Hello everybody!
As you now know, the Gallery is currently closed as part of the 28 day lockdown for Toronto and surrounding areas. This means that Christine, Trish and myself (Nicole) are back to working from home, as we prepare for the gallery’s re-opening with Studio 54: Night Magic. While the Gallery is closed, we will continue to share updates as they come in. Many of you may have registered for the upcoming Artist’s talk with Haegue Yang which has been postponed. In the meantime, I have re-shared the Curator’s Talk with Adelina Vlas on Haegue Yang (here) as a primer for this exhibition.
Finally, since the holidays are approaching and we are all being reminded to shop at small businesses, I wanted to highlight that shopAGO is currently open for online orders starting December 1st (watch your inbox for a volunteer invite to the members’ sale, December 7 -13). The AGO Bistro is also open for takeaway and curated at home dinner options (click here to learn more). Read on!
Stress Relief through Art!
With the continued stresses of the lockdown, working from home and the upcoming holidays, we will continue to share some stress relieving content from our expanding collection of online talks. This week we return back to with another Mental Health Moments as part of a very important regime of self care. This talk (linked here) led by Adult Education Officer, Lauren Spring, explores two artworks including Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Seated Woman with a Handkerchief and Agustus Edwin John, The Marchesa Casati. Slow down and delve deeper into these very popular paintings through a frame of mental health. I hope you will find these informative and calming!
How are you taking the time to de-stress right now? Have you started a new practice that helps you de-stress that you would like to share? We would love to hear about it!
Ragnar Kjartansson: Death is Elsewhere
Since opening at the beginning of November, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson: Death is Elsewhere has been a a buzz with visitors! This video installation filmed in 360 degrees featuring two couples of twins as they sing a song about beauty and loss. Filmed in the midnight sun in lush greenery with the shadow of Laki volcano in south Iceland in the distance, where there was a fissure that caused massive destruction back in 1783. This piece was acquired long before Covid-19 was in existence, but the sentiment is not lost on the visitors who engage with the 77 minute long video installation. It is beautiful, somber and poignant. This video installation is now a part of our permanent collection and you can read more about it in this article in Forbes Magazine when it opened last year at The Met.
Be well and stay healthy
Christine, Trish and Nicole