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Art Art & Books

Doggy Style

NIKI LEDERER : DOG SHOW at the Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Richmond West) to October 14. Pwyc. 416-979-0414. Rating: NN


there’s huge scope for kitsch and compassion in any objective analysis of the role canine companions play in human culture.It’s a fertile field that Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Niki Lederer digs into for the multimedia body of work being presented as the 19th installation in the AGO’s Present Tense contemporary project series, collectively titled Dog Show.

Lederer incorporates the highly recognizable silhouettes of pedigreed dogs into small canvasses mapping breed lineage, panels of camouflage with hidden pups and sand-cast glass plaques. She also exhibits some telling headstone rubbings from pet cemeteries in Paris and New York City: “You were bad, but we loved you.”

Still, Lederer should be bringing more to the table. It’s too easy to poke fun at besotted dog owners’ indulgent obsessions at a time when a Hollywood movie like Best In Show is a hit on the art-house circuit, Old Navy is marketing a popular line of colour-coordinated dog accessories and Toronto streets are plastered with handbills for professional pet-sitting and walking services, including dog-er-cize for overweight animals.DH

deirdre@nowtoronto.com

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