Paul Sabyan Art Resume

 

Paul Sabyan

314 10 Hogarth Avenue

Toronto, Canada

M4K 1J9 (416) 647 964 2453

 

Website https://www.artpaulsabyan.com/

 

Instagram Account

https://www.instagram.com/paulsabyan/

 

 

Education

 

2007- 2008 York University, Toronto Ontario

Faculty of Education, Bachelor of Education

 

2002 – 2006 Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto Ontario

Sculpture and Installation, Faculty of Art

 

1988 – 1990 Concordia University, Montreal Quebec.

Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University,

 

1980 – 1982 School of design, Georgian College.Barrie,Ontario.

Material Arts Programme.

 

1980 – 1982 School of design. Georgian College.Barrie,Ontario.

Industrial Design programme.

 

1979 – 1980 Fanshawe College. London Ontario.

Foundation Fine Arts Programme.

 

 

 

Nuit Blanche Projects

 

 

Ghost School

October 2018

Toronto , Ontario

 

 

Residential School Memorial,

October 2016,

Toronto, Ontario

https://www.blogto.com/arts/2016/10/the_best_and_worst_of_nuit_blanche_2016/

 

 

Magic Window,

October 2013

Toronto, Ontario

 

 

Cloister,

October 2011

Toronto, Ontario

 

 

 

 

E  x  h  i  b  i  t  i  o  n  s

 

August 2024           365 Days of a History of England

        Melt studio Gallery, Base 31, Picton Ontario

 

 

December     2019           Artists Network

Toronto, Ontario

 

June              2019 Artists Network

Toronto, Ontario

 

June 2003 Distillery Show, Distillery District

Toronto, Ontario

 

March 2003 Virus Arts, 3rd year sculpture show

Toronto, Ontario

 

September 2002 Distillery show, Distillery District

Toronto, Ontario

 

September 2001 Washington Square Art show

New York, New York

 

December 2000 Spiritual International. Group juried show.

Omaha, Nebraska.

 

 

October 2000 Factory Theatre. Solo show.

Toronto, Ontario.

Ashton-evicta

August 2000 Here and Now Gallery. Group Show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

June 2000 Gallery Ashton-Evicta. Group Show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

 

April 2000 Canadian Opera Company. Group Show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

January 2000 Canadian Opera Company. Group Show

Toronto Ontario.

 

December 1999 Evicta Gallery. Group show.

Toronto Ontario.

 

June 1999 Evicta Gallery. Group show

Toronto Ontario.

 

 

April 1999 Canadian Opera Company. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

December 1998 Michael Gibson Gallery. Group juried show.

London, Ontario.

 

November 1998 Evicta Gallery. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

June 1998 Evicta Gallery.  Solo show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

December 1997 Evicta Gallery. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

June 1997 Evicta gallery. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

January 1996 Canadian Opera Company. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario.

 

December 1995 Carrier Art gallery. Solo show, Italian churches

North York, Ontario

 

 

October 1994 Homer Watson gallery. Solo show , After Venice

Kitchener, Ontario.

 

 

 

 

July 1993 Toronto Marine museum. Group juried show.

Toronto Historical Board. Toronto, Ontario

 

April 1993 Art Gallery of Northumberland. Group juried show.

Cobourg, Ontario.

 

 

 

June 1992 Toronto Marine museum. Group juried show.

Toronto historical Board. Toronto, Ontario.

 

October 1992 Framing experience. Solo show

Cathedrals Castles and Cottages (travels in Ireland)

Toronto, Ontario.

 

September 1992 Painters and Sculptors 15. Group show.

Toronto, Ontario

 

 

June 1992 Toronto Marine museum. Group juried show.

Toronto Historical Board. Toronto, Ontario.

 

October 1991 Framing Experience.  Solo show.

Toronto. Ontario.

 

June 1991 Toronto Marine Museum.  Group juried show.

Toronto Historical Board. Toronto,Ontario.

 

June 1990 Gallery Pink. Group show, Fire and Ice

Montreal, Quebec.

 

January 1990 Gallery Start. Group show

Work space gallery, Toronto. Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

December 1989 Gallery Pink. Group show, Cliches

Montreal, Quebec.

 

December 1987 Gallery 306. Group show

Toronto, Ontario.

 

October 1989 Galerie Dare Dare. Solo show, Pelerina

Paul Sabyan

Artist Statement

 

 

The integration of art with both natural and man made space is what I am passionate about.

 

Space is a canvas on which to create art with visual harmony that integrates or accentuates whats around it. I look for connections to buildings and landscapes. I am interested in scale, and dimension and how structures occupy space. Floor plans, elevations, and  facades are part of the language of 2 dimensional visions becoming three dimensional space.

 

In art school, Sculpture and Installation was my major.  There were no boundaries and the  chance to create using an endless variety of materials and processes encouraged exploration and experimentation.  Thinking and bringing together ideas and the many questions that came with those ideas helps me to create art that is practical and takes into consideration  the life of a work through weather, traffic, and wear and tear.  These factors are important considerations for the success of public art.

 

My projects to date, have drawn upon the collaboration with my school community in bringing to reality ideas that speak to historical ,social justice issues, and teachable moments. The projects have brought together a variety of people who want to participate in a public art project willing to lend a hand and always working on a limited budget.  Nuit Blanche although only staged for one night requires a lot to pull it all together, and you only have the time length of 12 hours to get it right. I have facilitated four Nuit Blanche projects and collaborated on 3 others. The success of these projects depends on pulling a team together, planning, defining roles, budgeting, and  delegating from beginning to end, and loving every minute of it. The passion for all these projects is knowing I am giving art a voice and being able to tell stories.

