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Free standing sculpture of podium, atop of which is book whose pages are rocks

Tim Whiten. Book of Light: Containing Poetry from the Heart of God, 2015-2016. Handcrafted crystal clear glass, burnt fragments of drawings (coffee and pencil on handmade paper), oak. 118.1 x 71.1 x 38.1 cm. Courtesy of Tim Whiten and Olga Korper Gallery. Photo Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.

Tim Whiten: A Little Bit of Light

Opening March 29, 2025

Located on Level 1, in the Philip B. Lind Gallery, #131 & #132
Admission is always FREE for AGO Members, AGO Annual Passholders & Ontarians 25 and under. Learn more.

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

Recipient of the 2022 Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO, American-born, Toronto based artist Tim Whiten, has, for almost five decades, fashioned a powerful visual language all his own. Drawing upon various spiritual traditions, mythologies, and rituals, Whiten’s work evades easy categorization, manifesting itself in ways that are spellbinding and technically profound.

The more than 30 works on display range from works on paper and cotton, to sculpture, other three-dimensional objects, and mixed media installations.  The exhibition features many of the artist’s most essential works, made with organic matter such as leather, bone, and stone, and precarious materials such as glass and crystal.

This exhibition is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario in partnership with the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tim Whiten (Canadian, born August 13, 1941) is an American-born, Toronto-based artist who works in the areas of sculpture, drawing, performance, and multi-media installations, using a variety of materials.  

A Professor Emeritus at York University since 2007, Whiten has exhibited nationally and internationally since the 1970s. His work has been presented in solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of York University, Toronto (1972); Koffler Centre of the Arts (1997); Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montreal (1998); Art Gallery of Hamilton (2010); Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound (2018); and University of Colorado Art Museum, Boulder (2021).  

Whiten's work is held in numerous collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario; MacKenzie Art Gallery, Saskatoon; de Young Museum, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto; National Gallery of Canada; and Winnipeg Art Gallery, a testament to the on-going institutional and curatorial support of the artist’s prolific career. 

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