Study Guides

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Guides

In her acclaimed Traveller series, Canadian artist Rajni Perera envisions a race of superhumans from a future time after climate catastrophe. Who’s left after the world burns? What will they look like? And how will they learn to survive such harsh conditions? Though it may sound like the stuff of science fiction, the art celebrates the strength and resilience of anyone who’s had to leave home to find a better future. Join us as we take a closer look at Perera’s spectacular vision with the artwork Traveller #5.

Considered one of Canada's finest artists, Mary Pratt gained national renown for her highly realistic still life paintings inspired by everyday moments. With a keen eye and a masterful brush, Pratt imbued ordinary scenes of domestic work — the cooking and cleaning — with an extraordinary sense of magic and significance. Join us as we explore one of her best-known paintings, Jelly Shelf, and discover what beauty hides all around us, just waiting for a closer look.

It may look like an ordinary seat, but The Robotic Chair can do the most extraordinary thing. More than 20 years in the making, a seemingly impossible idea comes to life through the collaboration of three very different artists, combining art and engineering to realize their vision. It’s a touching artwork about resilience and the culmination of a project that had to fall a few times before it could finally find its legs.

Did that sculpture just blink? With tricks borrowed from the magical world of special effects, celebrated Canadian artist Evan Penny makes sculptures that look so real it’s hard to believe your eyes. Come along as we explore one of Penny’s best-known artworks, Old Self — a self-portrait of the artist imagining himself years in the future, as an old man. It’s a vision so detailed and so vivid that the artist says, more than anything else he’s ever made, this artwork changed him.

An enchanting thicket of greenery teeming joyously with life, Métis artist Christi Belcourt’s The Wisdom of the Universe has become something of a fan favourite at its home in the Art Gallery of Ontario. Rendered in Belcourt’s signature style, using hundreds of thousands of precise painted dots to simulate traditional Métis beadwork, The Wisdom of the Universe calls viewers attention to the tiniest details in order to understand the bigger picture.

Elegant and unexpected, Canadian artist Esmaa Mohamoud’s acclaimed sculpture series One of the Boys mixes two very different kinds of uniforms: the basketball jersey and the ball gown. This curious combination poses a range of questions about how gender is defined and how it’s experienced. Inspired by a powerful story from Mohamoud’s childhood, the artwork invites viewers to play with possibility.

Emily Carr painted this artwork in 1929 on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. The village is the ancestral home of the Mowachaht people. It is done from a one-point perspective. Contrast is evident in the artwork.

“A Sudden Gust of Wind” (8 feet x 13 feet) is a digital photomontage composed of more than 100 photographs. It is a conceptual photograph exploring “Instantaneity” modelled after Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock print Ejiri in Suruga Province (Sunshū Ejiri), ca. 1830-1832. It is presented as a transparency mounted on a lightbox.

The Enchanted Owl is a fantastical, rather than realistic, representation of an owl, composed of pleasing, simplified forms, with long, whimsical feathers. It is removed from any background. The work displays compositional balance; the tail feathers occupying roughly the same space as the bird’s body. It is one of the most recognized works in Canada.

Miss Canadiana is a fictional pageant queen dressed in gown, sash and tiara who represents her country and makes public appearances, posing for photos, handing out flags and signing autographs. With the creation of Miss Canadiana, Turner is addressing-and disrupting- the symbols, cliches and stereotypes associated with the country.

Resurgence of the People shows dozens of characters of various ethnicities aboard a boat paddled by Indigenous people and captained by Miss Chief. It is a historical narrative artwork in the style of older Classical works, but the subject matter offers a counter narrative to the history of Canada traditionally depicted.

“Canadassimo (Dépanneur)” was made by the Quebec City art collective BGL in 2015. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale, a contemporary art festival, where the group represented Canada. BGL’s work is often humorous, but it addresses serious issues like consumerism and the environment. Recycling and repurposing are also important to the way they make art. Their Dépanneur is a full-scale reproduction of a corner store, offering visitors an immersive and transportive experience.