The exhibition at Northern Contemporary gallery invites Torontonians to explore the artistic side of Halloween.
A Parkdale art gallery that showcases pop art and experimental work will be celebrating Halloween this year with an exhibition of 100 demons from 25 artists.
“We were looking for a sort of concept for Halloween-show that really highlights our mandate of pushing illustration as fine art, especially in Toronto,” said the owner of the gallery Hitoshi Murakami.
The exhibition is called Hyakki Yagyo, the night in Japanese mythology where ghosts and demons walk the streets, Murakami explained.
A Japanese folklore classic has been interpreted by 25 illustrators. Each of them created four creatures in black-and-white style.
Most of the artists are from Toronto, includimg OCAD grads Emily May Rose, Adrian Forrow, Deshi Deng.
Among the international illustrators are Harvey Chan from Hong Kong and Daniel Zender from Brooklyn, N.Y.
“The artists in that show are fantastic,” Murakami said. “They’ve done pieces for New York Times and Walrus. These are artists that you always want to curate for.”
Most of the works are done in ink and gouache.
“I don’t know much about illustration, but it’s interesting to see all the different forms it can take, like heavy lines, light lines, shading. It’s cool,” said a gallery associate Chantal Hassard.
Hassard said she answered the volunteer request in Craigslist and got a great experience working at the gallery.
“That’s awesome. I learned how to hang the work and what all goes into organization like this,” she said.
Hyakki Yagyo: Night Parade of 100 demons opens at Northern Contemporary gallery. Photo by Sveta Soloveva
The exhibition will run until Oct. 31.