The Liberty Gleaner

I was approached for an interview about an eon ago, butt didn't get my hands on a copy of it until now. I wish I had a copy of the printed version to show you, but it's been lost :( Well anyway it's mostly about the Sleeping Giant Gallery where I often show @. Thanks Stefan for digging this one up:


Title: The Sleeping Giant Gallery
Published in the Liberty Gleaner, April 2009
By: Stefan Chiarantano


What isn’t more exciting than a new gallery to spice up the neighbourhood? Well, thanks to twenty-three year old Josh Glover, businessman and skateboarder, the neighbourhood has a spanking new gallery. It’s the place for anyone interested in discovering exciting new works of art by a new breed of talented, emerging artists.
Glover has opened his gallery at 789 Dundas Street West just west of Bathurst Street following an extensive search. For Glover, the journey of his creative brainchild began in late 2007 when he used his two bedroom apartment in Leslieville to stage his first show for several artists.
“A goal of the gallery is to give emerging artists the same opportunity as established artists to have their work seen,” said Glover. One of the artists Glover represents is Wes Loates, a graduate of the Digital Media Diploma Program from Durham Business Computer College . Loates grew up in an artistic family. His father, Bernard Loates, is a printer publisher, and his uncle, Glen Loates, is a wildlife artist. Loates striking works, created with acrylic on panel, are inspired by his surroundings, people, the city and day to day life. Loates is proud to be a part of Sleeping Giant Gallery and is appreciative of the opportunities Glover is providing to emerging artists. “It’s a great gallery to be a part of and it feels like home,” Loates said.
Lisa Ng, a contemporary artist, echoes Wes Loates's sentiments. She too is very appreciative of the exposure, of having her work seen, and being a part of the community of artists at Sleeping Giant Gallery. A recent graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, her colourful, striking, quirky, and socially relevant and thought provoking works, created with acrylic and ink on canvas, are inspired by her environment, the times she lives in, the people around her, and h er day-to-day conversations. "Each painting has its own inspiration, and my inspiration comes from life," Ng said. Her painting TV Junk Yard was inspired by a TV set that had been tossed out and left on the curb. A note was attached saying that the TV was working perfectly fine. Her painting The Red Painting was inspired by things that are red, her favourite colour. In her piece, amongst other things, she painted a red light district, and referenced two artists, Rene Magritte and Matisse, who both worked with the colour red.
Named after the Wall Street term used by stock brokers in the know to describe a stock about to take off, Sleeping Giant Gallery references the potential power of its artists to take off in the art world. The gallery is providing opportunities for the public to invest in art at a good price point.
Glover has converted a neglected store front which was formerly occupied in the second last provincial election several years ago into an attractive gallery. He exposed the ceiling, re-did the walls, and laid down a new floor made up of 10 foot planks of pine. Glover has also created an artist studio in=2 0the back of the gallery and two more in the basement. He’s immensely proud of his accomplishment. “I like it because I got to do everything the way I wanted it to look,” he said.
The gallery officially opened with a party on January 31st, 2009 . The first exhibition titled A Black & White Affair opened on February 6th featuring new works by 13 artists. The artists were only allowed to work in black and white and given an assigned colour to incorporate in their works. The idea behind the show was to take the artists out of their realm and test their ability and skills to see what they could create. The second show titled Group of Seleven features the works of eleven emerging Canadian artists. Glover named the show the Group of Seleven to reference the Group of Seven. It’s a pun on the name. “It’s funny. You can’t take offence to that,” said Glover. He feels they are doing work on the same level and should be acknowledged, he said.
Glover likes the neigbhourhood, that it hasn’t become gentrified and still has a lot of independent businesses. Although Glover o pened his gallery in challenging economic times and didn’t anticipate the economic downturn which occurred in the last six months, his positive attitude, chutzpah, and passion should see him through. The next exhibit will feature works by Nick Birnie, a Toronto-based photographer and world traveler. The show opens on Saturday March 21st and runs to Friday, April 3rd.