► The ArmenianCanadian
photographer
Yousuf Karsh was
one of the greatest
portraitists of the
20th century. He
shot painter
Georgia O’Keeffe
at her home in
New Mexico.
▲ Karsh famously
plucked the cigar from
Winston Churchill’s
mouth to catch him off
guard before snapping
this 1941 portrait.
▼ Stephen
Appleby-Barr
was inspired by
Napoleonic regalia
for this strange,
surreal piece.
▲ Life magazine photographer
Gordon Parks captured Red
Jackson, a young Harlem gang
leader, in 1948.
scrapbook
Face Value
Nicholas Metivier’s weird
and wistful portrait
collection
◄ The Japanese-born Toronto
artist Keita Morimoto draws
inspiration from anime artists
(like Hayao Miyazaki) and
classicists (like Thomas
Gainsborough).
88 toronto life January 2016
photograph by contributors name tk
In the era of Instagram, when our phones
are loaded up with blurry selfies of everyone we know, Nicholas Metivier Gallery’s
latest exhibit is a poignant reminder of the
art of portraiture. The show, called About
Face, features paintings, drawings and
photographs by 11 artists in as many styles.
The Armenian-Canadian photographer
Yousuf Karsh, a late paragon of portrait
art, masters light and shadow in his blackand-white pictures of the world’s most
iconic personalities. Toronto-via-Tokyo
painter Keita Morimoto’s dark, brooding
images mix the techniques of old European
masters with modern Japanese anime.
And local artist Stephen Appleby-Barr
paints ornate figures against poppy
­backgrounds. Some
are eerily lifelike,
art
others comically
about face
nicholas
metivier
abstract, but each
gallery
one is thoroughly
Jan. 7 to 30
captivating. Here,
our favourites.
photograph by contributors name tk
by luc r i na l di
photographs courtesy of stephen bulger gallery; dille by borge jorgensen
◄ Toronto artist Charles Bierk
shoots each subject—including
musician Taylor Kirk, seen here—
then meticulously recreates every
pore, hair and freckle in his
massive photorealistic paintings
photographs: karsh copyright estate of
yousuf karsh; paintings courtesy of
nicholas metivier gallery; parks courtesy
of and copyright the gordon parks
foundation; selgado by sebastião salgado/
amazonas images
▲ The Brazilian photojournalist
Sebastião Salgado captured this
accidental double portrait while
documenting the construction of
social housing on the outskirts of
Guatemala City in 1978.
January 2016 toronto life 89