Hot off the presses

Our favourite exhibitions may be fleeting, but thanks to our AGO publishing colleagues, they live on in catalogues. Since printing our first catalogue in 1906, the AGO has published over 850 inventive and artful books, monographs and catalogues. This spring we celebrate the publication of three new books, each an artwork in itself, full of critical insight, thoughtful essays and beautiful reproductions.

The AGO’s most recent publications all feature contemporary artists, and their work ranges from painting to drawing and printmaking, sculpture, photography, film, video, performance, poetry, installation and mixed media. “The challenge of how to represent and discuss this boundless range of artistic invention in print is an honour and a thrill,” said Jim Shedden, Manager, Publications, AGO.

The titles below, along with a large selection of art-related publications, are all available for purchase through shopAGO. For more information or to place an order, visit shopAGO in person or online.

Theaster Gates: How to Build a House Museum 

Incorporating sound, dance, video, sculpture and painting, Theaster Gates’s 2016 installation was very well-attended by AGO visitors. Through installation and archival photos, the just-released catalogue Theaster Gates: How to Build a House Museum takes readers inside the exhibition. Edited by Kitty Scott, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the AGO, this 230-page softcover catalogue features a Q & A with the artist as well as essays by Greg Tate, Josh T. Franco and Mabel O. Wilson. The volume also contains the Letters of Negro Progress, submitted to Gates for the exhibition, written by artists including Rashid Johnson, Kerry James Marshall and Carrie Mae Weems.

Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971 – 1989 

How do you tell a story that isn’t historical but contains histories? Featuring over 120 artists in two rotations over nine months, the celebrated AGO exhibition Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971-1989 drew on works from the AGO Collection to tell the story of how far we've come as a city. Just released this month, Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971 ­– 1989 is an extensive softcover 200-page catalogue featuring colour reproductions of works from the exhibition by artists such as Jamelie Hassan, Robin Collyer and Vera Frenkel. Edited by Wanda Nanibush, Curator of Indigenous Art at the AGO, the catalogue includes an essay on video art by Peggy Gale as well as reflections, by AGO Manager of publishing Jim Shedden and AGO Programmer for Cross-Disciplinary Projects Bojana Stancic, on the Toronto film scene and performance art.

Coming June 16! Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak 

Co-published with Goose Lane Editions, Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak is a striking companion to the forthcoming exhibition. Featuring biographical details and commentary by exhibition co-curators Koomuatuk Curley, Anna Hudson, Georgiana Uhlyarik and Jocelyn Piirainen, this 160-page hardcover catalogue explores the enduring legacy of Ashevak and Pitsiulak’s work and their impact on a new generation of Inuit artists. The catalogue also includes poems by co-curators Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Taqralik Partridge, alongside over 75 superbly printed full colour reproductions.

And stay tuned for the catalogue for Rebecca Belmore: Facing the Monumental, due out in July.

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