Vivian Reiss gives a behind-the-scenes tour of her artwork at the exhibition "Satoyama Story: Three Months in Japan" Followed by a concert of piano music composed by Joel Garten TAKING PLACE AT THE JAPAN FOUNDATION, TORONTO AFTERNOON OF Sat. OCTOBER 13 AT 2PM Learn the stories behind the paintings. The artist will explain the creation of each painting in the exhibition. The Satoyama Story was created in an abandonned school house in the traditional Japanese village of Hachi. Reiss' studio was in the music room of the school house. Filled with drums, vibraphones, flutes & a grand piano. Joel Garten, composer and the artist's son created the music for Satoyama storehouse using the local folk music as inspiration. view project photos: http://webhome.idirect.com/~vreiss/japan/photos/ Location: The Japan Foundation, Toronto 131 Bloor Street West. 2nd Floor of the Colonnade Admission: FREE! Exhibit Hours: Mon. - Fri.: 11:30AM to 4:30PM, Thur.: to 7:00PM Special Openings: Scotiabank NUIT BLANCHE Sept 29 7:00PM to 1:00AM October 13 Noon to 5:00PM Closed: Other Saturdays and Sundays, and October 8 (Thanksgiving) To see more of Vivian Reiss' work, visit V. Reiss Gallery: 500 College Street. 416-836-4575 www.vreiss.com The life and soul of Japan's mountain farming villages spill out of Toronto painter Vivian Reiss' new exhibition, The Satoyama Story: Vivian Reiss in Japan, currently on display at The Japan Foundation, Toronto through October 25, 2007. A companion exhibit is also on display at the V. Reiss Gallery. Reiss spent three months in Japan in 2006 with her family after being invited to participate in the prestigious Echigo-Tsumari Triennial, the largest international art show in Japan. For the Triennial, she lived in the tiny rice farming village of Hachi for two-and-a-half months where she created an extraordinary body of artwork that was both created and installed in the village's abandoned school house. This show tells the story of her time there. She painted a series of 18 intensely personal portraits of the inhabitants of the village that express, on a deep level, the soul of the individuals and the culture of the village. With bold strokes of sumptuous colour and an intensity of movement, Reiss' portraits are intimate and heartfelt, reflecting people's inner psyches while also creating a cultural storehouse filled with the history and spirit of the people themselves. Each painting tells the personal story of an individual villager; comments by the villagers and Reiss accompany each painting, making this an incredibly personal and moving reflection on the strength of the human spirit. Over the course of the Triennial, the tiny abandoned school house was visited by more than 300,000 people. This current exhibition showcases not only the 18 portraits showcased there (Satoyama Storehouse), but also artwork she created leading up to her work in Japan (The Kewpie Series); other paintings from this period, including paintings of mountain flowers, snow monkeys, and work she exhibited and was commissioned to do in Tokyo (in conjunction with her exhibition for the Triennial, the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo showcased her solo show "Portraits" and Tokyo's Gallery Concept 21 held a show of Reiss' work on paper); and a series of still lifes she completed in Toronto based on Japanese antiques and toys she collected in Japan. There are 48 works altogether, along with cultural artifacts and objects that inspired the still lifes. Vivian Reiss is a New York born, Toronto-based Canadian painter. Her 35-year long career as an artist includes more than 40 shows, both in Canada and around the world, 25 of which were one-woman shows. Her work is in the collections of the Canadian Embassies in Paris and Washington DC, a former Prime Minister of Canada, President of Hungary, and numerous private and corporate collection in 15 countries. Vivian Reiss' work is a passionate exploration of form and colour, thriving off the interplay and tension between both. See Vivian Reiss' work at www.vreiss.com Joel Garten is a pianist and composer known for his innovative improvisations. His music is influenced by classical music and jazz. Garten's music has been described as Keith Jarrett meets Morton Feldman meets Jackson Pollock. Most of his piano works are entirely improvisational and reflect a remarkably personal connection to his music. His work is noted by critics as being deeply reflective and heartfelt. Joel Garten has created a number of innovative works for prepared using paint brushes and other hardware on the strings of the piano. He has performed in a number of cities in North America, as well as some exotic locales such as the Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Listen to an audio interview with Vivian Reiss about Satoyama Storehouse from MAG: http://www.massartguide.com/audio/audiofiles/VivianReiss.mp3 Recent coverage of Vivian Reiss in the Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070706.re-reiss-0706/BNStory/RealEstate/ To unsubscribe, please respond to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line, thank you. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).