Studio 22: A little bit of everything

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If you have never been in Studio 22 Open Gallery at 320 King St., or if you have been there before but not in a while, you really ought to stop in and have a look around.
While always an interesting gallery to visit in its eyrie on the second and third floors (with its excellent view overlooking Market Square), in the spring of 2017 the gallery expanded onto the ground floor of its historic building, acquiring additional exhibition space and giving the gallery greater visibility at street level. Now, having three floors in which to work (though currently only the first and second floors are used as public galleries), there is ample space to exhibit the gallery’s growing and eclectic collection.
Studio 22, owned and operated by Ally and Hersh Jacob, is in its 12th year of operation and specializes in contemporary Canadian art. While there is good representation of work by local artists, Studio 22 also exhibits the work of artists from across Canada, which provides for a deal of diversity in the collection. Indeed, there is a little bit of everything at Studio 22, with work in most media and genres (though not craft), including sculptural work in metal as well as in marble, which one doesn’t often see in local commercial galleries. There is an array of subject matter, from landscapes and figural work to fanciful, abstract and non-representational art — and more, so much more.
That said, it is only fair to state that while the majority of the art is quite pleasing to look at, a portion of it is frankly not beautiful — an aim that isn’t (and seldom has been) the single objective of art, truth be told. Yes, artists create beautiful and astonishing things to look at, but — outside of art produced for a patron who generally would like to be flattered in one way or another — artists also often make things that make you think, or that contain some kind of message. For example, imagine a gorgeous Baroque Dutch still life painting of a rich bouquet of flowers — most of the time it will have flowers in all states of development, from a tightly closed bud to a blown flower past its prime and beginning to drop its petals. In this way, the artist is creating something of great beauty, while also commenting on the cycle of life, the fragility of beauty, the inevitable passing of time, etc. A contrasting example is Edward Munch’s famous painting The Scream. It would be a stretch to call this painting beautiful, but it is certainly interesting to look at, and thought-provoking on many levels. Many artists also, in their own private practice, produce art that is experimental in (among other things) approach, technique, media and psychology, using art to work through problems of various types.
This fluid nature of art is closely linked to the curating philosophy at Studio 22. As Ally Jacob relates, they are selling art that is “interesting,” and not necessarily just pretty. It might entail taking a risk on an artist because they are themselves interesting, or hanging work that is clearly part of the process of working through a particular problem. The collection includes art that Ally herself didn’t initially like, but the appeal of which became apparent as it hung on the wall. And this is one of the many fascinating things about original art — sometimes the longer you live with a piece, the more it changes perceptually, and so does your response to it. This goes for the patently lovely works as well as for those that are a bit more challenging. Not sure if you can live with an artwork in your home or office? Did I mention that along with some other local galleries, Studio 22 has an art rental and sales aspect to their operation? It’s a great way to test drive artwork for your home, or even to bring original art into a business on a rotating basis — something that has been proven to create a more stimulating work environment and appeal to clients.
Every three months or so, Studio 22 has an exhibition of work by several of its gallery artists up on the walls, and a portion of the gallery space is usually devoted to a mix of different artists’ work at all times. Special exhibitions also occur regularly, and starting on Sept. 15 there will be a show of new work by Kingston artist J.T. Winik, called “Enigma Variations,” which looks like it will be very interesting, in the best sense of the word.
Kamille Parkinson holds a PhD in Art History from Queen’s University, and is the owner of Upper Canada Art Consulting (UCAC) in Kingston. The UCAC website is www.uppercanadaartconsulting.com, and you can also find UCAC on Facebook.

Art About Town
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
• Tau Lewis: When Last you Found Me Here (to Dec. 2)
• The Hold: Movements in the Contemporary Collection (to Dec. 2)
• In the Present: The Zacks Gift of 1962 (to April 7)
• Printmakers at War, 1914-1918: (to Dec. 2)
• Artist at Work: Picturing Practice in European Tradition (to Dec. 2)
• The Art of African Ivory: (to April 2020)
Gallery Raymond
• Women Artists of Gallery Raymond
Modern Fuel Artist Run Centre
• Things you can’t make maps out of: work by Christine Negus (to Oct. 20)
• Keró:roks tsi naho’ténhson sewake’nikonhrhèn:’en (I am gathering all of the things I had forgotten): work by Shelby Lisk (to Oct. 20)
Studio 22
• Enigma Variations: new artwork by J.T. Winik (Sept. 15 to Oct. 20)
• With Print Inuit: Cape Dorset 2017 continues
Union Gallery
• “Worked Up/Wound Up” by Lindsey Wilson, and “No one Lives here Anymore” by Dayna Riemland: (Sept. 15 to Nov. 9)
Window Art Gallery
• The Language of Walking: new work by Emebet Belete
(To include an art listing in “Art About Town,” send an email to: artabouttownygk@gmail.com. Only those events that will take place or continue after each monthly publication will be included in the listing.)