Secret Handshake Vase by @rumalow@danicadrago
Secret Handshake is an unsubtle nod. Mounted to the wall and unafraid to take up space, the vase calls to those in the know. Secret Handshake embodies the greeting as a way of finding belonging. The ceramic piece has a rounded bottom and relies on the wall mount to be held upright. The disparate materials work together to hold floral arrangements and each other.
Alison Postma and Danica Drago are Toronto artists and makers who started collaborating in 2025. Each brings a unique set of skills and material knowledge to projects that toe the line between functional and sculptural.
On display at @gagnecontemporary as part of Nice to meet you! during @designtofestival until Sat, Jan 31st, 2026.
Photo by @katya.koroscil
#PartnersInArt is proud to support the work of the artist Alison Postma @rumalow through our Artist-Direct 2025 funding stream.Â
🗓️Opening Reception: Tonight, May 9, 2025, from 7–10 PM at @xpacecc
What does your body feel like in a dream? Tender to the Touch investigates this question. The exhibition is a presentation of work by Toronto artist Alison Postma, shown in the Xpace Project Space. The work immerses the viewer in a dream, and invites interactive exploration through photographs, video, and furniture pieces.
my exhibition “tender to the touch” opens tomorrow (Fri May 9) night 7-10 in the xpace project space 🌟
I installed it over the past few days with sooooo much help. Feeling seriously grateful for the many pals who came through to put up vinyl, staple curtains, transport work, build a wall, steam fabric, and provide moral support!!
And of course feeling grateful for the wonderful xpace team who completely trusted me with this install even when the plans I showed them 3 months ago were a doodle and “it’ll be cool I promise”
This Exhibition has been supported by Partners in Art under its Artist-Direct Program ❣️ and wouldn’t have come together so nicely without their support
I want to see you at the opening party! And if you can’t make the party, the exhibition will be up until July 5 🌝 install photos to come ✨
Our grad show is installed! We have open hours this week before the reception this friday night (may 10, 6-9!). Come see and celebrate the hard work all my classmates put into their work. The poster with hours/info is in the last slide, but pls note that the entrance to the gallery is on Bartlett! Behind blood brothers but before the train tracks - you’ll see our sign :-)
here are some images of my pieces installed together on crit day :) I titled the project as a whole, “tender to the touch”. I’m really excited for people to see these in person and touch and sit 📍
the last piece I made for my thesis collection is a video, housed inside a veneer box. Swipe to the last slide to see the video, as viewed looking into the box. The video projects onto a scale model of the Knob Chair, and when installed is intended to be viewed while seated in the (full size) Knob Chair. Once again, best experienced in person!
Mouth cabinet. Bit of a weird one to photograph, comes in two parts. The top (wall hung) piece is a small cabinet with a tambour door. The door doesn’t open (it slides around in its circular track). The bottom piece is a column with a mirror inset in the top. The fifth photo is the view in the mirror, looking up into the cabinet. This piece changed a lot from the beginning of the project, going from less to more functional and back again. Best interacted with in person!
I’m sharing these pieces in the order I physically made them, but the Knob Chair was the first one that I designed. The knobs acting as a support surface came to me in a dream, and I treated it as prophetic. Must be sat in to be truly experienced!!
this is the first piece I made for my thesis collection 🤓 I’m calling it the Portal Mirror ✨🕳️🪞 the blinds in front can be turned individually by the knobs on the bottom, to hide or reveal as much as you want
