Skip to Main Content
Advertisement

Toronto Artist Brian Rideout is Putting Famous Artwork Back in its Place

Advertisement

Part art, part document, Brian Rideout’s re-creations are both old and new

In his Toronto studio, Brian Rideout is busy painting history. His American Collection series of oil paintings depicts the residences of the highly privileged – and the famous artworks sequestered within. “I was interested in documenting art collections through paint as a way of giving those works context outside the museum or textbook,” the 34-year-old artist says.

artist Brian Rideout

Rich with stories, his compositions reflect their source material. The artist relies on vintage magazines and interior design books, and his settings, as a result, have a distinctly retro feel. One canvas reproduces the leafy vignette that is Henri Matisse’s 1953 large-scale ceramic La Gerbe (The Sheaf)
 as it hangs in its original environment, a sun-dappled Los Angeles courtyard designed by architect Archibald Quincy Jones.

artist Brian Rideout

Of recreating these images of artworks in their rarified homes, Rideout says, “I must consider all the environmental effects
on the work: the lighting, the shadows and the reflected light from the environment.” For him, re-painting a Matisse or a de Kooning alongside a chair or table solidifies its “objecthood” and cultural value – and gives the public a uniquely layered, albeit fanciful, viewing experience. BRIANRIDEOUT.CA

Advertisement
Advertisement

Bridging the history between Canadian and Cantonese cooking through art and design

After years apart, culinary masterminds chef Jason Bangerter and Vicky Cheng of Wing Restaurant, have reunited for a cross-cultural dining experience at Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario. This meeting of the minds was sparked by a wider conversation about Hong Kong’s influence in illustrating the tapestry that is Canadian cuisine and design. 

Advertisement

Newsletter

Your Weekly Dose of Modern Design

Sign up for the Designlines weekly newsletter to keep up with the latest design news, trends and inspiring projects from across Toronto. Join our community and never miss a beat!

Please fill out your email address.

The Magazine

Get the Latest Issue

From a sprawling family home in Oakville to a coastal-inspired retreat north of the city, we present spaces created by architects and interior designers that redefine the contemporary.

Designlines 2024 Issue