It is with sadness that we share the news that Ben Portis, a previous employee of the AGO, passed away on July 20, 2017.

Ben worked at the AGO from 2002 to 2009 as Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art, and recently was curator of the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie. While at the AGO he organized exhibitions by such artists as David Urban, Rebecca Belmore, Seth, Harun Farocki and Seth Price, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Denyse Thomasos, among many others.

He was also a writer whose essays, articles and reviews frequently Canadian Art and Border Crossings.

Ben had a profound influence on Toronto’s creative community. He will be greatly missed. Colleagues, including our own Jim Shedden, remember Ben in this post by Canadian Art Magazine.