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Art on the Street: Dundas & McCaul
February 5th, 2010
Toronto artist Jerry Waese captures our façade and busy Dundas street in his illustration, below. See more of his work in Spacing’s STREET SCENE and on Flickr.
Sunday Concert: Pianist Connie Kim-Sheng
February 5th, 2010
(Photo courtesy Royal Conservatory of Music)
The AGO and the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) continue to host Sunday afternoon concerts by talented RCM students through spring 2010. Concerts are held in the AGO’s Walker Court from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, and are free with admission.
This Sunday’s concert, February 7, features pianist Connie Kim-Sheng. She began piano lessons at the age of three, and was involved in numerous chamber groups since the age of 12, receiving awards and performing for radio broadcasts.
Connie has performed as a soloist with the Rio Hondo Symphony, Verde Valley Sinfonietta, Cal State Northridge Orchestra, and the YMF Debut Orchestra. Her awards include first places in the Young Musicians Foundation National Debut Concerto Competition, Rio Hondo Young Artist Concerto Competition, Los Angeles Liszt International Competition, the Bronislaw Kaper Awards for Young Artists held by the LA Philharmonic and 2009 California MusicFest. Most recently, she was named a 2009 Davidson Fellow and placed third in New Orleans International Competition for Young Artists. She is currently studying at the Glenn Gould School.
Stay tuned for information on upcoming concerts.
AGO Chefs to Participate in Recipe for Change
February 3rd, 2010
AGO executive chef Anne Yarymowich and executive sous chef Jeff Dueck will be participating in Foodshare Toronto’s Recipe for Change, an evening of fine food, beer and wine featuring top Toronto chefs on Thursday, February 25.
This fabulous night offers a great opportunity to mingle with local chefs and enjoy a meal composed of over a dozen tasting plates from Toronto's most progressive culinary lights, accompanied by fine local beer and wine. Participating chefs include David Garcelon of Fairmont Royal York, Luis Valenzuela of Torito, Donna Dooher of Mildred's Temple Kitchen, Fabio Bondi of Local Kitchen, and many others.
The event will be held on February 25, from 6 to 9 pm at Foodshare’s Centre of Innovation and Education, 90 Croatia Street.
Recipe for Change is a celebration of food with a purpose, supporting FoodShare’s innovative and multi-faceted work toward Good Healthy Food for All and specifically the Field to Table Schools program, which brings food literacy back to students from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12.
For information and tickets, visit Recipe for Change.
Rembrandt and Freud: Conversations in Etching
January 29th, 2010
by Brenda Rix, Assistant Curator, Prints and Drawings
The exhibition REMBRANDT / FREUD: Etchings from Life opens Saturday, January 30.
“With etching there is an element of danger and mystery. You don’t know how it’s going to come out. What’s black is white. What’s left is right.”
— Lucian Freud, March 2007
More than three hundred years separate the lives of Rembrandt van Rijn and Lucian Freud, two great masters of the human form. Both artists made printmaking an integral part of their art practice, and both have created extraordinary images using the etching process. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1663), better known today for his paintings, was hailed in the seventeenth century as “a great virtuoso” for the astonishing range and variety of his work in the etching medium. Contemporary artist Lucian Freud is the grandson of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He was born in Berlin in 1922 but has lived in England since 1933. Celebrated internationally as both a painter and a printmaker, he has been called the “Rembrandt of our times.”
Now, a provocative exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario juxtaposes the etchings of Rembrandt and Freud, encouraging visitors to make new connections between these two influential artists. Rembrandt / Freud: Etchings from Life showcases remarkable and uncompromising images of the human face and the human body. These are powerful works of art that go beyond surface appearances to reveal the inner life of their subjects. The exhibition includes self-portraits, nudes and portraits of family, friends, animals and landscapes.
The AGO has an extensive collection of Rembrandt etchings, thanks to a major gift in 2006 from Esther and Sam Sarick. The Mira Godard Gallery, the McMaster Museum of Art and several private collectors have generously loaned Freud etchings to this exhibition.
