10 reasons to be excited about 2019

We’re buzzing with anticipation about all the amazing artful experiences we’ve got lined up this year at the AGO. Check out our top 10 things to look forward to in 2019:

1. Impressionism in a whole new light

Claude Monet, Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877. Oil on canvas, 60.3 x 80.2 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection, 1933.1158. Image © Art Institute of Chicago/ Art Resource, NY.

All aboard! We’re taking a journey to late 19^th century Paris and beyond on trains, over bridges, near factories and shops to see how Impressionists captured their changing world. Opening on February 16 our groundbreaking exhibition Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro and more includes more than 120 works by artists Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassat, James Tissot and more. We can’t wait to see these paintings, photographs, sculptures and period films.

2. The powerful art of Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires

Mickalene Thomas, Diahann Carroll #2, 2018.  Silkscreen ink and acrylic on acrylic mirror, mounted on wood panel, 182.9 x 152.4 x5.1 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels. © Mickalene Thomas / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Filling Level 5 of the AGO’s Vivian & David Campbell Centre for Contemporary Art, this dynamic exhibition presents vibrant collage paintings, video installations, photography and living room tableaux. On now until March 24 Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires showcases vivid portraits of celebrities, friends, former lovers, figures from art history and the artist while sparking urgent questions about race and how Black women’s bodies are represented in art and pop culture. Complementing the exhibition, we’ve got an amazing line-up of programming all winter, with author talks (don’t miss Esi Edugyan and Angie Thomas), film screenings and performances, including a Vogue Ball.

3. Spotlight on Brian Jungen

Brian Jungen, Warrior 1, 2017. Nike Air Jordans, leather, 99.06 x 81.28 x 73.66 c.m. Courtesy the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. © Brian Jungen. Photo by Jason Wyche

Internationally renowned for his mesmerizing sculptures and installations made from repurposed consumer goods, including Nike sneakers and golf bags, we can’t wait to welcome artist Brian Jungen back to the AGO this summer, with a solo exhibition in the Sam & Ayala Zacks Pavilion. Featuring more than 80 works including headdresses and masks and an epic film installation, the exhibition will also include the first public presentation of the artist’s archive – materials that inspire his work – organized in 200 shoeboxes. You may never look at shoeboxes the same way again!

4. A once-in-a-lifetime exhibition on Early Rubens

Peter Paul Rubens, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1610. Oil on panel, 142 x 183 x 1.9 cm. The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. © 2018 Art Gallery of Ontario

Coming to the AGO in October 2019, Early Rubens is an incredible presentation of 50 daring works by artist Peter Paul Rubens, an artist widely recognized for his dynamic, even cinematic, style. Featuring loans from museums across North America and Europe, including works never before shown in Canada, the exhibition focuses on the pivotal years (1609 – 1621) following Rubens’s return to his hometown of Antwerp, Belgium after studying in Italy. Highlights include Daniel and the Lion’s Den, a vast oil painting featuring 10 near-to-life-size lions, and the return of The Massacre of the Innocents, a jewel in the AGO Collection.

5. Celmins and Steyerl

Hito Steyerl, ExtraSpaceCraft (detail), 2016. Three-channel HD video, environment, 12 mins., 30 secs. Image CC 4.0 Hito Steyerl. Image courtesy of the artist, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York and Esther Schipper, Berlin.

2019 will bring exciting solo exhibitions from internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, Vija Celmins and Hito Steyerl. In May we welcome Latvian-born, American-based artist Vija Celmins, known for her meticulous portrayals of the natural world. Her paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints will make you wonder if you’re looking at the real thing. Later in the year, Hito Steyerl returns to the AGO for her first Canadian retrospective, featuring large-scale film installations, including Liquidity Inc. from 2014.

6. Feel forever

Thanks to the generosity of the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund and over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors, Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is now a part of the AGO’s Collection…forever. A complete list of donors can be seen here.

It’s coming! Thanks to over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors and the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, internationally acclaimed artist Yayoi Kusama’s incredible artwork, INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER, is coming to the AGO this spring…forever. From first-time donors to long-time supporters, so many people supported our crowdfunding campaign to add an Infinity Mirror Room to the AGO Collection so that art fans today and in future generations can experience the immersive world of Kusama. Stay tuned for details on when the artwork arrives.

7. New year, new learning

The start of a new year is the perfect time to learn something new. Whether you’ve never made art before or you’d like to refine your skills, we’ve got something for everyone. Join us at the Anne Tanenbaum Gallery School for a variety of amazing courses, guaranteed to get your creative juices going in 2019. Try your hand at drawing and painting, or sculpture; and if you can’t decide, try out a little bit of everything.

8. Artful fun for the young (and young at heart)

Art fans between the ages of 14 and 25 can create, learn or dance in our FREE After Three workshops. For pint-size Picassos, we’ve got Family Sundays where little ones and their caregivers can draw, paint and more. And don’t forget to visit the Dr. Mariano Elia Hands-On Centre or our roving Art Carts for more art-making fun! Join us for an all-day collage party on Family Day and stay tuned for our art-filled line-up of March Break activities.

9. Cure the winter blahs with delicious drinks and food

Looking for somewhere to escape the cold weather this season? We’ve got you covered. After visiting the AGO’s stunning art exhibitions, keep the fun going with a memorable art-inspired meal or cocktail at AGO Bistro. Our incredible chef has scrumptious menu items year-round to complement our exhibitions. In need of a little retail therapy? Visit shopAGO for art prints, art books, jewellery, home décor and so much more.

10. Culture in the city

Shuvinai Ashoona, Composition (Attack of the Tentacle Monsters), 2015. Courtesy the artist and Mary Daley Desmarais and Paul Desmarais III. Photo: Feheley Fine Arts

It’s going to be a sensational year for arts and culture in Toronto. We're excited to see the unique pencil crayon and ink drawings by artist Shuvinai Ashoona opening at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery on January 26. We can’t wait for internationally renowned artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei’s exhibition this February at the Gardiner Museum. And we’re excited to discover never-before-seen masterpieces in Treasures of a Desert Kingdom at the Royal Ontario Museum this March.

Excited? Us too! Stay tuned for even more artful fun coming this year.

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