x
Home
Search
Topics
Almanac
Science
Nature
People
History
Society
Signup
Login
HOME
TOPICS
ALMANAC
SCIENCE
NATURE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
SOCIETY
PHILOSOPHY
Vivian Reiss
Topic Home
Discussion
0
Encyclopedia

Bio for artist Vivian Reiss

Artist Vivian Reiss has been living and working in Toronto, Canada since 1975. She still spends time in New York City.

Reiss is a painter, creator of multimedia performance events and installations, designer of architectural projects, costumes, gardens and furniture; and currently working on a cook book.

Vivian Reiss is the owner and creator of the Reiss Gallery, located at 500 College Street in Toronto.

Life and work

Reiss studied fine art at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston and the Art Institute in Boston. She apprenticed under the guidance of Marilyn Powers and Jason Berger
Jason Berger
Jason Berger , was a Boston landscape painter, connected to Boston Expressionism . He painted from nature, en plein air, and used favorite motifs in abstract paintings, referred to as "studio paintings". He, also, enjoyed woodcuts which were predominatly printed in black and white...

 at the Direct Vision Atelier in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...

.

Reiss is known for her large scale oil on canvas works. Her art work is characterized by vibrancy of colour and expression, as well as complex compositional ideas. Reiss has had a long term interest in still-life, portraiture and landscapes. Her subject matter ranges from her own garden, to snow monkeys in Japan, to kewpie dolls, to grazing sheep.

Her 35 plus years as a career artist includes more than 50 shows, both in Canada and around the world, over 30 of which were one-woman shows. Reiss’ art work is in numerous collections, including collections of heads of state; the Canadian Embassies in Washington and Paris; and in private and corporate collections in more than 15 countries.

Career spotlight

In October 2008, Reiss showed at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. The show was entitled El Museo del Jardin de la Humanidad (The Museum of the Garden of Humanity) – the show featured portraits of immigrant Mexican farm workers who worked on Southern Ontario farms. The portraits were also shown with paintings of Reiss’ farm garden in Toronto. The exhibition was with the support of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto, Canada.

Reiss was invited to create work for the 2006 Echigo-Tsumari Triennial; one of the largest international art exhibitions in Japan and considered the Japanese equivalent of the Venice Biennale. The art project was entitled Satoyama Storehouse and featured the portraits of the inhabitants of Hachi, a small rice farming village in the mountains of Japan. Reiss lived in the village for three months as part of the artist residency and during the Triennial Reiss’ work was exhibited in the village’s abandoned school house and viewed by more than 300,000 people. In addition to the Triennial, Reiss had a concurrent show at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo of her portraits of prominent Canadians in the arts.

A catalogue of Reiss’ portraits has been published showcasing a wide range of subjects.
See portraits section below for more details.

The Reiss Gallery

The Reiss Gallery is located at 500 College Street, in Toronto’s Little Italy quarter, and was designed by Reiss herself. The design of the gallery is unique, with the exterior of the building displaying larger than life wooden monkeys and a 20 foot Plexiglas ‘paint palette’ window design along with an oversized wooden paint brush. The gallery’s interior is covered in cut ceramic plates with tiled portals flanked by curved walls and moldings – an architectural work of art where everything seems to be folding in on itself.

Portraits

Artist Vivian Reiss has painted many notable artists, performers, public personalities and philanthropists.

Including:
  • Opera singer Fides Krucker. Fides has been the subject of numerous portraits by Reiss, several of which were created in conjunction with multimedia performances and installations that featured Fides performing.
  • Helen and George Vari: supporters of York University and Ryerson University, through the Helen and George Foundation. George Vari is a member of Canada’s Privy Council and during his career as a developer built numerous buildings around the world, including the tallest building in Europe.
  • Eve Egoyan – pianist
  • Ofra Harnoy – cellist
  • Marie-Josée Chartier – teacher, dancer and choreographer
  • Natalie Kovacs – artist
  • Caroline Woods – dancer
  • Gordie Johnson – singer and songwriter
  • Deborah Demille – actor
  • Linda C. Smith – composer
  • Jean Stilwell – mezzo soprano
  • Garine Torossian – film maker
  • Ariel Garten – psychotherapist, artist and designer Ariel Garten
    Ariel Garten
    Ariel Garten is a Canadian artist, scientist and intellectual. She was an avant garde clothing designer with a store called Flavour Hall in Toronto, Canada. She is deemed to have made a "significant contribution to the field" for her work in integrating art and science...