Top: Lucian Freud, Before the Fourth 2004, 34.3 x 42.9, etching on paper, signed, edition of 46, Courtesy of Mira Godard Gallery © Lucian Freud; Bottom: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Negress Lying Down 1658, 8.1 x 15.8, etching, drypoint and burin on laid paper, Gift of Esther and Sam Sarick, 2006 © Art Gallery of Ontario
Sunday Concert: Soprano Vocalist and Pianist Taylor Strande
January 29th, 2010
(Photo courtesy Royal Conservatory of Music)
The AGO and the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) continue to host Sunday afternoon concerts by talented RCM students through spring 2010. Concerts are held in the AGO’s Walker Court from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, and are free with admission.
This Sunday’s concert, January 31, features soprano vocalist and pianist Taylor Strande, who has been hailed as "the best on stage with natural acting ability and a clear arcing lyric soprano" by Classical 96.3.
Most recently, Strande has been seen as Josephine in Comedy on the Bridge and Despina in Cos fan tutte with The Glenn Gould School, and has also performed with the New Music Ensemble in Pierre Michaud’s Constat dune metamorphose among many other roles. She completed her Bachelor of Music from the U of T, and is pursuing an artist diploma from the Glenn Gould School.
Next Sunday’s concert – Connie Kim-Sheng on piano.
Chicago’s ABC 7 on Canadian Wines at FRANK
January 28th, 2010
A clip from Chicago’s ABC 7 recommending the Ontario wines served at FRANK…
Concert January 24: Violin duo Shannon Bowles and Hanna Matthijsse
January 21st, 2010
The AGO and the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) continue to host Sunday afternoon concerts by talented RCM students through spring 2010. Concerts are held in the AGO’s Walker Court from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, and are free with admission.
This Sunday’s concert, January 24, features violin duo Shannon Bowles and Hanna Matthijsse.
Matthijsse has been featured as soloist with the Glenn Gould School Sinfonia, was a finalist in the 2009 Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition. She has performed as a chamber musician on CBC Radio, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and with the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School.
Bowles has performed as concertmaster of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, associate concertmaster of the Symphony of the Kootenays, and as a member of the Calgary Youth Orchestra and Nelson Songfest Orchestra, among others. She has recently completed her undergraduate studies at the Glenn Gould School.
Don’t miss these upcoming concerts:
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January 31 – Taylor Strande, vocal and piano
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February 07 – Connie Kim-Sheng, piano
David’s Notes: Portrait of a Young Girl with Carnation
January 20th, 2010
Could this be an engagement portrait of a Dutch girl aged four? Her ring, the carnations, the fan, and the peacock all refer to love and marriage. Only upper class marriages were arranged at such a tender age and this girl, with her expensive silk clothes and jewelry, was clearly from a well to do family.
In the 1600s, rich Dutch girls attended school to learn reading, writing, religion, music, dance and French. Instead of going to university – which was forbidden – they went to Paris to absorb fashionable French culture first hand. At an early age, poor girls stopped school to work full time.
Jan Albertsz Rotius
(Dutch, 1624–1666)
Portrait of a Young Girl with Carnations
1663
oil on canvas
118.1 x 96.5 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gift of Miss L. Aileen Larkin 1945
© 2007 Art Gallery of Ontario
We Want You to Tut and Help Break a World Record!
January 15th, 2010
Join us on Feb. 28, 2010 as we try to set a new Guinness World Record for the most people “Tutting” at one time.
Professional dance artist Mark Cabuena from the Toronto dance crews “Grand Illusion” and “For the Funk of It” has choreographed a simple “Tutting” routine that you will learn, practice and perform on the day of the event. Not only will you impress friends and family, you can help us set the Guniness World Record for the most people dancing simultaneously by “Tutting” continuously for five minutes!
But that’s not all!
Everyone who participates in the event will receive 1 free general admission to the Art Gallery of Ontario and be entered into a contest to win a King Tut weekend in Toronto! One lucky winner will receive one night accommodations for two at the Westin Harbour Castle, two VIP tickets to see King Tut, and $500 in shopping certificates courtesy of Scarborough Town Centre!
