• Source: Vivian Reiss

Vivian Reiss (born 1952 in New York) is an artist and the owner of the Reiss Gallery in Toronto, Canada. She still spends time in New York City, but she has lived and worked in Toronto since 1975. Reiss is a painter, creator of multimedia performance events and installations, designer of architectural projects, costumes, gardens, and furniture.




Life and work


Reiss studied fine art at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston and the Art Institute in Boston. She apprenticed under the guidance of Marilyn Powers and Jason Berger at the Direct Vision Atelier in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Reiss is known for her large-scale oil-on-canvas works. Her art work is characterized by vibrancy of colour and expression, as well as complex compositional ideas. Reiss has had a long-term interest in still-life, portraiture and landscapes. Her subject matter ranges from her own garden, to snow monkeys in Japan, to kewpie dolls, to grazing sheep.
Her 35 plus years as a career artist includes more than 50 shows, both in Canada and around the world, over 30 of which were one-woman shows. Reiss' art work is in numerous collections, including collections of heads of state; the Canadian Embassies in Washington and Paris; and in private and corporate collections in more than 15 countries.




= Career spotlight

=
In October 2008, Reiss showed at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. The show was entitled El Museo del Jardin de la Humanidad (The Museum of the Garden of Humanity) – the show featured portraits of immigrant Mexican farm workers who worked on Southern Ontario farms. The portraits were also shown with paintings of Reiss' farm garden in Toronto. The exhibition was with the support of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto, Canada.
Reiss was invited to create work for the 2006 Echigo-Tsumari Triennial; one of the largest international art exhibitions in Japan and considered the Japanese equivalent of the Venice Biennale. The art project was entitled Satoyama Storehouse and featured the portraits of the inhabitants of Hachi, a small rice farming village in the mountains of Japan. Reiss lived in the village for three months as part of the artist residency and during the Triennial Reiss' work was exhibited in the village's abandoned school house and viewed by more than 300,000 people. In addition to the Triennial, Reiss had a concurrent show at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo of her portraits of prominent Canadians in the arts.
A catalogue of Reiss' portraits has been published showcasing a wide range of subjects.
See portraits section below for more details.




The Reiss Gallery


The Reiss Gallery is located at 500 College Street, in Toronto's Little Italy quarter, and was designed by Reiss herself. The design of the gallery is unique, with the exterior of the building displaying larger-than-life wooden monkeys and a 20-foot Plexiglas 'paint palette' window design along with an oversized wooden paint brush. The gallery's interior is covered in cut ceramic plates with tiled portals flanked by curved walls and moldings – an architectural work of art where everything seems to be folding in on itself.




Portraits


Reiss has painted many notable artists, performers, public personalities and philanthropists, including:

Opera singer Fides Krucker. Fides has been the subject of numerous portraits by Reiss, several of which were created in conjunction with multimedia performances and installations that featured Fides performing.
Helen and George Vari: supporters of York University and Ryerson University, through the Helen and George Foundation. George Vari is a member of Canada's Privy Council and during his career as a developer built numerous buildings around the world, including the tallest building in Europe.
Eve Egoyan – pianist
Ofra Harnoy – cellist
Marie-Josée Chartier – teacher, dancer and choreographer
Natalie Kovacs – artist
Caroline Woods – dancer
Gordie Johnson – singer and songwriter
Deborah Demille – actor
Linda C. Smith – composer
Jean Stilwell – mezzo-soprano
Garine Torossian – film maker
Ariel Garten – psychotherapist, artist and designer Ariel Garten
Joel Garten – composer and pianist Joel Garten
Irving Garten




Collections


Canadian Embassy, Washington, US
Private collection of the president of Hungary
Private collection of former prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney
CANFAR, Toronto, Canada
Canadian Museum of Animal Art, Ontario, Canada
Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, Canada




