Above is the installation by Grace Yang for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Using humour and skepticism Grace Yang’s light boxes express her interpretation of the negative readings that she has received from various psychics around the world.

Grace Wawa Yang was born and raised in Taiwan. She currently works and lives in New York City, where she finished her MFA from Parsons School of Design. Yang uses various mediums such as digital photography, light box, and mixmedia painting. She uses art to express her inner and outer world, and to represent both her consciousness of the world around her and her imaginative subconscious.

www.graceyang.ca

Above is the installation by Nicholas Bruscia & Patricia Schraven for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Marshall McLuhan suggested that we cannot visualize while telephoning, as the act demands complete participation of our senses and faculties. This installation is an attempt to bring the other senses into play in a new relation by creating real time physical visualizations derived from speaking into a telephone.

Nicholas Bruscia is a recent graduate from the collaborative dual Masters Degree program between Architecture (Situated Technologies Research Group) and Media Robotics at SUNY Buffalo. His most recent work has been focused on the design for a reflexive architecture machine consisting of a system of heat sensitive soft molds that alter their shape as the poured material’s temperature increases, thus changing the morphology of the casted piece.

Patricia Schraven is an independent artist and designer. Her practice focuses on the conflicting ideas of craft vs. mass production, practical vs. speculative, and analog vs. digital. Her recent work deals with function and interactivity, and fosters a participatory, give and take relationship between the object and the user. Patricia is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Furniture Design program, and she also holds a BFA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

www.patriciaschraven.net

www.nbruscia.blogspot.com

Above is the installation by Maté Szemeredy for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Maté  was not born in Paris, he did not grow up in London, and he is not the product of a New York private school education. He has never sailed the oceans, or any body of water for that matter. He has had little contact with the academic elite of the 21st century, and can safely say that when it comes to day-to-day matters, he has seldom seen the upside of a downward spiral. Going left while looking right is something that has come naturally to this young man, hence his refined sense in all matters sartorial. He knows that a low-slung bottom bracket could be the potential answer to many of life’s key questions. He just doesn’t know which ones.

Above is the installation by Jeremy Hatch (presented by Made) for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Jeremy’s installations employ the cultural associations of porcelain to invoke range of conflicting responses. Occupying both social and solitary space, his sculpture is simultaneously monument and souvenir– a mnemonic device that awakens feelings of loss and longing.  For Jeremy, the act of casting is a symbolic gesture: it freezes a moment in time, recording and preserving forms and events that are impossible to re-live. His work implicates the viewer as a participant – reflecting back the personal histories, desires and anxieties brought to it.

Born in 1974, Vancouver artist Jeremy Hatch has exhibited his large-scale cast porcelain sculpture nationally and internationally. Since receiving his MFA at NYSCC Alfred University Jeremy has taught courses at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the Rhode Island School of Design. He has received several Canada Council and BC Arts Council grants and has attended residencies at the Takumi Studios in Japan, the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the Archie Bray Foundation, where he is the current recipient of the Taunt Fellowship. In 2008 Jeremy founded Ricochet Studio as a means to explore the intersections between craft, art and design. One goal of the studio is to collaborate with artists from various disciplines in order to develop limited edition works. Diyan Achjadi, David Khang and Mark Soo are the first to join in.

www.ricochetstudio.com

Above is Motherbrand’s public space installation for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Motherbrand proudly presents Penny Smash, a new Souvenir Shop project featuring original pressed pennies designed by Douglas Coupland, Marian Bantjes, Burton Kramer and Paul Butler – smash your own for only $2 (and 1 cent) each. Pick your favourite or collect them all! Partial proceeds go to Sketch, Toronto’s art studio for street youth.

Motherbrand, the partnership of designers Todd Falkowsky, John Ryan, and Michael Erdmann, is a creative agency and design incubator.

www.motherbrand.com
www.thesouvenirshop.ca
www.pennysmash.com

Above is the installation by Einav Mekori, Erin McCutcheon, Annie Tung and Andrée Wejsmann for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

United by a love of objects and making, Erin, Einav, Annie and Andree take their inspiration from an obscure fairytale for CUTMR 2009. Together they will bring to life a gothic story of jealousy, innocence and death. They will be presenting their interpretation and vision of “The Juniper Tree” by the Brothers Grimm.