Also the first 100 adults and first 100 youth to complete the registration process will receive 1 free ticket to see King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs (Please note this exhibition is time ticketed and therefore is subject to availability. Tickets valid until April 18, 2010.).
Register Now
To take part in this event begin the registration process by clicking here.
Contest Partners
RCM Concert Series Gears Up for 2010
January 15th, 2010
The AGO and the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) continue to host Sunday afternoon concerts by talented RCM students through spring 2010. Concerts are held in the AGO’s Walker Court from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, and are free with admission.
(Image courtesy Royal Conservatory of Music)
This year’s first concert on January 17 will feature the Meiden Quinet, with piano and strings.
Violinist Hanna Matthijsse has been featured as soloist with the Glenn Gould School Sinfonia, was a finalist in the 2009 Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition. She has performed as a chamber musician on CBC Radio, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and with the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School.
Violinist Shannon Bowles has performed as concertmaster of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, associate concertmaster of the Symphony of the Kootenays, and as a member of the Calgary Youth Orchestra and Nelson Songfest Orchestra, among others. She has recently completed her undergraduate studies at the Glenn Gould School.
Canadian violist Ronelle Schaufele recently performed at the Euro Festival in Leipzig, Germany and completed an Artist in Residency program at the Banff Centre of the Arts. Her performances with various orchestras include the Okanogan Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Currently principle violist in the Urban Village Chamber Orchestra, she is completing an Artist Diploma Program at the Glenn Gould School.
Hannah Wolkstein is a cellist currently studying at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Hannah has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, Encore School for Strings, Henry Mancini Institute, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Innsbrook Institute, Quartet Program and the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades, France. While attending Interlochen, she was a member of the World Youth Symphony and performed with Itzhak Perlman.
Pianist Markéta Ornova has performed as a chamber musician throughout Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria, and at numerous summer performance festivals, including the Orford Arts Center in Quebec, the Toronto Summer Music Festival and Academy, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival in Maine, the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival and Orvieto Musica in Italy. Having recently completed the four-year Performance Diploma at the Glenn Gould School, she is now pursuing the post-graduate Artist Diploma there.
Featured Content
AGO Podcasts
Features recordings of AGO events, discussion with artists, analysis of works and exhibitions, and original material created exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe today!
Tut With Us!
The King Tut exhibition makes us want to get up and dance. But not just any dance ... we want to Tut! And we want you to join us!
The Anubis Photo Challenge
Dress the Anubis for a chance to win 2 tickets to King Tut! Use your favourite photo editing software to give Anubis some clothes.
King Tut: Memories of '79
AGO members and friends everywhere to share their memories of the 1979 King Tut exhibition.
What's On at the AGO
A playlist highlighting recent and upcoming events at the Gallery.
Art, Artists and Ideas
A playlist featuring artists, curators and other encounters with Art.
King Tut Podcast
Discover objects from King Tut, the Golden King and Great Pharaoh with David Silverman, Curator of the exhibition
Edward Steichen Exhibition Microsite
This online exhibition features galleries of high-quality images, audio guides, and in-depth analysis.
Image: Actress Joan Bennett, 1928 (detail). Gelatin silver print. Courtesy Condé Nast Archive, New York. © 1928 Condé Nast Publications.
Beautiful Fictions Audio Tour
See the late 1960s to the present through the lens of 60 Canadian and international photographers. Bring this podcast along on your next AGO visit!
Image: Axel Hutte, Audubon Swamp, 2005, chromogenic print. © Axel Hutte and Schirmer/Mosel, 2009
The Thomson Collection of Ship Models Audio Tour
Join Simon Stephens, curator at the National Maritime Museum in London, England, as he guides listeners through the world of British ship models spanning 350 years.
Image: Troop Landing Craft, Georgian Model; made in Great Britain; around 1755 - 1760; wood, painted and varnished; metal (including iron and copper), painted; 16.0 x 36.0 x 42.0 cm; The Thomson Collection © Art Gallery of Ontario
Director's Highlights Audio Tour
Join Matthew Teitelbaum as he talks about the art and architecture that he finds the most interesting and engaging.
