Cambridge native Daniel Faria runs his own gallery in Toronto. He spoke recently to fine art students at the University of Waterloo.
WATERLOO — While a student at Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School, Daniel Faria mused out loud that he wanted to own an art gallery in Toronto.
He wasn't sure how or if he could do it, but it was a dream.
Today, he is living that dream. The 38-year-old Cambridge native runs the Daniel Faria Gallery where he displays contemporary art — from paintings, sculptures, photographs and film installations — all by Canadian artists.
"You have to be open to things and be out there," Faria, a gallerist and art dealer, told a group of fine arts students at the University of Waterloo this week.
It's what he refers to as his Oprah moment.
"Preparation meets opportunity. It's not necessarily luck," said the UW art history graduate who went on to take his master's in art history at York University, focusing on queer art activism in public spaces.
Faria encouraged the students to visit galleries and engage in various kinds of art.
"You have to see what is going on out there," he said. "The networks you build are your strongest alliances."
Faria, who worked at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, became a director and partner in the Monte Clark Gallery in Toronto's Distillery District.
Just over three years ago Faria then took the plunge and opened his own gallery. His gallery, a former warehouse type of space, is located on a small street in the area of Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue. There are other art spaces in the industrial area located in the heart of the Portuguese district, and area he feels at home in being of Portuguese background himself.
Faria, who works closely with about 10 artists, has about 20 collectors who purchase art from his gallery. His 2015 schedule is full and he's booking into 2016.
His art exhibits are getting noticed elsewhere. In 2012, he was described as a "Canadian tastemaker" in an article in The New York Times.
Currently on exhibit is new work by Douglas Coupland, the West Coast artist and author. Another exhibit of Coupland's work is also on display at Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and the Royal Ontario Museum. A giant bust of his head covered in chewing gum is on display at Holt Renfrew.
Faria said he's known Coupland for 12 years and worked with him in the past. Other artists he has featured include Berlin-based Shannon Bool and Toronto photographer Chris Curreri.
lmonteiro@therecord.com , Twitter: @MonteiroRecord