FASTWÜRMS is a Canadian artist collective started in 1979 by Kim Kozzi and Dai Skuse, who are associate professors of studio art at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Their artwork seemingly encompass all disciplines – installation, video, manifesto, performance, drawing, etc – and concerns witch positivity, working class aesthetics, queer politics, and public collaborations. Many of the images after the jump are taken from the FASTWÜRMS: DONKEY@NINJA@WITCH catalogue that accompanied a 2007 retrospective at the Art Gallery of York University.

Toronto artist Matt Bahen creates thick oil paintings of desolate scenery and, often, dogs. Tweaked just right, the lighting in Bahen’s work almost renders itself the subject in each respective canvas, creating a sense that the elements most “alive” in his world are not, in fact, animate. Scavenging dogs and dying foliage or crops are often the only living organisms depicted in Bahen’s most recent work. And though a veritable source of  action, these elements often serve more as secondary, blended, narrative connections than primary statements. In keeping with the aesthetics of B/D, this body of work presents a perfect opportunity to  draw as much life from the dead as from the living. Bahen is currently showing at LE Gallery in Toronto in a solo exhibition entitled “After Wolves.” If you’re up that way, do not miss out.

Landscape photography is a fickle mistress.  Jonathan Robert LeBlanc’s photographs weave an elaborate tapestry of cramped urban decay and endless country skies- facing history with little or no irony.

CANADA is a trio of filmmakers, Luis Cervero, Nicolás Méndez & Lope Serrano. Located in Barcelona, they bump out mysteriously sexy music videos that feel like a mix between an Alejandro Jodorowsky film and an American Apparel ad. According to their info page on their website, “…CANADA has pursued excellence in different projects, advertising, fashion, music promotional videos, television and cultural events.” On top of all that fun, they were also guest writers and did an interview with Its Nice That, which helped to shine a bit of light on their interests and personalities. So far, I haven’t seen a video created by them that wasn’t worth watching, but my heart will always belong to the first one I ever saw, El Guincho’s Bombay. You’ll find El Guincho, along with Scissor Sisters, Battles, and other music videos below. Feast.

A recent graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), Stanzie Tooth paints scenes that evoke a sense of calm. Her works often feature woodland landscapes, sometimes bursting with pastel hues that would make a Fauvist blush.

Currently, Tooth is a curator at Lonsdale Gallery in Toronto, where she also maintains a studio.

What’s photographer Dimitri Karakostas up to in Toronto? Apparently a good time. Must be good to be young in Canada!

Julie Moon‘s series “Pretty Please” consists of sculptures of blobs that look like they are getting ready for a fancy night on the town. I can respect that, blobs.

Canadian photographer, Lissy Laricchia, creates the beautifully crafted dreamy world of fairy tale references in all its beauty and horror simply using smart props, location, minimal costume, and digital manipulation.