Artist Gary Taxali’s First Retrospective Gallery Exhibition in Canada

Gary Taxali poses in front of his artwork, on view at Design on Riverside in Canada.

For Canada’s foremost ‘pop artist’ Gary Taxali (first featured in HF Vol. 4), the artist’s first major retrospective exhibition in Ontario was a long time coming. Currently on view at Design on Riverside, “Here and Now: The Art of Gary Taxali” features hundreds of Taxali’s personal and professional works over the years in a salon-style presentation of paintings, toys and objects, and assemblages of his most popular prints. The artist is recognized worldwide for his tinted illustrations of cartoon characters and vintage-inspired typography, which have appeared in the likes of New York Times, GQ, and Rolling Stone. His art has even appeared on Canadian currency. Taxali has a particular penchant for Depression-era graphics, which he implements to comment on the flaws of the human condition and contemporary culture. Viewers can learn more about his process in the short documentary film “Gary Taxali: The Art of Whimsy” which is also featured in the exhibition. It’s his conceptual approach that sets Taxali apart from commercial illustration and where the line starts to blur into fine art. Blurring the lines, Taxali says, is a conscious decision that comes from doing purely what he loves. Take a look at more photos from the installation below, courtesy of the artist.

“Here and Now: The Art of Gary Taxali” is now on view at Idea Exchange, Design at Riverside through September 20, 2015.