Image: AGO Photographer Sean Weaver © 2008 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: Indian Church
This online exhibition examines the Indian Church as a symbol for the rapid encroachment of Western modernity on First Nations.
Image: Arthur Renwick, Canadian, born 1965, Nlaka'pamux BC (left), Git'ksan BC (right), 2005, archival inkjet print, edition 1/5, Collection of the artist, courtesy of Leo Kamen Gallery © 2007 Arthur Renwick
Collection X: Come Away With Me: Japan, China and Hong Kong, 1890s
Through this selection of images, you will encounter a typical travel album of its day, at a particular moment of cultural upheaval and exchange.
Unknown photographer (active China, 1890s), From the album Views of Japan, China and Hong Kong, 1870s–1890s, albumen print, 21.3 x 26.5 cm, [2007/275.46], Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of Neil B. Cole, 2007, © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: Come Away With Me: European Travels
This exhibition explores a personal travel album, which charts a trip through several European cities during the spring and summer of 1936.
German photographer, Album: European Travels (detail), around 1936, 16 gelatin silver prints in a 48-page cloth- and paper-bound album, album: 12.7 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm; prints: 8.8 x 11.8 cm, [103545.a03], Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of David Moore and Ross Winter / Camera Lucida, 2007 © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: The Art of Collection Building
This exhibition explores the evolution of the print and drawing collection through the personalities, artworks and stories that make it unique.
Image: François Boucher (French, 1703 - 1770), Young Country Girl Dancing (Detail), c1765 - 70, black, red and white chalks and stump on buff laid paper, 46.2 x 29.2 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Purchased as a gift of The Salamander Foundation and the Marvin Gelber Fund with a generous grant from the Department of canadian heritage on the recommendation of the canadian Cultural property Export review Board under the terms of the Cultural property Export and Import Act, 1998 © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Slideshow: Isaak Massa - A Man of the World
Isaak Massa ( 1586–1643) was a self-made businessman, diplomat, map-maker and author from the Netherlands. Massa commissioned three portraits from Frans Hals, who was a close friend.
Slideshow: Childhood to Old Age
Could this young girl of four already be engaged? Her ring, the little statue (symbol of fertility), the carnations, the fan and the peacock (symbol of Juno, goddess of child- birth) all refer to love and marriage.
Recent comments on Memories of King Tut: “I saw this when…”:
“When I was in Grade 4 way back in ‘79 some of the King Tut exibit came to Sudbury. My class went to see it @ the Bell Museum, It was a field trip that i never forgot. I will be Going to The AGO to see it again”
— Greg
Recent comments on Art on the Street: Dundas & McCaul:
“Thanks for finding me; I also have larger Acrylic paintings hanging in two restaurants on Dundas Street West: Musa and Ella’s Uncle; and 10 Street Car drawings are framed hanging in the show, “On The Rail” at R.A.D. 899 Dundas St West”
— Jerry Waese
Recent comments on AGO Members share their reactions to King Tut (Video):
“WOW! I have been just pumped about seeing King Tut’s exibit in TO. but after reading the above reviews I’m second guessing my choice. Now I know Tut won’t be there as I watch enough of the history channel to know Tut will never leave Egypt but it would be nice to see his artifacts up close. I was given a set of Tut bath towels in 1980 as a wedding gift ( my cousin was lucky enough to go to the first exibit in TO.) I still have both of them...”
— Kimberly Moore
“Also wanted to voice my disappointment after viewing this exhibition today. No actual King Tut in the exhibition, but in the gift shop, you could purchase a tissue box resembling his death mask – called “Tut-Choo” for $35. (The kleenex dispenses out of its nose.) Did Dr. Hawass also “hand-pick” that piece for the gift shop as well? Yet another reason why I won’t be renewing my membership.”
— Elaine
Recent comments on We Want You to Tut and Help Break a World Record!:
“There are free passes to the AGO and other museums in Toronto available at your very own neighbourhood library! Visit www.torontopubliclibrary.ca or specifically, http://programs.torontopublicl ibrary.ca/listings/map/ for more details.”
— Tammy