Young Girl at an Open Window
September 23 to December 4, 2004
Lyla Rye




Lyla Rye, Young Girl at an Open Window, 2004


I was reminded of Vermeer’s paintings by my daughter’s dollhouse. For her it is a miniature space mimicking life, but one that seems closer to what she wishes for than the real. In her ideal sphere, animals and humans coexist peacefully and all conflicts are resolved amicably. Vermeer’s images also show a serene domestic existence viewed within a stage-like setting. But unlike him, my daughter allows anomalies from this desired order to exist as well; dirty dishes may be in the sink or a single shoe may rest on a bath mat. In my images and video, slippages in time and disjunctions of place seep in and question the idea of a calmly ordered family life.

Lyla Rye is an installation artist who lives and works in Toronto. She has shown across Canada and internationally for the past 15 years. She was a founding member of the Toronto collective Nether Mind. Recent solo exhibitions include: Cambridge Public Galleries, The Tree Museum and The Grimsby Public Art Gallery. She has exhibited in group exhibitions at The Power Plant, Toronto; New Langton Arts, San Francisco; Pace University Digital Gallery, New York; and Downtown Art Space in Adelaide, Australia.

Lyla Rye - www.ccca.ca