Affinity at The Hub

(Review received by email, July 2, 2008)

Walking into the Hub I didn’t know what to expect, as I had never seen work by the two exhibiting artists Margot Bethel, and Toby Lunn before. As I entered I was immediately struck by the space itself, coming in from busy Bay Street I was amazed to see the gallery available behind those metal doors. A long narrow space, the Hub seems to resemble an abandoned warehouse or store. High ceilings and concrete floors are the first thing you notice. At first I dismissed the space as unfinished… in the middle of renovations but quickly realized the look of the place was kept raw intentionally.

Turning my attention to the work on display I again found myself trying to make sense of what was in front of me. The first work I saw was the painting ‘Affinity ‘ (named after the exhibition, or vice versa) by Toby Lunn, the painting was a beautiful contortion of forms and colors, connecting and disconnecting. I know little about abstract art but I found this work quite impressive. As I entered the space more paintings by Lunn revealed themselves but I must say that with the exception of a bright red composition call ‘Chasing the Dragon’ none of the other Lunn works had the same vitality. The enamels and oils on canvas seemed initially quite repetitious with the same gestural mark in different forms through most of the paintings. And since this same swooping mark seemed initially quite simple with little room for interpretation I couldn’t understand the need to repeat it so often. In contrast Margot Bethel’s work seemed quite regimented, almost collaged. This is probably because of her material of choice, wood. Trained as a carpenter her selection of work for the exhibition was quite sparse compared to Lunn’s with a low wooden table and three horizontal wall panels making up most of her contribution to the exhibition.

All in all I was more interested in the Hub as a space than the actual exhibition, which probably sounds a bit harsh but that soon changed. After learning that there was a concert scheduled for the next evening I decided to return. Entering the Hub the following evening felt like a different experience all together. When a got there a small jazz quartet had already started playing on a small wooden stage. I used the opportunity to look at the artwork again and as if by magic the entire exhibition changed. Lunn’s work seen in lower light and with jazz playing in the background and people swaying in my peripheral jumped off the canvas. Works that I had dismissed the day before, seemed completely new to me. Even Bethel’s wooden compartments, which I had thought so rigid, suddenly seemed more animated. After enjoying the concert I left the exhibition again… smiling. I did not know if this is the way the artists had intended to their work to be seen but I left with an unexpected new appreciation for the work that they produced.