Pop-Up Museum in support of The Israel Museum, Toronto
Alan Schwartz.NOLAN BRYANT/The Globe and Mail
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The Canadian Friends of the Israel Museum (CFIM) hosted their fourth, now annual, Pop-Up Museum on Aug. 13, a one-night chance to take in works from the private collections of prominent Canadians. The gathering serves as a fundraiser for the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and this year raised north of $500,000, funds which will provide free admission to the encyclopedic 54-year old institution to Israeli children of all religions and backgrounds.
In years past, the Pop-Up Museum has been a bit of a mixed bag (albeit a rather fantastic one), featuring everything from Degas to Mapplethorpe, loaned by dozens of collectors. This year, the focus shifted to a more in-depth look at the works and acquisition practices of six collectors and took on, save for a few instances, a more contemporary feel. David Moos, an art consultant and former curator of modern and contemporary at the Art Gallery of Ontario, returned as the curator of the Pop-Up Museum’s 2019 edition.
The works on display from the collection of Alison and Alan Schwartz were all by women artists, among them Liza Lou, Laura Owens, Pat Steir and Kara Walker, whose 10 Years Massacre (and its Retelling) #1, #2, #3, from 2009, was a striking and sobering highlight of the exhibition. In the program, when Mr. Schwartz was asked about the abundance of women artists and artists of colour in his collection, he remarked, “In a curious way it feels like an anti-Trump statement. So much of the work is politicized.”
Lynn Factor and Sheldon Inwentash see their collection as an extension of their own long-standing commitment to social-justice issues. The pair, who also served as chairs of the event alongside Heather and Max Gotlieb, provided works that highlighted their passion for discovering and patronizing the next generation of creators – three of their six works were by artists under the age of 35, including Los Angeles-based Sam Falls and Toronto-based sculptor Tau Lewis.
Alan Greenberg, co-founder of Green Soil investments offered a selection of pieces from his collection of rock-related art, including photographs by Yoko Ono and guitars painted by the late British graphic designer Storm Thorgerson. Patti and Alan Menkes’s collection included Andy Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century from 1980, which lined the walls flanking the escalator that leads guests to the top floor of Elte’s Toronto design district store, which served as the exhibition space for the second year.
Fred and Beverly Schaeffer gave, for the night, works by Emily Carr, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson, a mere sampling of their legendary collection of historical Canadian art. Though not in attendance, Claudine and Stephen Bronfman offered eight works from their collection, populated by well-known and emerging Canadian creators. A work that’s half-man, half-bird, by Montreal-born, New York-based David Altmejd titled Man 2, from 2014, stood in the space like a costumed party guest, with a plastic carry bag in-hand and testicles in place of a wattle.
Also out, among the summer-dress set: Rita and Charles Bronfman and Maureen and Wayne Squibb, who served as honorary event chairs; Janice and Earle O’Born, and their son, Andrew, and his wife, Erica, who served, respectively, as honorary curatorial chairs, and young associate chairs; CFIM’s national director Pearl Berman, was present, as was Ido Bruno, director of the Israel Museum.
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