circa 1964

We are in the dying days of January and I know we are through talking about Christmas but I received an email last night that brought me back, so forgive this short digression. At the Queen West Art Crawl back in August or September (an event I highly recommend if you're interested in purchasing or viewing undiscovered and still affordable art) we met James Durant, a local photographer and artist. We were really taken with his work, which involves the manipulation of old family photos using wax, paint and power tools before mounting the enlarged images on wood and sealing with resin. I filed his card under G for gift and reconnected with him on the sly in November when I commissioned this piece for my husband. The term "commission" sounds all pretentious and puffed up and I hesitate to use it. I am not Peggy Guggenheim and I do not have 38 Shih Tzus buried in my backyard, nor do I spend my evenings at gallery openings sipping Champagne and smoking Gauloises. But for lack of a better word, I sent James a photograph of my husband's father circa 1964 and James made this for us. Even my father-in-law likes it. (Benny is the handsome devil in the dark suit.)

All of which is a long preamble to the note I received last night from James announcing two good things: 1) he finally has a website so the world can see his work and 2) he is having an exhibition at Engine Gallery this Thursday. There could very well be Champagne and maybe even a Gauloises-smoking arts patron or two.