 

It excites me to see change in our environments in looking for ways to enhance our spaces and the interesting ways artists respond to these challenges.  Public art has always been important to be included into good city planning. There should be more of it, I hope I have the opportunity to respond to a space and make chaneges

 

1. Red Dress

Sculpture and Installation

October 2019

Toronto,Ontario

 

Our school created a large dress with the inclusion of images of the many Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirited incorporated into it.  Our dress needed to have a presence to attract attention and to create curiosity for the viewer and spread our message. Constructed out of a red water repellent nylon material with printed images on transfers applied to the skirt of the dress.   The completed dress was over 30 feet long and is hung from the roof over the front doors of the school, and illuminated at night.

 

 

2. GHOST SCHOOL

sculpture and installation, projections

October 2018

Toronto , Ontario

 

Prior to the 1960’s the school occupied the site that now takes up the government block on Wellesley St.. There was a complex of buildings that made up the school run by the sisters of St. Joseph for the purpose of educating girls. It was one of the first educational institutions in Toronto. In the 1950’s a progressive and growing Ontario needed more government space. The sisters sold the site.Ghost school is a series of projected images on government buildings on the former site of St Joseph’s College School.

 

 

3. Brown and Gold Ball

October 2018

Sculpture and installation and projections

Toronto,Ontario

 

50’s recreation, art installation of a lost St. Joseph’s College School tradition using projected historical archive  images , music,  and our students to relive the culture and history of the school.  The whole performance wrapped in the traditional school colours of brown and gold decorations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Residential School Memorial,

Sculpture and Installation

October 2016,

Toronto, Ontario

 

Illuminated talking sticks represent the 139 residential schools in Canada, each one placed in a clear plastic mailing tube attached to our school fence. In Native culture, the “talking stick” is a symbol, or artifact, which allows the speaker to focus have the right to speak. It has strong cultural and spiritual significance between First Nations peoples and is understood to command authority. It is a symbol of dialogue and of telling a story. Those who possess it shall be listened to. It’s intention was to have them given out to schools across the city, but it’s popularity meant it remained up long after Nuit Blanche and went on exhibition in other places.

 

https://www.blogto.com/arts/2016/10/the_best_and_worst_of_nuit_blanche_2016/

 

4A. Residential School Memorial,

Sculpture and Installation

October 2016,

Toronto, Ontario

 

Image of project from across Wellesley St. W

 

 

5. Magic Window,

Sculpture and installation

October 2013

Toronto, Ontario

 

A modern 1960’s school building is transformed with new meaning applied to old technology, re-purposing abandoned slides in to an illuminated 'stained-glass' quilt covering the windows. Quilts, created by gathering the unused slides of schools throughout the Toronto Catholic District School Board, and Queens University, are illuminated from within on  windows in the school This project is a collaboration between students & teachers, facilitating artistic experiences & providing a vehicle to create art in our community.

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/09/urbantorontos-scotiabank-nuit-blanche-round

 

 

 

 

 

5A. Magic Window

Sculpture and Installation

October 2013

Toronto, Ontario

 

Detail of some of the 50,000 slide transparencies used in the project

6. Cloister,

October 2011

Sculpture and Installation, projections

Toronto, Ontario

 

St. Joseph’s College School was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph’s 156 years ago. This installation addresses key issues of Toronto’s history and the deep involvement of the sisters with social justice issues. In the seclusion of the carefully constructed environment, students and staff reveal throughout the night the story of the sisters in Toronto  The story are told within the mystery of their cloister through visual images projected with video footage, historical photographs and text woven into intervals of original music. A candle will be lit for every year of the schools existence as we travel through the archives of time to bring the audience the story of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s

 

Collaborative Projects. Working on a team, helping out

 

 

7. We Are / C'est Nous

September 2017

Sculpture and Installation

TCDSB’s celebration of Canada150 through art, culture, history and the environment using mixed media on tessellating tiles is among the many pieces of art on display for this year’s Nuit Blanche Toronto, the city's annual free all-night contemporary art event, which was held from sunset to sunrise on Saturday, September 30th.

 

The collection featured the talents of artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, with each panel demonstrating a unique view of what it means to be Canadian. The tiles are designed to connect to all other tiles, forming a veritable collaboration of themes reflecting Arts and Culture, History and the Environment. This artist collective, led by TCDSB Arts Resource Teacher Carmelo Cucchi, embraces the beauty of Canada by providing images from over 200 communities in Toronto celebrating Canada150.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.Project Reach

October 2014

Sculpture and installation

Toronto, Ontario

 

Project Reach is a collaborative project involving the work of students from the TCDSB's 201 schools across the GTA. The project was featured in the 2014 Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, an international celebration of the arts. This massive project expresses how charity transforms lives.

 

Each one of our schools has submitted an individual art piece, in the form of a cube, which represents a box of charity. The 4 sides of the cube have been decorated with student art and images, combined with a mannequin hand reaching out from the centre of the cube.This represents the “good hands” of charity, and symbolizes our ability to reach out and change the world.

 

 

8A. Project Reach

October  2014

Promotional Poster

Toronto. Ontario

 

As part of the collaboration i designed and created the poster to promote the event.

 

 

 

9. Doors of Hope

October 2013

Promotional poster

Toronto, Ontario

 

Toronto's 2013 Nuit Blanche celebration of the Arts with a specific focus on one special art installation that honoured the gift of Catholic Charities: The Doors of Hope, created by over 500 students from four school boards. The work was created on repurposed doors then installed in a maze like configuration, at St Michael’s University.

 

As part of the collaboration I designed and created the poster to promote the event.