Wherever I go in the world, I’m always on the lookout for public art and I found plenty to admire in Toronto. Some of the works were difficult to find while others are on the tourist radar. This is my latest for ForbesLife where I discuss the sculptures, art installations and street art that peppers the landscape of Toronto.
Parts of downtown Toronto, such as the Queen Street West area, are awash with exciting street art. These creations can be found at the condos that border the well known nexus of graffiti and street art, Graffiti Alley (aka Rush Lane). I got the low-down on the scene, thanks to Tour Guys Canada.
This work was created by Toronto natives Nick Sweetman, Poser and others in the Montreal-based artist collective called En Masse.
The vivid boar in this work that’s found along Graffiti Alley (aka Rush Lane) was created by Nick Sweetman.
St. Martin is peppered with colorful murals, including those by artist Jimmy Sheik. As you drive the roads on the French side, it’s worth doing so slowly and pulling over to check out the many pieces of vibrant art that celebrates the island’s energy and creativity.
I spent the past week in Uptown Kingston, New York (in the Hudson River Valley) where there are abundant vibrant murals, like this one by Lindsey Wolkowicz with Dillon Paul. “Lifted” depicts women and girls as voices of change.
On Crown Street, this mural, when seen straight on, is a large-scale playing card painted by Nils Westergard as a celebration of a friend through the good times and the bad.
Artist Samantha French and Aaron Hauck painted this evocataive mural “Late Summer Kill Swim” that references typical summers enjoying local swimming holes along the Hudson Valley. The word “kill” is a Dutch word for creeks or springs.
“Vignettes of Home,” a mural by Kingston-based painter Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, opens three windows into the evocative landscapes of the Hudson Valley that’s long served as inspiration to the area’s artists.
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