Art Rental Exhibition.
Pleasure Dome (active 1989– ), also operating as Artists Film Exhibition Group (Ontario), is an exhibitor of experimental and independent motion pictures and video recordings in Toronto, administered by an artistic collective. The original collective, comprising Jonathan Pollard, Barbara Sternberg, Gary Popovich, Phil Hoffman and Michael Hoolboom, presented its first program 22 Sept. 1989 at the Euclid Theatre in Toronto. Since then, Pleasure Dome has presented as many as 17 exhibitions per year, with works varying in length from less than 5 minutes to over an hour.
While it was in principle a requirement of the provincial government that publicly-exhibited motion pictures be approved by a board of examiners, the collective nonetheless declined to submit films and videos to the Ontario Film Review Board (previously the Ontario Censor Board) for approval as a matter of policy.
Annual membership subscriptions for Pleasure Dome events were introduced in the third season (1991–1992). Film and video exhibitions and associated lectures have been held in various locations in downtown Toronto apart from the Euclid Theatre (which closed ca. 1994), including chiefly Cinecycle, but also Latvian House, Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario and others.
The Pollock Gallery (active 1960–1981), was a commercial art gallery in Toronto established by art dealer, author, art educator and painter Jack Pollock. First located at 205 Elizabeth St in downtown Toronto in 1960, the gallery initially represented Canadian artists, most notably Norval Morrisseau. In 1966, the gallery showed works by the Hungarian-Canadian painter Julius Marosan. Later, works by British and American and other artists were exhibited, including those by David Hockney, Willem de Kooning, Anni Albers and Dieter Roth.
Within a year, the gallery relocated to 201 Elizabeth St (1961–1963), then 599 Markham St (1963–1971, with another site at 604A King St West 1966–1968), 356 Dundas St West (1972–1975, with another site at the Toronto Dominion Centre 1972–1973), and lastly 122 Scollard St in the Yorkville area of Toronto (1975–1982, with another site, 209 Adelaide St East 1980–1983). During its years of activity, the gallery employed Brian A. Marshall Schieder, Philip Ottenbrite (assistant director), Eva Quan, Frank Costin, Laurie Payne (graphic director), Helen Boyd, Renya Onasick (advertising and publicity), Lawrence Hurst (gallery administrator), Stephen Long (librarian) and others. Within months after Jack Pollock became chronically ill, the main gallery officially closed in December, 1981; the Pollock Gallery went into bankruptcy in 1983.
John Henry Pollock (1930–1992), known primarily as Jack Pollock, was a Canadian art dealer, painter, art instructor, author and owner/director of the Pollock Gallery in Toronto. Born in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art there and the Slade School of Fine Art in London, England. He opened the Pollock Gallery in Toronto in 1960. In 1962, Jack Pollock met Anishinaabe painter and printmaker Norval Morrisseau while teaching in northern Ontario. Shortly after, he mounted an exhibition (1962) of the artist’s work at the Pollock Gallery, which continued to represent Morrisseau for several years. In 1979, Jack Pollock collaborated with author and broadcaster Lister Sinclair (1921–2006) on the illustrated publication The art of Norval Morrisseau (Toronto: Methuen, 1979). Pollock also wrote We all are all (Toronto, 1980), a privately-published book of poetry illustrated with his own drawings; Dear M (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1989), a memoir in letters written to his psychiatrist between 1984 and 1987; and several exhibition catalogues. After he became chronically ill, the Pollock Gallery closed in 1981. In 1984 he moved to Gordes in the south of France. Jack Pollock died in Toronto in 1992. Paintings, prints and drawings by Jack Pollock are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Hamilton (Ont.) and other public art museums in Canada.
Curator: Michael Parke-Taylor.