The Scene: The Canadian Art Foundation hosts its 16th annual Gallery Hop Gala dinner and auction at the Carlu

By Simone Olivero | September 22, 2011

By Simone Olivero | 09/22/2011

A modern Pinocchio (Image: Simone Olivero)

The 16th annual Canadian Art Gallery Hop began with a relaxed evening of cocktails, contemporary art and cold hard cash (in support of the arts, of course). Set in the Art Moderne backdrop of the Carlu, guests perused works donated by 50 of Canada’s best emerging, mid-career and established artists while sipping on champagne and enjoying the culinary artistry of Jamie Kennedy. Emmanuelle Gattuso, a longtime supporter and collector of the arts, Carol Rapp, on the Board of Trustees at the AGO, Jane and Eb Zeidler, and PR mainstay Michelle Levy were all in attendance, hoping to, perhaps, snag a piece from the next Mark Rothko or Diane Arbus. Check out the scene from last night’s event and find out which three pieces of art sold for more than their estimated worth after the jump.

Entering through a gauntlet of speakers, guests were subjected to the wilderness sounds of the specially commissioned installation by Toronto-based artist Jon Sasaki. This was a relatively tame installation after last year’s spectacle performance piece by John Oswald, which involved a lot of naked performers and red-faced guests (we’re sorry we missed it). On hand to help explain the works of art was a team of red-shirted Student Art Ambassadors who eagerly discussed the pieces with patrons. We were lucky enough to meet one in particular who spent 20 minutes with us discussing Sarah Cale’s technique of using garbage bags as paintbrushes in her work Untitled, 2010 (we didn’t think we could be intrigued by garbage bags, but we were).

Guests were able to bid on works throughout the evening using handy electronic bidding devices (it seems paddles are passé). The pieces presented were in a variety of media that included paintings, drawings, sculptures and a couple interesting robotic devices. As the wine flowed, the bids started pouring in, and before we knew it, dinner was served—with so much excitement and dollars spent, it seemed apparent, at least to us, that every time a wine glass was refilled, it was an unspoken toast to another successful year in Canadian art. The night came to a close with three pieces greatly exceeding their estimated sale price: Micha Lexier’s Revelation 34 (estimated to be sold for $15,000, sold for $20,000), Sylvain Bouthillette’s Willing, Fearless and Always Ready (estimated to be sold for $3,600, sold for $7,100) and Lois Andison’s Heartbreaking (estimated to be sold for $1,600, sold for $3,500).