At the Angell Gallery
By Maria Calleja
I walked past Trinity Bellwoods park into the heart of hipster Queen West feeling a little out of place amongst the trendsetters. I was looking for the Angell Gallery which is holding the Summer Group Art Show with works from Alex Mcleod and Michael De Feo, until August 29th.
At first glance I wondered why Mcleod, a Toronto artist who uses 3D digital rendering, and Michael De Feo, a well known New York street artist, were in the same show. Gareth Brown-Jowett, Co director of the Angell Gallery made the connection for me. “They’re both young artists who are different, they’re pushing the boundaries in art, and they’re unconventional.”
Publisher-Creator Mikhail Saavedra began life down by the deepest tip of southern Latin America. He started life with a deep curiosity for all things, with music and books being at the forefront, a curious child by all accounts. As he grew and opened his eyes to the world, he developed a sense of justice and dignity in part as a reaction to growing up in a military dictatorship. Alas, this did not fill him with fear or cynicism but a more rebellious spirit, which led him to being incredibly popular at the principal’s office and the local riot police department….
Then came Canada and it was here that he was able to formulate his deep desire to learn about the world, with Toronto being the kind of multicultural soup that could engage his need to know and embrace. It started with writing, then moved on to what became Toronto’s first Latin Alternative radio show, followed by an all-English show in the same vein. It was this desire to find the true “crossover” among people, which led him to the concept of “Alternavox”
He is a lover of wine, good food, Neruda, Eduardo Galeano, rebel music, revolutionaries, dancing, family and beautiful people. Believes that kindness in this much too cynical world is revolutionary, that you are a better person when able to give a little without asking for the change and that on the same token you should laugh at yourself and the madness surrounding you as often as possible as you set out to change the world bit by bit. 