Fonds LA.SC149 - ChromaZone/Chromatique fonds

The ChromaZone/Chromatique Collective was a collaborative group of emerging Canadian artists that created and exhibited art in Toronto between 1981 and 1985. The Collective was founded in 1981 and consisted of six members: Andy Fabo, Sybil Goldstein, Oliver Girling, Tony Wilson, H.P. Marti and Rae Johnson.

Between September 1981 and May 1983, the collective operated out of their gallery space ChromaZone/ Chromatique, located at 320 Spadina Ave, Toronto. Their inaugural exhibition Mondo Chroma opened in September 1981. Between 1981 and May 1983, the Collective mounted 45 varying cultural events including exhibitions, poetry readings, banquets and fashion shows. In 1982, the Collective published their first publication ChromaZone/Chromatique (Prototype), and participated in Monumenta, a collaboration among four galleries, including ChromaZone/Chromatique, which showcased current representational art in Toronto through the work of 75 artists. In December 1982, the Collective curated and participated in OKROMAZONE - Die Anderen Von Kanada held at the Institut Unzeit in West Berlin as a direct reaction to the Canadian Government’s OKanada cultural festival in Berlin. This exhibition featured the work of 22 contemporary Toronto artists.

In May 1983, the Collective closed their gallery space to give the members more time to focus on their own work and larger collective projects. In October, the Collective exhibited together at the Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina and later that month opened Chromaliving, a month-long exhibition of 150 artists in the vacant 10,000 square feet space at 131 Bloor St. W, Toronto, recently vacated by the Harridges Department store. This exhibition, co-curated by Tim Jocelyn and Andy Fabo, sought to showcase the merging of art and lifestyle and featured furniture, fashion and painting. In 1984, the group continued to present exhibitions including Kromalaffin, a show of comic book art (Grunwald Gallery, Toronto); ChromaZone/Chromatique, a traveling exhibition of members’ work (Concordia University and other venues across Quebec); Cross OT: Seven From Berlin, Berlin Super 8 and Berlin Video (several venues in Toronto); and Painting Beyond the Zone, a group exhibition of 30 emerging artists (Artists Resource Centre, Toronto).

In 1985, members of the Collective largely moved away from Toronto with Andy Fabo, Tim Jocelyn and Sybil Goldstein relocating to New York City, and H.P. Marti moving to Zurich. ChromaZone’s final exhibition Fire + Ice was an exchange of Toronto and Zurich artists held at Galerie Walcheturm in Zurich. The Collective officially disbanded in 1986, after the death of Tim Jocelyn from AIDS in December of that year. Sybil Goldstein founded and chaired the Tim Jocelyn Art Foundation after his death.