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31. Christian Aldo

     
 

ArtStars* 31 - Ex-stripper Christian Aldo is a big talker with bigger plans (and swears like a sailor)—the painter, sculptor, and figurine-maker, who is the subject of a NFB doc series and moved to Toronto in November, is starting an avant-garde nudie magazine, filming an elaborate sci-fi short film, and launching a new art gallery in a Roncesvalles shoe store. Team Art Stars* dropped by his house party to learn that hes doing a secret series of guerrilla cardboard spaceships on west-end rooftops in the coming months. You heard it here first. *snap*

 
     

30. Kriistina Lahde

     
 

What happens when ArtStars* host Nadja Sayej in a Snuggie! takes on an artist who disses the media? We hit up Double Take at MKG 127 on Jan. 9 for an artspeak-meets-newspeak interview disaster with Kriistina Lahde. This is the first in a series of The Three Worst Episodes, a series ArtStars* is showing at Peak Gallery until Feb. 27.

 
     

29. Kelly Mark

     
 

This is what happens when ArtStars* pushes things too far.

 
     

ArtStars* Party #1

     
 

Our very first party happened January 27, 2010 at Double Double Land. Thanks to all those that made it out!
Photos by Carl W. Heindl: http://www.eroder.com

 
     

28. Bruce LaBruce

     
 

Bruce LaBruce! First interview! Never-seen-before stills! Score. LaBruce chills out for a second from a photo shoot with Miguel Jacob in Toronto to chat about his new alien zombie flick, L.A.Zombie -- on a white leather couch.

 
     

27. Tokyo CyberMonster

     
 

ArtStars* takes a vacation to Queen and Bathurst for Alternative Fashion Television circa 1996.

 
     

26. David Waldman

     
 

David Waldman -- Kid With Camera -- may be Toronto's foremost music photographer, but at his opening on Dec. 4, 2009 at Whippersnapper Gallery, we learn he is a bit of a rock star himself.

 
     

25. Black To Back And Light

     
 

Ellsworth Kelly might be rolling over in his grave -- that is, if he isn't into Green Day. Wait, he's not dead yet.

Two spring chickens meet two art dinosaurs for a group show in Toronto at the Clint Roenisch Gallery on November 25, 2009, only to learn that opposites do attract, even if only for a fortnight -- and the results?

A cloud of smoke.

 
     

24. Stephen Andrews

     
 

ArtStars* exposes the Art Fag -- but is it really him? You decide.

 
     

23. Wham City

     
 

Americans? Apologize? Sneak into their back room secret party and watch Wham City, a Baltimore-based art collective, play Canadian.

 
     

22. Leona Drive

     
 

Five abandoned bungalows, 23 artists, one boring academic - a hell of a time. Oct. 31, 2009, Toronto.

 
     

21. Joseph Drapell

     
 

Joseph Drapell was ousted by the Toronto art scene when he first arrived from Prague in the late 1970s -- and has since founded his own museum in a Queen West alleyway. An art scene outsider with an insider's perspective.

 
     

20. Nuit Blanche

     
 

Before heading out to Toronto's Nuit Blanche, we visit former art critic RM Vaughan for a psychic reading, which includes running into drunk assholes at 3 a.m. That, and Jeff Koons. But can they pull it off?

 
     

19. General Idea

     
 

TORONTO - Isn't it time we get critical of the critics? AA Bronson tells it like it is (gasp!). Watch the AFTERSHOW of the Art Gallery of York University General Idea opening, Sept. 15, 2009... for the real scoop.

 
     

18. YYZ Mall

     
 

Attention all shoppers... Massive Sale @ YYZ Mall is an art mall by artists Daniel Borins + Jennifer Marman at YYZ Artists Outlet in Toronto, Sept. 11, 2009. But what happens when a fight breaks out at their opening? We go Jerry Springer.

 
     

17. The Drake Hotel

     
 

Rev up your race car engines! ArtStars* whizzes through the Drake Hotel as the hosts of a recent Quick Fix party on Sept. 10, 2009. Wait a second. We're not that cool.

 
     

16. Bad Day Magazine

     
 

We check out the launch of the latest issue of Bad Day Magazine and learn about why it might be a bad idea to print your mom's face on a bath towel.

 
     

15. PascalTV

     
 

HOLLA! ArtStars* TV host Nadja Sayej tracks down infamous Toronto artist Pascal Paquette after his tres-controversial art show at Le Labo for some meaty intellectual art discussion. Get ready for our deepest show ever! June 2009.

 
     

14. Air Conditioned Jungle

     
 

When a milk crate and metal rod sit in the middle of the floor, some think its art -- and others walk into it. July 30, 2009. Diaz Contemporary. Toronto, Canada.

 
     

13. Vice Magazine

     
 

Vice magazine show featuring Dana Goldstein and Jamie Taete at Lennox Contemporary in Toronto, July 23, 2009.

 
     

12. Extermination Music Night

     
 

ArtStars* ventures into the heart of darkness to uncover Extermination Music Night, July 17, 2009.

 
     

11. Jon Sasaki & Jessica Vallentin

     
 

ArtStars* host Nadja Sayej talks to - tries to - talk to Jon Sasaki at his opening on July 8, 2009 at Red Bull Projects but one thing stands in the way: The bar.

 
     

10. Kris Knight

     
 

Painting pilfered Facebook photos? You bet. Toronto artist Kris Knight tells all at his opening, Farewell Log Cabin, on June 18, 2009. http://www.krisknight.com

 
     

9. Alex Grey

     
 

New York artist - and visionary - Alex Grey talks about why spirituality isn't cool in the art world (and why purple pills are). An interview at his busy art opening at Meta Gallery in Toronto on June 26, 2009.

 
     

8. Douglas Coupland

     
 

We hear Douglas Coupland doesn't talk to the media at his art openings - is it true? We stop by his current show, Atelier, at Clark + Faria in Toronto on June 18, 2009, with the artist in attendance.http://clarkandfaria.com/

 
     

7. Trip Print Press

     
 

Letterpress, pubic hair and film noir? You bet -- we stop by Trip Print Press, a letterpress printing studio that stays true to the old school: http://www.tripprintpress.ca/

 
     

6. Keith Jones

     
 

Keith Jones at Hunter and Cook Gallery, June 5, 2009. Comic extravaganza - and garbage. http://www.hunterandcook.com

 
     

5. 11th Annual Powerball

     
 

How many artists can attend a fundraiser that charges $160 a ticket? We snoop around the 11th annual Powerball, the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery's bash on May 28, 2009. http://www.thepowerplant.org

 
     

4. Brenda Goldstein's Pleasure Addicts

     
 

We venture into the bloody mess and makeup of feminist performance art... Toronto artist Brenda Goldstein puts 11 ladies onstage for eight hours for Pleasure Addicts at the Toronto Free Gallery on May 16, 2009.

 
     

3. Nick and Sheila Pye

     
 

What is Veritas anyway? Nick and Sheila Pye explain their latest body of work at their Artcore opening as part of the 2009 Contact Toronto Photography Festival on May 2, 2009. http://www.nickandsheila.com/

 
     

2. The Whitehouse

     
 

Fear and loathing in hipster heaven... we stop by the other White House, an art studio in Toronto's west end for their quarterly art exhibition on May 2, 2009. http://www.theotherwhitehouse.ca

 
     

1. C Magazine Art Auction

     
 

We drop by the C Magazine Spring Fling Auction at Birch Libralato Gallery in Toronto to meet and greet the artists and auctioneers...