The view from “Toronto’s living room”
Inside the AGO, 70 feet above Dundas St. West, Galleria Italia’s unique blend of wood and glass invites visitors to see themselves at home.
Image courtesy of the AGO
Galleria Italia’s mix of warm Douglas fir timbers and curving glass has made it a hallmark of the AGO. To stand inside the promenade, the length of a Canadian football field, is to at once be surrounded by art, to be elevated above a bustling Dundas Street and to feel oneself a part of the city, visible from sidewalks and streetcars. Heralded by critics since its debut in 2008 as part of Transformation AGO, efforts to describe the space have run the gamut from poetic to prosaic – “a visor”, “the skeleton of a ship’s hull or the ribs of a corset”, “the great belly of the whale” and “the underside of a cedar strip canoe”.
As we emerge slowly from months of isolation into a world that looks similar, but is not, the description that stands out is Lisa Rochon’s. A leading Canadian architecture critic and urban planner, in her past reviews of the AGO’s architecture for The Globe and Mail, and in a recent conversation with architect Frank Gehry himself, it is her epithet of Galleria Italia as “Toronto’s living room” that resonates.
Like a living room, it’s been a site for innumerable events from romantic proposals to intimate celebrations, work meetings and selfies. Like the mantle over a fireplace, it’s a showcase for great art, linking Henry Moore to Yayoi Kusama, and it's dotted with sculptures by Sorel Etrog, Francisque-Joseph Duret and others. And like a window seat, its second-storey perch sits over busy sidewalks, propelling guests into a distanced conversation with their neighbours, the city's tree tops and Victorian history.
Punctuated by six entry points and two ramps, the ways into and out of Galleria Italia are as varied as its many views, making it a destination, a stop-over and a point of departure. Being inside it – a space made possible by 26 Toronto families of Italian descent who each generously contributed $500,000 – places one both in and above the action, a comfortable place for these uncomfortable times.
On July 23, the AGO will reopen to members of the public who have booked a timed-entry ticket in advance. Galleria Italia is open every Thursday through Sunday, from 10:30 am to 5 p. For more details about how to plan your visit to your living room, visit AGO.ca/welcome-back
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