Toronto is a cultural hub when it comes to art. Art can be found almost anywhere you look, whether it’s displayed in one of the great many museums and galleries, at private exhibitions, or even on the walls of your favourite local coffee shop.
But just because some of the best artists in the world display their masterpieces in Toronto does not mean you need to spend a fortune to view great art. There are many great pieces in the city, and many of them are free!
While we’ve previously written about some of the 2022 Toronto art exhibitions on display this year, we will now focus on those featured from ArtworxTO.
What is ArtworxTO?
ArtworxTO is an initiative within the city whose mission is to improve both engagement and accessibility to public Toronto arts and culture. Their mission spans from the outskirts of Etobicoke to Scarborough, right to the downtown of Toronto, granting a platform for artists looking to display their ground-breaking works of art.
With this in mind, ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022 is a celebration of public art in the city that began in the fall of 2021, and plans to end sometime this fall. By researching their website, you can find hundreds of art installations throughout the city and learn more about each of these pieces.
New art installations are always being added to ArtworxTO, and this helpful website helps you break down where and when to find them, as well as pop-up events and showcases. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to catch a visit from the artist or the unveiling of a new display in the city.
The following pieces are just a small handful of our favourite art installations, all found through the hundreds available through ArtworxTO’s amazing initiative.
Mindshadows
Located at 25 Broadway Avenue, this art installation was created by Catherine Widgery. This metal sculpture resembles blocks with words and numbers intertwined throughout the piece.
The inspiration behind Mindshadows is that words are the building blocks for thought, and that these words are what give shape to all of our ideas.
Despite its towering structure, Mindshadows is 70% open space, standing on thin legs, and the metalwork is a caged design rather than solid panels. The metaphor behind this method is to showcase that the mind is open, capable of flow, and easily mouldable.
Motion in Air (Ma)
1926 Lake Shore Boulevard West is home to a relatively new art piece known as Motion in Air (Ma)
This massive and striking project graces the shoreline of Lake Ontario, and spans over 120 meters long… longer than a football field!
Vibrant colours and striking imagery are used to evoke plant life, wildlife, as well as elements of wind and skin. Shapes such as dragonflies and intricate wings, florals, and diatoms decorate this massive canvas.
Over 500 custom printed and dyed panels were used to create Motion in Air and are meant to be a commentary on our environmental coexistence with the natural world. Given the hot topic that is environmental change, especially among young professionals in a city like Toronto, Motion in Air aims to generate conversation, not by shaming the ways of city life, but by sending messages of hope and accountability about our environmental optimism.
The Jack Pine Remembered
The Jack Pine Remembered, as seen at 15 Barberry Place, is one of the outdoor art exhibits in Toronto that plays with the idea of our modern reproductions and depictions of nature in our modern world. The piece was created by taking detail from the classic Tom Thomson painting, The Jack Pine (circa 1917), and digitizing it, stretching it, and rendering it to the size of an actual pine tree.
The digital image was rendered into over 1400 pixels, then transferred to a 3x3x6 square tubular extrusion made from aluminum. The holes in these tubes allow for light and shadows to shift, giving the artwork the illusion of an elaborate hologram from some angles.
The idea behind the installation, which was created by Canadian sculptor Panya Clark Espinal, was to comment on the way we store information to memories. By viewing the sculpture from some angles, the piece appears faded and indistinguishable; but by approaching from a new outlook and angle, the art appears at its most vibrant.
HOME(LAND)
Home(LAND) is a three-part exhibition that utilizes multimedia to examine how lands can intersect while discussing the shifting characteristics of identity, belonging, and what we call home (between the vast array of cultures, regions, and nations that exist in our world). As a parallel, this exhibition also focuses on the elemental energies that all life is created from water, air, fire, and earth.
The first exhibition, Bodies of Water, concluded back in December, and examined the importance and vitality of water within different cultures, as well as the socio-political ways it is used.
The second, and current iteration on display, is HOME(LAND): Terra Firma, which focuses on the power of the earth, and the lands that connect us. This installation examines earth as it pertains to both the physical territory we inhabit, as well as the bricks and mortars we build our very homes from.
Terra Firma is viewable until May 29th, 2022, before the exhibit takes on its final iteration, HOME(LAND): Lightning Souls, which will explore the powerful combination of energies that are wind and fire. Lightning Souls will be viewable between June 19-Oct 2, 2022.
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