Art from around the world comes to the Art Gallery of Ontario

Five diverse exhibitions to be showcased this summer

This summer, the Art Gallery of Ontario is bringing art from all over the world to Toronto. It will be a busy day on June 23 as the gallery opens four of its five exhibitions with a photography collection by Chuck Close called “A Couple of Ways of Doing Something,” a look at contemporary Indian art with “Hungry God,” a selection of religious and secular art pieces entitled “Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum,” and finally, there is “Bernini in Focus,” which presents “Corpus,” a dazzling sculpture of the resurrected Christ by 17th century Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The final exhibit in the summer compilation opens on July 18 with a showcase of the much-anticipated 18th and 19th century artifacts from Canada’s First Nations in “Treasures of the Tsimshian from the Dundas Collection.”
These five exhibitions will be the last to be shown before the reopening of the transformed AGO in 2008, which was designed by Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry. So it’s no coincidence that the collections present such a diverse selection of artistic traditions and representations from different countries and time periods. The physical transformation of the AGO will be complemented by a mandate to include international art and artists like never before in the history of the gallery.
“It’s a sign of things to come,” said Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s curator of photography and curator of the Chuck Close photography exhibit. “It’s an international flavour like the AGO has never had before, and it points to the future direction of the museum and its programming.”
“A Couple of Ways of Doing Something” will feature 44 portraits by American artist Chuck Close, one of the most important modern artists today. There are no digital photos here — Close’s unique style is based on the daguerreotype process, one of the earliest photographic processes to be invented.
Created in the early 19th century, the daguerreotype process produces an image that is exposed on a light-sensitive silver-coated metallic plate. Since it is a direct positive image with no negative original, a reproduction of the picture is not possible, thereby making each picture unique.
“The result,” said Hackett, “is an image that is unique and reveals extraordinary detail,” adding that the silvery glimmer and mirror-like sheen gives each portrait a sense of mystery.
Close is always reinventing and playing with viewers’ expectations, Hackett said, referring to the seven large-scale portrait tapestries where Close brings together the ancient art of weaving with digital technology to create a new form of photographic portrait. The tapestries are eight feet tall by six feet wide and include 1,718 threads each. From a distance, the tapestries seem like photographs, but up close visitors can examine the diverse materials that come together to create what they previously thought of as another art form. “This fusion of old and new presents such surprising results,” Hackett said.
“Hungry God” is the first exhibition from the AGO to present contemporary art from India.
Bruce Ferguson, AGO Director of Exhibitions, and curator of the “Hungry God” Indian art exhibition said that the decision to make this collection a part of the summer lineup came from an awareness that “there are so many contemporary artists emerging from that country,” in addition to the fact that there is a large South Asian population in Toronto who are eager to see their culture and reality represented.
This exhibition will showcase work from members of three different generations of artists who each react to socio-political issues from the past and present. According to Ferguson, the artists share a “common interest of finding ways to acknowledging their identity while being creative with tradition.”
This sense of inventiveness can be seen in Subodh Gupta’s “Everything is Inside,” which shows two bronze cast tied bundles (ghathri) placed on the roof of the upper half of an Indian taxi. Acting as a symbol of the migratory global economy in India, the ghathri are traditional tied bundles used by Indian migrant workers who must travel abroad to find work as cheap labour.
Also on display at the AGO will be a mix of secular and religious objects as part of the “Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum.” Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, the collection includes 35 medieval and Renaissance pieces. Some were commissioned for churches and chapels while others offer a glimpse into the cabinets of the wealthy.
“There will be something to satisfy everyone,” said Michael Parke Taylor, the AGO’s curator of European art, and the curator of this exhibition.
Visitors will be able to look at intricate ivory carvings, such as the “Late Antique Symmachi Panel,” made in Rome at around 400, which showcases the artists’ supreme level of craftsmanship. Other pieces offer a look at the daily lives of the rich, such as the 12th century pitcher shaped in the form of a dragon, which was used for hand washing before meals.
But perhaps the object that will garner the most attention is Leonardo da Vinci’s personal codex, which consists of two of his notebooks bound together. One notebook dates back to 1487; the other is from 1505. The codex is open to two pages that present da Vinci’s “mirrorwriting” and mathematical notes and diagrams.
“It shows that he was a genius in so many ways,” Taylor said. “There wasn’t anything that didn’t interest him, and he had insights into so many things.”
The fourth exhibit in the AGO summer lineup is “Bernini in Focus,” a look at Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s “Corpus,” a life-sized bronze of the crucified Christ.
One of the most important and influential sculptors of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini is credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Throughout his career, Bernini created many religious art works, in particular for Pope Urban VIII, the artist’s greatest patron.
Weighing 140 pounds, “Corpus” is one of the largest bronzes made by Bernini and was cast around 1650. With its unveiling on June 23, it will become the second Bernini sculpture in the AGO’s permanent collection.
According to Michael Parke Taylor, who is also the curator of the “Bernini in Focus” exhibit, what stands out about this sculpture is the naturalism the artist achieved in the representation of the human form in bronze. “The detail of the anatomical structure is striking,” said Taylor. “It’s an incredible life-like appearance of Christ with beauty and emotion.” Taylor added that when he and staff first handled the sculpture, they got goosebumps. “It definitely has presence.”
“Treasures of the Tsimshian from the Dundas Collection” has been gone from Canada for almost 150 years, but the collection will be unveiled on July 18 at the AGO. The exhibition is a chance for visitors to see one of the country’s greatest compilation of First Nations art. It was Rev. Robert James Dundas, a missionary working in British Columbia, who first acquired the art works, which were then sold abroad. Absent from Canada since 1863, the works were purchased by seven private buyers and three institutions at a Sotheby’s auction in Oct. 2006. The group of buyers was committed to keeping the artifacts in Canada.
“It shows the richness of our artistic heritage; it’s a part of who we are today,” said Gerald McMaster, curator of Canadian Art at the AGO and curator of this exhibit.
The collection features First Nations objects from the 18th and 19th centuries that range from personal items like combs to beautifully crafted food bowls (McMaster says that in one of the bowls you can actually still see the oil that was once used). What’s so impressive here is that although the artifacts are everyday items, they are so intricate in terms of their design that they are just as easily considered works of art — with a functional purpose.
McMaster said that the pieces he finds the most impressive include a wooden ceremonial mask that reveals a startling understanding of the anatomical features of the human face. But it is a 1-foot high finely carved shamanic doll with bent knees and hair standing on end that particularly struck him. He said with a laugh, “It was commissioned by a shaman, so it was definitely well made. After all, it was created to please the spirits.”

“A Couple of Ways of Doing Something,” “Hungry God,” “Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum,” and “Bernini in Focus” will open June 23.
Canada’s First Nations exhibit,“Treasures of the Tsimshian from the Dundas Collection,” will begin July 18.
“A Couple of Ways of Doing Something” will end Sept. 16. All other exhibitions will run until Oct. 7. The Art Gallery of Ontario is located at 317 Dundas Street West. For more information call 416-979-6648 or visit www.ago.net.

Publication Date: 2007-06-24
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