This year, winners of Career Edge Organization’s Achievement Awards will receive original pieces of artwork purchased from Supplying Sponsor, Petroff Gallery. In recognizing Canadian talent, we are proud to also support these talented, local Canadian artists.
About the Petroff Gallery
Since 1982, Petroff Gallery has been one of North America’s leading private art galleries, striving to integrate and connect Fine Art with Contemporary Craft by exhibiting works in an artful manner. Owners Sara Levine Petroff and Steven Petroff strive to make the gallery experience personal and informative, making fine art and contemporary craft more accessible to a growing number of patrons. The gallery has garnered an excellent reputation for recognizing and promoting talented artists from across Canada and around the world and for bringing their work to the attention of discerning collectors and the general public alike.
Based in Toronto, Petroff Gallery represents over 300 artists from across Canada and the U.S. Located in the midtown Forest Hill area, Petroff Gallery is a 2,200-square-foot showcase of Fine Contemporary Craft, hosting feature artist exhibitions, large-scale sculptures and paintings, alongside our ongoing outstanding collection.
Petroff Gallery is thrilled to have been nominated and chosen for the Top Retailer Award 2009 by the prestigious NICHE Magazine. One of only 2 Canadian galleries to win! Sponsored by NICHE Magazine, the Top Retailer Awards annually recognize American and Canadian fine craft galleries and retailers, arts non- profits, museum stores and guilds for growing and strengthening the continent's craft and arts communities. Each year, the program begins with nominations cast by the craft artists. Nominations are based on criteria outlined in NICHE Magazine's Guide to Best Practices, detailing the characteristics of craft retailers who are committed to fair business practices.
About the Artists
John Cooper
John Cooper was born in Quebec in 1961, and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. After spending 5 years in the Canadian Navy as a marine engineer, he moved from Halifax to Toronto and enrolled in the Ontario College of Art’s printmaking program. After graduating in 1989, John moved to Montreal where he spent four years creating three colour viscosity etchings and staging solo exhibitions of his work.
John now resides in Sault Ste. Marie where he transforms stained glass into kaleidoscopes of superior design and workmanship. The precision and balance with which John constructs his works sets them apart from other kaleidoscopes. Highly collectible, John’s kaleidoscopes have been presented to Princes William and Harry of the British Royal Family. Each piece is signed by the artist and always unique.
The word kaleidoscope comes from the Greek words for beauty (kalos) and form (eidos). It was coined by the Scotsman Sir David Brewster, who stumbled across the kaleidoscope in 1816 while conducting experiments on the geometry of colour. By the 19th century, kaleidoscopes were in almost every drawing room in France and England.
Kaleidoscopes present an ever changing and colorful view and are a unique mix of aesthetics and science, reality and magic!
Robert Buick
Robert Buick fell in love with glass while attending Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design, where he graduated in 1989. After exploring different craft media, it was glass that became his passion. Focusing on the fusing and slumping techniques, Robert strives to cross the boundaries of classical technique and truly push the limits of this material.
With an eye for composition, Robert skillfully arranges pieces of dichroic glass, cane and filament to create sculptural and two-dimensional works that are carefully balanced and visually pleasing. For the past 20 years he’s been creating unique and highly desirable works that demonstrate his expertise and boundless creativity. His compulsion for artistic expression and innovation is evident in the most recent slumped and cast glass sculptures, a culmination of many years of dedication and experimentation.
Robert’s works have exhibited in galleries and juried craft shows throughout North America including Miami, California and Philadelphia. He has been featured in numerous publications and his works can even be found in the Japanese Embassy and celebrity homes.