto; we may even accept international artists. However, all artists, regardless of where they live, are required to sit the gallery once a month during regular operating hours. If you don’t think you can manage that due to distance or scheduling, this gallery might not be a good fit. There are opportunities to sit the gallery on weekdays and weekends.

Will I have to Sit the Gallery?

You’ll have to sit the gallery once a month, as part of the normal schedule. You are also asked to try to sit your own shows as often as you can.

Does this make me a member of the DK Photo Group?

While galleryDK was started by the members of the DKPG, the group is happy with its current makeup. While we are always flattered by requests to join the DKPG, there are no openings at this time.

Felicity Somerset presents Tidal Remnants

Tidal Remnants captures brief inter-tidal moments on the seashores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  The
textural quality of the sand and rocks creates the background for macro and abstract compositions that
last for only a few hours between the ocean tides.

May 1-30
Opening Reception: May 5, 2010 from 7pm-9pm
Cobalt Gallery, 870A Kingston Road (at Beach), Toronto

Louis Helbig presents Beautiful Destruction, Aerial Photographs of the Alberta Tar Sands

The Alberta Tar Sands are a place of superlatives, a place of awesome beauty and destruction where exaggeration of scale and proportion seems almost impossible. They are simply awe-inspiring. With every twist and turn of the airplane, another incredible scene presents itself, followed by another. It’s a linear kaleidoscope of contrasts, colours, and patterns garnished by the movement of machinery below, smoke and effluent; the scene resetting, again and again as the paint of photography – light – makes its daily changes.

May 1-31
Opening Reception: May 1, 2010 from 3pm-7pm
The Rivoli, 334 Queen Street West, Toronto

Chris Hutcheson presents At Rest

Hutcheson photographs places at rest – for a season, or at the end of their useful lives. These places, once active, are now silent, often ignored andisolated, even in busy surroundings. Their presence is often surprising; something happened-across rather than expected. These places have provided services to families, congregations and communities. Hutcheson places great importance on these sites and asks the viewer to remember.

May 1-31
Opening Reception: May 8, 6pm-9pm
The Sweet Potato, 2995 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Tanja-Tiziana and Georgia Kristoffersen present Mind’s Eye

What if a documentary photographer, observing the painter at work, could move beyond the constrictions of her field of view and into the mind’s eye? In this series, both artists allow their medium to envelop them, drawing their eyes away from the surface and into the space where inspiration is drawn.

May, 2010
Northern District Library, 40 Orchard View Boulevard, Toronto

galleryDK is proud to present Jane Fulton Alt’s “Mourning Light” exhibition of mixed media pieces (photography and encaustics on wood).

Man is forever confronted with a range of choices between good and evil. In exploring our potential to view our fellow man as “other,” I felt compelled to understand our collective “shadow” side. This is what propelled me to visit the Slave Forts of Africa and the Nazi Concentration Camps, places of extraordinary darkness…

Jane Fulton Alt - Mourning Light

Immersed in the black spaces of the holding cells, the transport cars, and the gas chamber, I was desperate to find any light, visible through a doorway, a ceiling, a crack in the wall … an attempt to counter the darkness that had enveloped me. These photographs speak to the light in the face of that darkness, and are an effort to memorialize all who have suffered thru out time.

Please note that galleryDK is closed April 2-4 for the Easter long weekend.

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About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116

The Alberta Tar Sands are a place of superlatives, a place of awesome beauty and destruction where exaggeration of scale and proportion seems almost impossible. They are simply awe-inspiring. With every twist and turn of the airplane, another incredible scene presents itself, followed by another. It’s a linear kaleidoscope of contrasts, colours, and patterns garnished by the movement of machinery below, smoke and effluent; the scene resetting, again and again as the paint of photography – light – makes its daily changes.

Louis Helbig - Beautiful Destruction

The tar sands are also topical. Canada is America’s single biggest supplier of oil, almost all derived from the Tar Sands. Despite their importance in our culture, in our economy and, increasingly, in how the outside world views Canada, few know much about them and fewer still have seen them.

“Beautiful Destruction – Alberta Tar Sands Aerial Photographs” is described by one critic as “teetering between documentary and abstract.” The tension between the imagery’s beauty and what they represent – the man-made alteration and destruction of a landscape – stimulates thought and imagination, engaging viewers, prompting questions, debate and discussion.

The photos were taken from the photographer’s 1946 antique aircraft as a part of a cross country journey with his partner Kristin Reimer in 2008.

