Horowitz: Live in Vienna (1987)

17.10.201406.01.2026 Arvin da Brgha2 Comments

A week prior to his passing, Merlin was allowed out of Wellesley Hospital to wind down his ennobled incarnation. That first evening, Friday, November 10, 1989, we sat in our 20 Amelia Street living room and listened to Vladimir Horowitz as he had requested.

Earlier that week, on Sunday, November 5, 1989, Vladimir Horowitz had passed. Enveloped in our waxing love, our souls were embalmed by Horowitz’s stellar artistry.

Shaman. Genius. Guru. For both Merlin and me, there was no greater combo of these qualities than embodied in Vladimir Horowitz.

The following day, actor, Joe Morton would fly in from Los Angeles for 24 hours to say farewell to Merlin. Though Merlin had not eaten in long weeks, his Candida precluded being able to ingest solids, he pulled up a chair and joined Joe and me as we dined on Chinese take-out.

This one act of Joe’s allowed Merlin to heal from the rejection of having been abandoned by his god-fugly Toronto so-called friends and leave this world void the bile of having been rejected – they chose to act as they did because, at the end of the day, a dog can always be counted on to lick itself and eat its vomit.

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Photo: Vladimir Horowitz. Vladimir Horowitz and Wanda Toscanini.

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The Sacred Lake Fish.

13.10.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

Acrylic on Kraft paper

23.5 x 36.0 inches

Provenance: The Pollock Gallery, Toronto.

http://genuinemorrisseau.blogspot.ca/2014/10/2014-retrospective-kinsman-robinson.html

http://kinsmanrobinson.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norval_Morrisseau

In preparation of this year’s retrospective at the Kinsman-Robinson Gallery, I share one of my favourite Norval Morrisseau paintings.

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Figure With Rays of Light (Arctic Form III)

08.10.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

Oil on Canvas

127.9 x 152.4 cm

Provenance: Thomson Collection Art Gallery of Ontario

http://www.AGO.net

Not only is Lawren Harris my favourite member of the Group of Seven, this masterpiece happens to be my favourite Lawren Harris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawren_Harris

http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=2326

http://www.mcmichael.com/collection/seven/harris.cfm

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Vigilant Owl.

03.10.201406.01.2026 Arvin da Brgha1 Comment

Lithograph

Edition: 50

22.5 x 30.0 Inches

Sweet dreams shaman as we celebrate the anniversary of your birth on October 3, 1927.

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Do Nothing ‘Till You Hear From Me!

29.09.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

The first time I heard this music, I was arrested by the opening chords as I stood still in the middle of my living room on the third/top storey of 878 Gilford Street in Vancouver’s West End. At the end of Lena Horne’s passionate singing, I screamed and laughed uncontrollably with tears running down my face.

I had been standing half naked before getting ready for work and decided that the experience was too great to do something so ridiculously banal as go in to work that day. Naturally, I had been standing with tape recorder in hand – after having just recorded the dreams dreamt. Quickly, I grabbed a new cassette and recorded the newly released song from the CBC FM radio station as Ross Porter had waxed on long enough about the new Lena Horne Jazz recording for me to have pounced into action.

I spent the rest of my stay in Vancouver listening to this recording at least four times weekly.

This is the music that let’s you leap off into truly sublime dream experiences.

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Cornelius Satchleven.

16.09.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

Engraving (Original)

25.1 x 17.5 cm

c. 1641 Sir Anthony van Dyck

What I especially love about this van Dyck engraving – one of my favourites – is that the subject, Cornelius, is so august-souled. His look is so kaleidoscopic thereby betraying his reincarnational history. To look at the subject, he could be Tatar, Nepalese, even Inuit… all the lives that he’s lived to date are magically alluded to. Masterful. Stunning. I love it.

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Moon & Cow.

09.09.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

oil and synthetic resin

68.5 x 91.4 cm

Provenance: Collection of Donnelley Erdman, Aspen Colorado

This marvellous super Moon night, I thought it appropriate to again share Alex Colville’s sublime genius.

http://www.ago.net/alex-colville

http://alexcolville.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Colville

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Pink Chair II.

07.09.201406.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

Conté Drawing

3.5 x 4.0 Feet

Provenance: Artist’s private collection.

Though this drawing of me was completed before I left Toronto for Vancouver in 1994, I never did see it until returning to living in Toronto, from Montréal, in 2004. I loved it and still do. The work is my favourite George Hawken and, of course, as it is a one-of-a-kind and not in my possession; this, of course, makes it that much more covetous!

What I especially love about it is that whilst living in New York City in 1983, I dreamt of the drawing and didn’t, at the time, realise that it was me; the eye-colour in the drawing is the same as a very exotic-looking female past-life of mine about whom I often dreamt back then – especially when studying classical dance in Winnipeg prior to that (1980-82).

At the time of that dream of this drawing which was yet to be – I had not even yet met George Hawken, Merlin and I were staying in the Chelsea loft of Natch and Zammy, the Artistic Director and his dancer lover, who since passed of AIDS, of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

Of course, prior to leaving for Vancouver, I was happily ensconced in relationships with Daryll Newcombe, Gustavo Vadim – the masochistic art thief in Washington D.C. and Manhattan cabaret singer, Frans Bloem… plus a few others.

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Ball Game.

05.09.201407.01.2026 Arvin da BrghaLeave a comment

Oil on Canvas

36 x 36 Inches

Provenance: Private collection

http://www.wimheldens.com/

Love Wim’s masterful sensual use of light and colour.

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Twenty years ago, when flying in to Manhattan from Vancouver to be with then lover, Manhattan cabaret singer, Frans Bloem, I would meet Wim. As all I ever do is sense energy and think of anyone encountered as a Michael Overleaves puzzle – is this a warrior or just a cynic? – I knew without a doubt that he was an old soul. Like every other old soul encountered whose overleaves I have done, I felt a sense of home, acceptance and harmony for being in his presence.

At the time, Wim was sick in bed with the flu and so I went out shopping and got him some Campbell’s soup – what do I know about making homemade soup? – and spent part of an evening hanging with him. The interlude was truly memorable; it was like being in a dream which, incidentally, is also another hallmark for me of being in the presence of an old soul.

Wim truly is a great human.

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