FLORENCE VALETime & LineMay 2 - 16 . 2015Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2nd | 2pm-4pmFlorence Vale and her husband, renowned artist Albert Franck, were pivotal figures in the shaping of mid-century Toronto's intelligentsia. Their home on Gerrard St. W. was a social hub for culturally minded thinkers and artists. As a second home to young artists such as
Harold Town, Tom Hodgson and William Ronald -- their living room is considered an integral part of the shaping of Toronto's bohemian movement, namely the art collective Painters Eleven. Painters Eleven came out of Unaffiliated Artists, formed in 1950 by the Francks and others as an alternative to the existing conservative art establishment.
"Unaffiliated Artists lasted for three years. It was the genesis of Painters Eleven, ... from which sprang many of the branches now flowering in all the visual arts in Canada"
-James Purdie, Globe & Mail, 1975
Vale, a talented musician who turned to her husband's idle brushes when he wasn't in studio, is unmatched in her innate abilities and capacity for excelling in a range of subject matter.
Time & Line explores her early figurative and interior works, through to her strong 1960s collage works which also hint at her excellent Surrealist vision and variations found in her later works. Joyful and witty, Vale was well loved, so too are her works; "The best of Florence Vale's pictures are strong little nuggets of transcendent beauty.".
"Florence Vale is an x-rated Emily Dickinson of art. A homemade surrealist."
-Gary Michael Dault, Toronto Star, 1979
With our new location on Hazelton housing this important exhibition, we give great pause to the fact that "Flory & Albie" lived at 90 Hazelton Avenue. Although much has changed in Yorkville over the decades, so very little has at the same time. The Francks purchased their Hazelton home in 1953 and by 1954 had opened the first gallery in what was to become Yorkville Village. It was this very neighbourhood that led to Vale meeting her longtime art dealers, and friends, Julie and Stephen Gadacsy. The Gadacsys owned and operated the Gadatsy Gallery which they opened at 112 Yorkville Avenue in 1972. The gallery was an avant-garde space that represented such Canadian greats as Fred Hagan and the young John Hartman. Both Julie and Stephen will be at the gallery for the opening reception.
I paint what I dream, I draw what I know and I collage who I am. -Florence Vale (1909-2003)
For a PDF of the catalogue for
Time & Line as well as all purchasing and press queries, please
contact the gallery.
