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TOE DIP or NOT TOE DIP?

Virgil Baruchel

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ANGELL GALLERY is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Toronto-based Virgil Baruchel. The exhibition is on view from September 10 through October 1, 2016, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

TOE DIP or NOT TOE DIP? is Baruchel's newest painting series. Best viewed in the dark, the overarching focus in this body of work is leisure and the difficult task of remaining comfortable even under the most perfect of conditions. 

Using his terrain of uncommon yet familiar materials, Baruchel's abstract aesthetic remains simple and instinctive. The subject matter; female and nude, is reminiscent of the "Baigneuses" of classical and modernist paintings. The nudes are strong, playful and singular. The movement is slow and instinctive and threat is non existent. 

A fence, a boat, a body of water; the setting in which this perfect world allows form and function to do its dance. With tension in every pose the impossibility of remaining comfortable becomes palpable. And so the"baigneuse" in her state of repose is searching to simplify the body; to become almost weightless, or at least, ache-less.

This natural state can almost only exist in solitude as any disturbance will break the meditative state of comfort. Every outside element could cause an unneeded movement and even when sitting alone next to a pool on a hot summers night the question "toe dip or not toe dip?" could make this whole world fall apart.

Virgil Baruchel is a Paris born artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. His autodidactic practice, rooted in painting and drawing, informs a body of work in performance, sculpture and installation. He has exhibited works in Canada, France and the USA.

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Virgil Baruchel
Repose, 2016
Acrylic on LED mounted Plexiglass
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Virgil Baruchel
Repose, 2016
Acrylic on LED mounted Plexiglass
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Virgil Baruchel
Repose, 2016
Acrylic on LED mounted Plexiglass
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Virgil Baruchel
Left: Two Ways to Lean On No One
Centre: This Burkini Kills Fascists
Right: As Above and So Below