Shows and exhibitions


Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada 2008
Japan Foundation, Toronto, Canada 2007
Echigo-Tsumari Triennial, Japan 2006
The Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan 2006
Catch 22 Gallery, Toronto, Canada 2000
JK ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada 1999 & 1996
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1998
Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada 1997
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1997
Park Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Canada, 1996-7
International Art Fair, Miami, Florida 1996
Teodora Gallery 1996
Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada 1995
Teodora Gallery, Toronto, Canada 1995
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1995
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada 1994
Gallery Herouet, Paris, France 1994
Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France 1994
Design Exchange, Toronto, Canada 1994
Visual AIDS International Exhibition 1994
Internal Resource Development Centre, Ottawa, Canada 1994
Alliance Française, Toronto, Canada 1994
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1994
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1993
Gallery Etienne de Causans, Paris, France 1992
Espace Chapon, Paris, France 1992
H.B. Starr Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida 1992
ORT, Toronto, Canada 1992
Fort York Museum, Toronto, Canada 1992
Alliance Française, Toronto, Canada 1992
Garten Mansion, Toronto, Canada 1991
Art for Living Gallery, North Butler, New Jersey 1983
Scandinavian Canadian Club, Toronto, Canada 1983
O'Keefe Center, Toronto, Canada 1982
Nancy Merril Studio, Hamilton, Canada 1982
O'Keefe Center, Toronto, Canada 1981
La Cantinetta, Toronto, Canada 1979
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1979
Guildart Gallery, Toronto, Canada 1978
York University, Toronto, Canada 1978
Holy Blossom, Toronto, Canada 1977




Quotes


Quote from Deirdre Kelly, Curating at Home, Globe and Mail July 6, 2007. "Artists paint, sculpt or otherwise create things that people often collect. But in the case of Toronto-based painter Vivian Reiss, collecting is as much of a passion as invigorating a blank canvas with her trademark bursts of colour." [1]
Quote from Rita Zekas, Reiss Up To Some Monkey Business, Toronto Star December 15, 2007.
Quote in conjunction to Reiss' work in Hachi, Japan and her Satoyama Story portrait project. Reiss is quoted within this quote.
"She found the generous spirit of her subjects amazing, considering the perception that the Japanese are a people who hide their emotions, 'During the process of painting them, they opened up. Every day, there were offerings of food and flowers. I felt humbled; the people were so warm and generous.'" [2]




Awards and residences


Artist in Residence, Hachi, Japan 2006
Artist in Residence, Segovia, Spain 1984
Finalist, Ontario Renews Award 1987
Best Restoration, Toronto Historical Board 1987




Media room


Reiss has been the subject, a quoted expert and notable source for many print and broadcast publications for many years of her art career.




= Print media coverage

=
Toronto Star November 14, 2009
National Post October 16, 2009
Toronto Star November 5, 2009
Gardening Life Fall 2008
Globe and Mail May 31, 2008
Globe and Mail July 6, 2007
Toronto Star December 15, 2007 [3]
EYE Weekly September 20, 2007
NOW (Nuit Blanche issue) 2007
Canadian Interiors May/June 2004
NOW August 17, 2000
Flare Magazine May 1999
Spring cover for feature section, Globe and Mail 1999
Toronto Star December 6, 1998
National Post December 1, 1998
House and Home November 1998
NOW urban living feature cover and story spring 1998
Toronto Star February 21, Jan 1 and 15 1998
Toronto Star November 20, 1997
NOW November 20, 1997
NOW December 26, 1996
EXTRA! November 21, 1996
NOW November 14, 1996
Toronto Life January 1996
Toronto Star September 1995
Chatelaine Fall 1995
NOW April 9, 1995
Globe and Mail July 4, 1994
City and Country Home June 1994
Palm Beach Daily News March 1994
EYE Weekly November 1993
Toronto Sun April 1993
NOW April 15, 1993
City and Country Home November 1992
Canadian Jewish News July 30, 1992
NOW February 16, 1992
EYE Weekly November 7, 1991
EYE Weekly October 10, 1991
Toronto Sun July 7 and 11, 1991
Toronto Star January 13, 1991
Palm Beach Daily News March 1990




= Broadcast media coverage

=
FAVE TV 2000
Canadian House and Home CTV 1999
Vintage Vintage 1998
CFTR News 1996
Bravo TV Special 1996
CKVR TV October 1995
CityTV AM October 3, 1995
CityLine TV 1995
CBC Midday 1995
CBC Arts and Entertainment Profile 1995
Bravo News 1995
CityTV Marilyn Dennis Morning Show 1992
Homeworks 1992
CHCH TV Success Profiles 1992




Bibliography


Vivian Reiss: Portraits (2001). A catalogue of Vivian Reiss' series of portraits of Canadians in the arts.




References






External links


www.vreiss.com
Secret ingredients are bounty from the garden and dumb luck
Renowned Canadian Artist Vivian Reiss has 2 exhibitions beginning Oct 4, 2008
Irving Garten
Reiss up to some monkey business
COLOUR IT BEAUTIFUL
Gardening article about Vivian Reiss
Toronto Office Space designed by Vivian Reiss
Toronto apartments designed by Vivian Reiss
Painter’s work encompasses the world
Living in full colour - The Toronto Star
Artist in Residence Vivian Reiss - The Toronto Star
Vivian Reiss Designs
Vivian Reiss Landscape Designer

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