  • Joel Garten – composer and pianist Joel Garten
    Joel Garten
    Joel Garten is a pianist and improviser known for his innovative improvistations. His music is influenced by classical music and jazz, but mostly by modern composers such as Morton Feldman, jazz improvisor Keith Jarrett and modern artists such as Jackson Pollock and Clyfford Still...

  • Irving Garten

Collections

  • Canadian Embassy, Washington, USA
  • Private collection of the president of Hungary
  • Private collection of former prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney
  • CANFAR, Toronto, Canada
  • Canadian Museum of Animal Art, Ontario, Canada
  • Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, Canada

Shows and exhibitions

  • Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada 2008
  • Japan Foundation, Toronto, Canada 2007
  • Echigo-Tsumari Triennial, Japan 2006
  • The Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan 2006
  • Catch 22 Gallery, Toronto, Canada 2000
  • JK ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada 1999 & 1996
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1998
  • Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada 1997
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1997
  • Park Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Canada, 1996-7
  • International Art Fair, Miami, Florida 1996
  • Teodora Gallery 1996
  • Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada 1995
  • Teodora Gallery, Toronto, Canada 1995
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1995
  • Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada 1994
  • Gallery Herouet, Paris, France 1994
  • Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France 1994
  • Design Exchange, Toronto, Canada 1994
  • Visual AIDS International Exhibition 1994
  • Internal Resource Development Centre, Ottawa, Canada 1994
  • Alliance Française, Toronto, Canada 1994
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1994
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1993
  • Gallery Etienne de Causans, Paris, France 1992
  • Espace Chapon, Paris, France 1992
  • H.B. Starr Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida 1992
  • ORT, Toronto, Canada 1992
  • Fort York Museum, Toronto, Canada 1992
  • Alliance Française, Toronto, Canada 1992
  • Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1991
  • Art for Living Gallery, North Butler, New Jersey 1983
  • Scandinavian Canadian Club, Toronto, Canada 1983
  • O’Keefe Center, Toronto, Canada 1982
  • Nancy Merril Studio, Hamilton, Canada 1982
  • O’Keefe Center, Toronto, Canada 1981
  • La Cantinetta, Toronto, Canada 1979
  • Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1979
  • Guildart Gallery, Toronto, Canada 1978
  • York University, Toronto, Canada 1978
  • Holy Blossom, Toronto, Canada 1977

Quotes

Quote from Deirdre Kelly, Curating at Home, Globe and Mail July 6, 2007. “Artists paint, sculpt or otherwise create things that people often collect. But in the case of Toronto-based painter Vivian Reiss, collecting is as much of a passion as invigorating a blank canvas with her trademark bursts of colour.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/article768918.ece

Quote from Rita Zekas, Reiss Up To Some Monkey Business, Toronto Star December 15, 2007.
Quote in conjunction to Reiss’ work in Hachi, Japan and her Satoyama Story portrait project. Reiss is quoted within this quote.
“She found the generous spirit of her subjects amazing, considering the perception that the Japanese are a people who hide their emotions, ‘During the process of painting them, they opened up. Every day, there were offerings of food and flowers. I felt humbled; the people were so warm and generous.’” http://www.thestar.com/living/article/284624

Quote from Damian Rogers, Colour It Beautiful, Eye Weekly September 20, 2007. “Those familiar with Vivian Reiss' fluid, colourful and exuberant paintings could pick her house out of a lineup in a heartbeat, with its sprawling, exotic-looking vegetable garden – featuring stalks of burgundy broom corn that tower several feet above the heads of passersby – and custom flower-stem porch railings.” http://www.eyeweekly.com/style/myplace/article/1434

Awards and residences

  • Artist in Residence, Hachi, Japan 2006
  • Artist in Residence, Segovia, Spain 1984
  • Finalist, Ontario Renews Award 1987
  • Best Restoration, Toronto Historical Board 1987

Media room

Vivian Reiss has been the subject, a quoted expert and notable source for many print and broadcast publications for many years of her art career.

Print media coverage


Broadcast media coverage

  • FAVE TV 2000
  • Canadian House and Home CTV 1999
  • Vintage Vintage 1998
  • CFTR News 1996
  • Bravo TV Special 1996
  • CKVR TV October 1995
  • CityTV AM October 3, 1995
  • CityLine TV 1995
  • CBC Midday 1995
  • CBC Arts and Entertainment Profile 1995
  • Bravo News 1995
  • CityTV Marilyn Dennis Morning Show 1992
  • Homeworks 1992
  • CHCH TV Success Profiles 1992

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
Silverdale Interactive © 2024. All Rights Reserved.
 
x
OK