Viktor Tinkle: Making Things

Viktor Tinkl: Making Things
Curated by Robert Freeman & Linda Jansma
presented in collaboration with the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa

On view until December 7th
Art Gallery of Mississauga
300 City Centre Drive, Ground Floor
Mississauga, ON

tel: 905 896 5506
http://www.artgalleryofmississauga.com/

Viktor Tinkl is driven by a compulsion to make things, a compulsion he describes as being brought on by “bugging”. Tinkl’s fantastic assemblages, sculptures and kinetic works, all things he makes from other things, seem to pour from the artist, into his home, studio and property. Bits of wood, ribbon, denture molds, fur and cans are just some of the materials which are detritus to the rest of us but, are compelling to Tinkl. His making is not compelled by the promise of exhibitions, theory and academia. He is familiar with both the former and the latter. Tinkl was a faculty member at the Ontario College of Art, as it was then known, from 1973 to 2000. He is also a graduate of the same institution.

Tinkl was initially unreceptive to this exhibition. It required the persuasion of all parties involved, including Viktor’s wife Judith, for the artist to agree, albeit with reluctance. His reluctance was brought on by his seasoned knowledge of the time commitment required for an exhibition including, discussions with curators and preparation of artworks, activities that take away time from his making.

The multitude of works selected for this exhibition include, two central pieces never seen outside the artist’s property: The Meeting (1999) and Circle (2006). The Meeting incorporates denture moulds into over twenty characters while, Circle includes the heads of skinned foxes among other found objects.

Providing further insight into the practice of Viktor Tinkl is a fifty-five page colour catalogue which accompanies the exhibition with introductions by Robert Freeman and Linda Jansma. Also included are a revealing interview with the artist by Linda Jansma and essay by Duncan Farnan.

“You just make stuff and you make more stuff.
...like a tin can-when you drink enough apple juice and rum mixture you save all the tin cans and you stuff smaller things in them and you have an abundance of these cans. And then one day you take a pair of shears and start cutting into the cans because you need a piece of tin and then you realize that cutting into the can is quite a good experience and the cutting itself is the exciting part.”
-Viktor Tinkl

A public art gallery sponsored by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council, The Canada Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Corporations, Private Citizens and its Membership