Seeing stars with Vija Celmins

Have you seen our exhibition Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory? On view now, it showcases the remarkably intricate works of artist Vija Celmins. And if you cannot get enough of gazing at the stars and ocean waves in her remarkable work in the exhibition, we present an additional installation of eight newly acquired prints by the globally acclaimed artist that are now part of the AGO Collection.

On display now in the Mulvihill Gallery on Level 1, seven of the eight prints from 2016 were created using a printmaking technique called mezzotint (the other print is a drypoint). Depicting some of her favourite subjects – night skies and the ocean – these richly detailed prints almost look like photographs. But when you look closely, you will notice (and be amazed by) the incredible detail and texture Celmins creates in each of her works.  

To help us learn more about these new works in the AGO Collection, Alexa Greist, the Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, takes us on a tour of the gallery space. With her help, you will get lost in the hypnotic work called Untitled (Large Night Sky) as you learn about mezzotint and Celmins’s artmaking process. Stargaze away!

Admission to Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory is free with general admission, for anyone with an AGO Membership or an AGO Annual Pass and for everyone 25 and under.