Press Release – Gary Taxali & The Royal Canadian Mint Release 2012 Holiday Coin

CONTEMPORARY ARTIST, GARY TAXALI PUTS A POP ART SPIN ON THE 2012 ROYAL CANADIAN MINT HOLIDAY COIN



Canadian pop artist collaborates with the Royal Mint for 2012 Holiday Coin



TORONTO, ON. – JANUARY 12, 2012 –  Canadian pop artist, Gary Taxali, and the Royal Canadian Mint are pleased to release the 2012 Holiday Coin with a pop art spin.  Gary has already released five 2012 celebratory coins (Birthday, Wedding, Tooth Fairy, New Baby and O Canada) earlier this year.

‪Taxali’s voluminous catalogue of contemporary artwork combining retro style advertising and typography with a fine art twist has been compared pop culture masters like Keith Haring and Andy Warhol.   Taxali’s work, “The Great Beyond” was recently in the first auction of Canadian contemporary art for commercial purposes at Waddington’s.

The Taxali designed coins are a unique and marked departure from the Mint’s usual coin designs with a more edgy, vintage yet contemporary style.  Each coin is like a miniature collectible piece of Taxali art with the artist’s initials engraved on the coin that will excite Taxali fans worldwide.

‪”The Royal Canadian Mint is alway slooking for new ways to design coins which celebrate themes of importance to Canadian and the original creation of Gary Taxali has been a wonderful addition to our holiday collection,” said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.  “We are proud to be collaborating with Canada’s contemporary artists to explore new design ideas which make our coins perennial stand outs.”

The 2012 Royal Canadian Mint Holiday Coin along with the other 2012 Gift sets are available for order from www.mint.ca as well as through dealers and distributors including participating Canada Post outlets.

Gary Taxali will be the guest of honour at a reception at Onsite @ OCAD Gallery located at 230 Richmond street west on October 25, 2012 in downtown Toronto from 6 to 8 pm, which is the renowned OCAD University professional gallery.  Press preview from 6 to 7 p.m.  Onsite @ OCAD features contemporary work by nationally and internationally significant artists and designers.  See www.ocadu.ca/onsite for more information about the 2012 Holiday Coin Launch.

Taxali’s art books, “I Love You, Ok!” and “Mono Taxali”, as well as a limited-edition print entitled “Coins” commemorating the 2012 Gift Sets, will also be available for purchase.  An image of the print can be viewed or purchased at (http://www.taxalionline.com/coins-limited-edition-print.html).

For more information on Gary Taxali, go to www.garytaxali.com www.taxali.com and www.taxalionline.com. For interviews and review copies, please contact Vandana Taxali at vandanat@rogers.com or 416.865.0800‬.

 

‪About Gary Taxali:‬

Gary Taxali is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist – and one of Canada’s foremost contemporary artists.  His portfolio includes work for clients such as Sony, Warner Brothers, Converse, Nintendo, Time magazine, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, and The New York Times.  Gary is a member of the Stamp Advisory Committee to Canada Post.  Well known to Canadian media, Gary created the cover art and inside illustrations for Aimee Mann’s album @#%&*! Smilers to earn a 2009 Grammy Award Nomination for Best Art Package. He has also written and illustrated his own children’s book (This is Silly!) (published by Scholastic) and released two monographs this past year entitled   “I Love You, Ok?” (published by teNeues) and “Mono Taxali” (published by 27_9).  He has exhibited in many galleries in North America and Europe, including The Whitney Museum of American Art,  Antonio Colombo Gallery, Steve Lazarides’ Gallery, and The Andy Warhol Museum. His art slickly re-imagines 1930s pop art and iconography to evoke a nostalgic feel with a modern sensibility.  More information can be found at www.garytaxali.com.

About the Royal Canadian Mint:

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit. www.mint.ca.  

About Onsite [at] OCADU Gallery, 230 Richmond Street West, Street Level

Officially opened in 2007, as the OCAD Professional Gallery, the name was changed in 2010 to Onsite [at] OCAD U.  Onsite [at] OCAD U features contemporary work by nationally and internationally significant artists and designers. This program of exhibits and events aims to contribute to the cultural vitality of Greater Toronto, and to enrich the educational experience of OCAD U students.

The inaugural exhibitions, organized by OCAD U curator Charles Reeve, were an untitled installation by alumnus Rirkrit in Spring 2007 and “Karim Rashid: From 15 Minutes into the Future” in the Fall of that year. Rirkrit’s show was his first solo exhibit in Canada; “Karim Rashid: From 15 Minutes into the Future,” which focused on highlights of the former OCAD U instructor’s practice from the last 10 years, subsequently travelled to the ACA Gallery at the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design as well as Warsaw’s CWW Domoteka.

Associated resources at OCAD U include the Permanent Collection, which features art and design significant to the university’s history and mission, and a variety of venues dedicated to showcasing student work, such as the Student Gallery and Transit Space