Erin McCutcheon is a Toronto based artist and designer recently graduated with a BDes in Industrial Design from OCAD and a previous BFA majoring in Jewellery and Metalsmithing from NSCAD. Erin enjoys combining craft, art and contemporary design. Her work takes into consideration the history of objects and people as well as memory, sentiment, the relationship built between object and owner, and the recording of time and moments. All work is handmade in her downtown studio.

www.erinmccutcheon.com

Einav Mekori is currently in her third year as a resident artist at the Harbourfront centre glass studio. A native to Israel, she initially studied sculpture at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Having moved to Canada in 2004, she subsequently graduated from the Sheridan College Craft and Design program. Her current work is influenced by the rich visualization of Victorian styles, and takes inspiration from jewellery and wallpaper designs.

Toronto-based artist Annie Tung graduated from the Ontario College of Art & Design and is currently an artist-in-resident at Harbourfront Centre. In her creative practice, Annie combines her training in jewellery and penchant for sculpture to question expectations of seemingly insignificant objects.

www.shesmiledandran.com

Andrée Wejsmann is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Art and Design. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships. Her work spans a number of media and disciplines, exploring the relativity of objects in their environment, often using narrative as a tool to investigate the construction of meaning, and the permeability of signifiers. Andrée currently lives and makes work in Toronto, and teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Above is the installation by Bruno Billio and Matthew Nye for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Billio and Nye’s Conversation Piece explores the personal and performative relationship between domesticity and technology, and the reverence of household furniture as both functional/dysfunctional object and purveyor of identity.

Bruno Billio is a sculptor and installation artist. His work has been exhibited internationally and involves a magical transformation of everyday objects that signify a deeper meaning while remaining, well… everyday. Bruno uses conventional items in unconventional ways, to create new life.

www.brunobillio.com

Matthew Nye is an artist and designer residing in Toronto. His work explores information science, theoretical architecture and the space occupied within the built environment– for artistic intervention. Having whetted an appetite for reading through trashy science fiction novels at a young age, the future of architecture and design seemed a logical trajectory.

Above is the installation by Derrick Hodgson for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Hodgson’s room… “A box filled with mania… creatures, madreal.com things and stuff…”

Derrick Hodgson is a Toronto based artist and illustrator. He focuses on the application and development of character design. The majority of Hodgson’s imagery is based on his experiences growing up in a small rural community north
of Toronto and relating these experiences to the expanding urban environment. His recent work deals with a theme of rural meets urban and the urge to gain control over our future in relation to an escalating loss of nature.

Above is the installation by Amrita Takhar, David Chang and Andrea Chin for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

SUSPECT: A masquerade of objects, materials and functions.  Each piece in the room is a play off of a permanent element of the room.

David Chang is a recent graduate from the Industrial Design program at the Ontario College of Art and Design and holds a BFA from the University of Toronto. For the past four years David has been working as a Visual Stylist for Canadian retailer Holt Renfrew. Outside of developing concepts and creating props and installations for the Toronto flagship store’s windows and interiors, David has a continued interest in designing and producing various products that bring together design and art.

Andrea Chin graduated from Queen’s University in 2005 with honours in visual arts. However, she just couldn’t get enough of school and enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design. After graduating from the Industrial Design program, she left Toronto for a stint in Milan to work as an editor at designboom. Working across disciplines, Andrea’s designs explore the contextual relationship between object, space and place, injected with the occasional dose of humor. Her work has been exhibited in the Interior Design Show, the Souvenir Shop at ‘Come Up to My Room’, Radiant Dark and IIDEX, and published in NOW and Canadian Interiors Magazine.

Amrita Takhar is a recent graduate of the Industrial Design program at the Ontario College of Art and Design and holds a degree in Human Ecology from the University of Alberta. She finds design enticing because it touches on an endless range of topics and can be used as a tool for positive change and commentary. Amrita has worked in international development in the past and plans to combine her design sensibilities and entrepreneurial spirit in her project for Come Up To My Room.

www.amrita.ca

Above is the installation by Matt Carr and Joyce Lo for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

Room 205 is inspired by the experiences people share in hotel rooms. Whether it be a honeymoon or a torrid affair, hotel rooms have a long association with love and lovers. Using light, holograms and typography, In My Heart is an
installation that explores these relationships.

Matt Carr first sparked his passion for design interning at Douglas Cardinal Architects. Matt has been a part of Umbra’s design team since 2001, and was recently appointed Director of Design. He has contributed more than 150 designs to their diverse product line. His work has been featured multiple times in The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, Surface Magazine, I.D Magazine, Met Home, Monocle, and Living Etc. Subtle details, appreciation for imperfection and the reinvention of traditional objects distinguish his designs. His inspirations include mixing cross-cultural orientations while simultaneously fusing new technology and natural materials.

