Ahead of her AGO talk and Smoke Sculpture™ set for Sugar Beach this June, AGOinsider connected with the trailblazing artist, educator and writer.

This June, Toronto is in for a spectacle to be seen courtesy of Judy Chicago. In a much-anticipated return to the city, the renowned multi-hyphenate and champion of feminist art will transform Sugar Beach with A Tribute to Toronto to close out this year’s Toronto Biennial of Art (TBA). From a barge on Lake Ontario, non-toxic plumes of colour will swirl together in the air, illuminated with LED lights for a dazzling effect. A Tribute to Toronto – the first of Chicago’s Smoke Sculptures™ presented in Canada and the first presented on water – comes decades after she began experimenting with pyrotechnics in the 1960s and 1970s, paralleling the emergence of Land Art at the time. 

Chicago’s connection to the AGO is well-documented. In 1982, the artist presented her seminal work, The Dinner Party (1974–1979), here. Four plates and two drawings created for The Dinner Party are on view now on the Gallery’s Fourth Floor, having been acquired for the AGO Collection in 2019.

And this Wednesday June1 at 7pm, Chicago will be here for a conversation with Candice Hopkins, Toronto Biennial of Art Senior Curator, moderated by Xiaoyu Weng, AGO Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art. (Tickets are Sold Out by interested volunteers can try their luck with the rush line, by lining up immediately before the event in Baillie Court)

Read the full interview with Judy Chicago about the directions of her current practice, HERE.