Found in an alley and marked by little more than a 3D script of the number 47, this art gallery isn't the most extroverted exhibition room in the city's west end.
Located part way down Milky Way Alley, between Gwynne Avenue and Elm Grove Avenue, one must pass through a rickety gate to gain entry to 47. Once inside this former bank storage facility turned wood-working shop turned gallery, one will find white walls and high ceilings, stripped back to create a space tailored to show installation and sculpture works.Forty-seven is an exhibition space founded in 2008 and run by Parkdale-based artists Dennis Lin and Jaclyn Quaresma. Quaresma said 47 aims to challenge the artist, empower the viewer and allow the artwork to affect."We don't try to hide but, Dennis and I are not out-there people." Quaresma said. "We are just kind of to ourselves a bit and I think that is what has happened to the gallery, for better or for worse."Just steps off Queen Street West, which is peppered with all manner of art galleries, Quaresma said 47 doesn't really align itself with that scene."It is a great community, but we are really separate from that and the work we show is very different from that," she said. "It is nice to come upon it."We do separate ourselves out a little bit because we don't want to force the artwork into anything else. We want the artists and the artwork to stand for itself and be allowed to be itself."Quaresma and Lin live around the corner from the gallery in South Parkdale."We knew the people who had the space before and when they were going to sell it we were lucky enough to be able to buy it," she said.It was originally going to be a studio, but after taking the space down to its bare bones they fell in love with it and felt they needed to share it with people."We wanted to foster a healthy environment for ourselves and people we know to grow," she said.The gallery really is a labour of love: it doesn't get any public funding and there is no charge for admission."We just want to be able to show work that we are passionate about and work that we love," Quaresma said. "We haven't seen a lot of sculpture and instillation opportunities in the city and I think this offers that."Currently, 47 houses Lin's solo exhibition, n° 1-60, which opened Feb. 5 and runs until March 5.For her solo exhibition, Of Many, opening March 12, Quaresma will lay the gallery floor with 1,900 12x12-inch white, hand-cast tiles.Now nearly a year into their space, Quaresma said they are going to try to push it a bit more."The work that we show deserves to be seen," she said.Quaresma said she expects 2010 to be full of fantastic works including those by AA Bronson, who co-founded the artists' group General Idea, pioneers of early conceptual and media-based art."We are totally star struck," she said. "It made us feel like we are doing something worth doing when you get validation by this higher somebody."Forty-seven is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Visit www.forty-seven.ca for more information.