Artist: Jasmine Cardenas, Janine Ilya, Jim Verburg, Joy Walker, Jacob Robert Whibley
Exhibition title: a common thread
Venue: Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
Date: July 20 – August 19, 2023
Photography: Em Moor, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Zalucky Contemporary
a common thread assembles a group of artists working at the intersection of textiles and painting. Whether applying acrylic paint to non-traditional materials like denim or tarlatan, building compositions from layers of recycled fabric or shaping cotton yarn to mimic brushstrokes, these artists defy fidelity to any one medium. In doing so they are articulating, through a visual language entirely of their own making, new ways of willing an idea into existence.
And the ideas are many. They range from deeply felt personal experiences and family traditions to philosophical ruminations on the passage of time. The interplay of materials makes space for these thoughts to flourish, as does the gallery space that houses them for a brief moment in time.
Jasmine Cardenas is a Canadian-Ecuadorian multidisciplinary artist working in sculptural painting, collage, and installation. Often influenced by family stories and traditions, lived experiences and her domestic environment, Cardenas’ work floats between real and imagined spaces. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (2022), Galerie Nicolas Robert (2022), Xpace (2020) and the Banff Centre for the Arts (2020). Her works are held in permanent collections including Global Affairs Canada, City of Mississauga, TD Bank and The Drake Hotel. Last year, Cardenas exhibited a commissioned installation at SMASH, the Gardiner Museum’s annual art party and fundraiser. Cardenas holds a BFA from OCAD University (2017) and is currently based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Janine Ilya is a multi-disciplinary Canadian-Rwandan artist, based in Toronto. Her practice looks at how the concepts of intimacy and vulnerability – in relation to others and oneself – contribute to the process of identity formation. Drawing from her personal history and communities, Ilya creates imagery and sculptural forms that speak to the chaos and beauty of personal and collective growth. Recent exhibitions include Ascension of Abundance at Xpace Cultural Centre, Toronto (2023), Black & Free: Exhibition at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum (2023), RBC Desire Lines Women’s Work at Broadview Station, Toronto (2023) and Blackout at the Nia Centre for the Arts, Toronto (2022). Ilya is currently undertaking a double major bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts and Equity & Human Rights Studies at York University.
Jim Verburg is currently based in Toronto. Notable solo projects and exhibitions include Within and Without at Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal (2022) and Zalucky Contemporary (2022), Shape and Light #1, a choreographed work for the Toronto Dance Theatre (2016), and One and Two at Galerie B-312, Montreal for Mois de la Photo Festival (2011) which received the Dazibao Prize. Verburg has been included in group exhibitions at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (2013), Luciana Caravello, Rio de Janeiro (2014), Access Gallery, Vancouver (2014), Inman Gallery, Houston, (2015), Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary (2016), and Cydonia Gallery, Dallas Texas (2017). His public art commission The shape this takes to get to that for the city of Ottawa was installed in 2019. Verburg was among several recipients of the prestigious Chalmers Arts Fellowship in 2017. His work appears in several private and corporate collections.
Jacob Robert Whibley is a Toronto-based artist who works predominantly in collage and sculpture. His practice roots through modernist art, architecture and design concepts to address issues of temporality, labour and technology. Whibley is a graduate of OCAD University and a former member of the Toronto art collective Team Macho. Notable exhibitions include beige mint at Zalucky Contemporary (2020), dot-dot-dot at 8-11, Toronto (2017), imperfect aspect at Open Studio, Toronto (2016), Point and Duration at Bourouina Gallery, Berlin (2014), More than Two (Let it Make Itself) at The Power Plant, Toronto (2013) and Freedom of Assembly at Oakville Galleries, Oakville (2012). His work has been acquired by the RBC Collection, BMO Collection, TD Collection and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Joy Walker is a Montréal born, Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. Her approach is guided by intuition and is marked by a strong interest in the minimalist and modernist traditions with an emphasis on the underlying formal elements of line, grid and pattern. Walker’s most recent body of work explores her relationship with textiles – as a former textile designer and currently as an educator in the field of Fabric Science. Her work has been exhibited widely, including 8eleven (Toronto), The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (Toronto), Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art (Winnipeg), Truck Gallery (Calgary), Dunlop Gallery (Regina), Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, (Halifax), Rodman Hall (St. Catharines, ON), Cambridge Galleries (ON), Venice (Italy), NYC, Chicago, and Miami (USA). Walker’s works are held in several private and public collections including those of Cambridge Galleries (ON), le Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal (QC), The National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives (ON), BMO Financial Group Corporate Art Collection, Scotiabank Corporate Art Collection and TD Bank. She is represented by MKG127 in Toronto.
a common thread, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Jasmine Cardenas, Filtro, 2023, Oil, oil stick, pumice stone, sand on canvas, 36 x 24 inches
Joy Walker, Untitled (#2), 2018, Acrylic on linen, 11.25 x 11 inches
Joy Walker, Untitled (Scoop), 2018, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 16 x 14.5 inches
a common thread, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Jasmine Cardenas, De Sal y Sol, 2023, Oil, oil stick, pumice stone, sand, canvas and linen cut outs on linen, 36 x 36 inches
Jasmine Cardenas, De Sal y Sol (detail), 2023, Oil, oil stick, pumice stone, sand, canvas and linen cut outs on linen, 36 x 36 inches
Jasmine Cardenas, Rework, 2023, Oil, pumice stone, sand on wood panel, 20 x 16 inches
a common thread, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Jacob Robert Whibley, fealty of dreams (grey), 2022, Vintage book cloth on panel, 13 x 10 inches framed
Jacob Robert Whibley, fealty of dreams (white), 2022, Linen backed vintage map on panel, 13 x 10 inches framed
Jacob Robert Whibley, fealty of dreams (white) [detail], 2022, Linen backed vintage map on panel, 13 x 10 inches framed
Jim Verburg, Is it like today?, 2023, Oil on tarlatan, 124 x 46 x 10 inches
Janine Ilya, don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you, 2023, Acrylic on bleached denim and fabric adhesive, 18.25 x 16.25 inches framed
a common thread, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Joy Walker, Untitled (Brushstrokes after RL #3), 2023, Cotton yarn, fabric adhesive on cotton canvas, 14 x 12 inches framed
Joy Walker, Untitled (Brushstrokes after RL #3) [detail], 2023, Cotton yarn, fabric adhesive on cotton canvas, 14 x 12 inches framed