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About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116

Although my initial reaction was one of surprise, my impulse was to photograph these mannequins as if I were a famous fashion photographer (perhaps for a few fleeting moments I convinced myself I was) and these mannequins became my models – “my girls”. I was not only amazed by their life-like presence, but the societal codes and information built into their form and presentation. These are the hyperreal women who model the products of this trendy urban store; they have the ideal bodies and aesthetic that is so prized in the society in which we live. Of course all of “my girls” have slender figures and they model a perfect arrangement of coordinated clothing, fashion items and accessories, whether it is “Tory” in her casual but classy attire, “Amber” in a sophisticated business ensemble, or “Cindy” in her bright, seductive, yet tasteful undergarments. All of “my girls” present the ideal image for today’s metropolitan female dweller.

Evan Tyler - My Girls

I refer to them as “my girls” because while I worked at photographing them, I felt as if they became my artistic property. In the fashion industry, it is very common for a photographer, designer or agent to express similar language codes of ownership and gender. By dissecting the title, one understands the “my” to implement the element of ownership and intimacy and “girls” suggest a playful youthfulness, despite that these mannequins are clearly only representative of women. In order to capture the essence of these women, I have to assimilate into the culture and context that they are attached to.

I have returned to the store on several occasions to photograph “my girls” in their new outfits. My relationship with them has grown stronger and we seem to have great chemistry while working together. They are the faces on the frontier of fashion that evokes urban sophistication. They are the art work, the beauty and inspiration, and I am simply the lens. They are owned by all of us; they are all of our property because we esteem them and have voted them as our prototypes for human aesthetic, style and form. They are reflections of our modern urban landscape, therefore they are “our girls”. Our girls will never fail to inform us what we could be and of the standard for body type and fashion aesthetic. They will always be there for us, and I will be there ready to capture the images that best reflect the world I live in.

————————————————–

About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, Bravo!’s new series photoXplorers is worth a million. photoXplorers follows a daring group of photographers as they put their day jobs on hiatus and travel the world to capture the eerie beauty of forgotten industrial mega-structures, castles, and sanatoriums. The series kicks off as the band of guerilla photographers investigate an abandoned 1860s coal mine in Hasard de Charette, Belgium.

photoXplorers premieres Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on Bravo!. Weekly half-hour episodes air only on Bravo! Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.

photoXplorers reveals beauty in decaying structures, from an abandoned French sanatorium, to a retired power plant in Luxembourg, to a French Revolution-era castle in Belgium. The photoXplorers crew, consisting of members of the DK Photo Group, showcase the splendor of post-modern ghost towns and crawl under barbed-wire fences into the unknown each week.

Directed by Claude Barnes, photoXplorers is produced by Keep It In The Family Productions in association with Bravo!. Keep It In The Family Productions has been producing television for the international market for more than 25 years with Emmy® and Gemini award-nominated producers, writers, editors, directors of production, and directors. Keep It In The Family Productions has diverse program genres including lifestyle, reality, biography, children, documentary, sports, comedy, drama and animation.

————————————————–

About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116

About the exhibition:
This exhibit explores the surfaces of mature tree barks, rusting metal and old walls of brick and stone. Textural commonalities create ambiguities for the viewer and may make the original surface unidentifiable.

The surfaces become sites for inscriptions, formal and informal and sometimes multi-layered. These human interventions in the aging materials record a moment in time and place, and reflect a personal story unknown to us. In turn, these markings and sites will succumb to the ravages of time.

The exhibition runs from September 3 through September 26. An opening reception will be held the night of September 3. Please note, however, that the gallery is closed September 5 and 6 for the Labour Day weekend.

————————————————–

About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116

The gallery will be closed in August to give ourselves a break (and so we can actually get out taking photos ourselves!). There is also some renovations going on, wait until you see our new store front!

We will be back in September with a new exhibition from Felicity Somerset. The opening reception will be on Thursday September 3, so mark your calendars!

http://www.felicitysomerset.ca/

Have a great rest of the summer,
galleryDK

————————————————–

About galleryDK
Located at 1332 Queen Street West, galleryDK is an artist-run space
that specializes in contemporary urban photography. The gallery seeks
to present photographic and photo-based work examining and exploring
all facets of the urban experience – not only in Toronto, but around
the world.

The gallery is open Thursdays through Sunday, from 12pm-5pm, otherwise
by appointment.
http://www.galleryDK.com
info@gallerydk.com
416-913-7116