an art show a week | week 10: Cup and Ball

Roula Partheniou, Cup and Ball

These may look like a bunch of ordinary cups in the middle of a room but look again and you'll realize these are actually 500 detailed sculptures meticulously arranged. Everything that looks familiar here, is probably not.
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It feels like it was yesterday when I discovered this secret gallery at the top of the BMO building.

Ok, ok... the truth is: it's not actually completely secret, but it feels like it!... in a good way, of course. 

I first found out about the space through a post by Toronto Star's art critic Murray Whyte (whom I discovered when I started this project and now I'm a declared fan... hi there if you're reading!)

This gallery is only open by appointment on Fridays because it is actually located in the middle of an operating business floor! The pieces that are shown here are part of their private collection, so it's a great opportunity to see up close artwork from contemporary Canadian artists. No pictures allowed.

On this floor we can also find The Project Room which, as the name indicates, is a space that hosts for almost a year a contemporary art project commissioned by BMO. This year's exhibition is “Cup and Ball, by Sculptor Roula Partheniou.

Week 10: Cup and Ball
Where: The Project Room
Admission: by appointment only

About the show

Nothing is quite what it appears. Each ball, each cup stack or tempting prize is meticulously crafted in cast resin or wood, faithfully painted, and arranged perfectly to convince us they are familiar, mass-produced ready-made objects. Entirely ordinary. But perception is trumped by skill here, and the game is all about perception itself.


CUP AND BALL

January 18 - November 30
Bmo Project Room
King & Bay

Appointments only on Friday
via cupandball.ca

*All photos courtesy of Roula Partheniou, The Project Room.