Stephen Andrews at Trump tower

I was wandering past the not-quite-open Trump tower in downtown Toronto this afternoon when I was taken by a spectral presence in the driveway -- an oblique, flesh-toned mush of randomly-sized ceramic tile, that, when you squinted just right, looked like a giant crowd scene, as seen through a gauzy scrim.

Sound familiar? I thought so too, so I went and asked the concierge, and sure enough, it was a commission by Toronto painter Stephen Andrews, for whom such indistinct crowds have recently been a favourite visual trope (though usually in paint; tile's a little more friendly to outside air, I imagine, and frankly, provided a field of visual interest that made the piece just mysterious enough that I wasn't 100% sure it was Andrews. It was a nice little revelation.)

Anyway, with the Andrews piece at Trump and James Turrell's glowing panels across the street at the Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto is finally getting its Section 37 money's worth (see item 5.5). Better way, way late than never, I guess. 

Photo: My lousy iPhone