Joyce Lo’s background is in fashion, and she graduated from Ryerson’s School of Fashion in 2000. She and partner Sabrina Albanese started their own label, Wolves and quickly garnered interest and press, featured in Nylon Magazine and Lucky Mag. Since the company dissolved in 2004, Joyce has worked for Shared, a T-shirt company with a conscience. This past summer, Shared opened (and closed) it’s first pop-up shop, riding a three month stint on Queen West, where the space was conceptualized and brought to life by Joyce with the help of Matt Carr. Joyce is currently co-directing the Drake Hotel General Store.

Above is Eric Quebral’s public space installation for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

These pieces continue Eric’s wood grain world of subjects and objects. An exploration into the detritus that is Hollywood gossip and scandal, this is the best of the worst. TMZ made him do it.

Eric Quebral graduated with Honours from University of Toronto’s Visual Studies program. Eric’s clients include Reebok, Adidas and New Balance, and he has been featured in several magazines and publications around the world, most recently, Intercity’s Art and Sole.

Above is Derek McLeod’s public space installation for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

A manifestation of intensity through repetition – 50 lights occupy an entire hallway on the second floor of the hotel to create a variegated field. The lights have smooth, polished copper surfaces that reflect off each other making for a
surreal topography.

Derek McLeod creates furniture and objects for people who like to live with quality. The pieces can be described as archetypal, comfortable and usable – things which make life better by looking and performing well. McLeod strives for the best version of a thing, while understanding that the idea of best is always changing. Derek McLeod graduated with a Bachelor of Design from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2004.

www.derekmcleod.com

Above is the installation by Laura McKibbon & Jasna Sokolovic for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

This project creates an unexpected environment within a familiar space by turning the proverbial outhouse inside out. Using trees, grass and wildlife, the sanctuary-like quality inherent in a bathroom is even more heightened.

Laura McKibbon and Jasna Sokolovic met in the spring of 2004, both just embarking on their careers in the ceramic arts. Despite their differences in working styles and approach they found their vision and inspiration parallel in striking ways. Since then, they have collaborated on personal projects, exhibitions, and fine craft sales and guided one another through the maze of art, craft and design. They find working in tandem to be challenging yet incredibly rewarding and together have mounted successful gallery exhibitions in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

www.culdesacdesign.com
www.jasnart.com

Above is Marcin Padlewski and Anissa Szeto’s public space installation for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

The Lanark Sofa Project is a collection of objects made from fallen and dying trees. Sculpted to exploit the sinuous grace of both trunk and limbs, these (re)creations invite you to rest on, dine at or climb on them.

Marcin Padlewski (Gdansk, Poland) and Anissa Szeto (Hong Kong) met during their architecture studies at Carleton University in Ottawa (1992-99). Soon after graduating they established the studio/workshop: Bakerygroup (1999) along with their third partner Michel DuVernet. The group takes on a wide range of projects and collaborations that eventually focus on tensile structures as applied to lighting and tents. Recently Anissa and Marcin made a move to the countryside (Lanark Highlands, ON) where they established a new workshop base and began a personal experiment in alternative living. The great outdoors becomes a natural extension of the studio. Issues of environment, shelter
and community take on a greater role in their work as they maintain their tested adage of designing by making.

See more photos below, including some of the process!

Above is Andra Hayward, Shannon Linde & Christina Ott’s public space installation for Come Up To My Room 2009 at the Gladstone Hotel.

This project uses reclaimed keys to create a large-scale typographic installation in the stairwell that will invite visitors into the exhibition and encourage them to participate with its evolution over the course of the show.

Andra Hayward studied Interior Design at Ryerson University, completing her bachelor in 2000 and in 2006 completed a one year studio in Monumental Art at the AKI in The Netherlands. She has worked for a number of architectural firms in Toronto, London and Amsterdam, and currently works as a designer at Yabu Pushelberg.

www.andrahayward

Shannon Linde studied liberal arts in Vancouver, and went on to complete a BFA in Print Media from Concordia University in 2007. She works primarily in painting and printmaking, and has extended this professionally into graphic design and illustration. Shannon regularly collaborates with a group of artists under the name ‘Bridge & Tunnel’ on public installations and projects, and has exhibited her own work in galleries in Montreal and Toronto.

www.shannonlinde.com

Christina Ott studied Interior Design at Ryerson University and was a part of the “This Is” Collective, which did a room in last years’ CUTMR. She interned for three summers at Peter Marino Architects in NYC during her studies and currently works as the Design Director at Moss and Lam, a custom art studio in Toronto.