On Thursday December 9th in Queen West’s popular art district, De Luca Fine Art | Gallery hosted “A Timeless Evening of Art & Wine” with tastings by Angela Aiello of iYellow Wine Club from Hillebrand’s Artist Series. A Meritage, Unoaked Chardonnay, and Riesling flight was offered – and mon dieu they flew! My favourite was the (gasp) Chardonnay but ONLY BECAUSE it was unoaked. So fruity – the flavours seemed to stack in my mouth with each sip. (Oh, and Angela is delightful. I will definitely be checking out some of her wine events in the future.)
So the event kicked off at 6pm, and entertained a steady stream of buyers, voyeurs, and epicures until the food and wine was packed up at 10pm. By eight o’clock the party was so full, it felt more like a club night than an exhibit opening. I was screaming at my friends J and M over the conversation. So loud. Other gallery events I’ve been to did not have this kind of atmosphere (save I guess for the Power Ball and AGO Massive Party lol). My fellow entrepreneur colleague, who shall remain nameless, actually said she went to an opening at 1313 Gallery before coming to the Ciba party, and it was “nothing like this.” Has De Luca Fine Art become the next hotspot on the block??
What we were celebrating (other than the wine and company) was a reception for Bosnian painter Ciba Karisik. His series of paintings entitled “Labels” tip-toed the line between reality and art. Oversized, vivid, complex, textured, accurate – walking into the gallery and witnessing his works for the first time was actually shocking. I did not expect the paintings to be that… AMAZING.
(It made me wonder if gallery owner Corrado De Luca was not a modern Medici, and Ciba Karisik his Michelangelo.)
Sarajevo-born Ciba holds a Master’s degree from the Sarajevo Academy of Fine Art, and clearly loves to paint aged wine bottles. His ripped labels covered with settled dust convey the distinct patina of Time’s passage, and express Ciba’s keen sense of the brevity of life. For what could be more poignant or fleeting than the opening, and subsequent devouring, of a bottle of wine? Ciba seeks and offers in painting an equivalent to poetry through his unique marriage of art and wine. And afterall, did not Robert Louis Stevenson (who, by the way, I share a birthday with) say, “Wine is bottled poetry”?
Introduced for the first time at De Luca Fine Art | Gallery, Ciba Karisik offers pure painting for the pleasure of his audience and his collectors – who include none other than Brian Mulroney, Alex Trebek, Martin Short, Martha Stewart, and Bono. “Labels” will be exhibited through January 9th, 2011. So I invite you to drop by De Luca and revel in the oenological intimations of this incredible artist and his timeless art.
DE LUCA FINE ART | GALLERY (est. 2004) is located at 1153 Queen Street West, Toronto, in the heart of the Art District. Collaborating with partner Italian Galleries, De Luca Fine Arts is dedicated to representing and introducing Italian and International artists to Canadian collectors. For more information, visit www.delucafineart.com.
iYELLOW WINE CLUB is an established wine club community of over 5,000 members, offering educational, entertaining, and exciting ways to discover wine. Visit www.iyellowwineclub.com to learn more about the club, and its founder Angela Aiello.
HILLEBRAND Artist’s Series – a tasteful way to support the Arts.
Cin cin,
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