Admission to the AGO and all special exhibitions is always free for Indigenous peoples, visitors aged 25 and under, Annual Pass holders and AGO Members. AGO exhibitions continue to tour the world, bringing Toronto to Taiwan, Portland and Vancouver
TORONTO —The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) fall lineup of exhibitions includes the first-ever museum presentation of KAWS in Canada, the only Canadian presentation of Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody and Tate Britain’s acclaimed exhibition Life Between Islands. From the AGO’s photography collection come major presentations of Arnold Newman’s portraits and the Casa Susanna photos. For a complete lineup of upcoming exhibitions, visit AGO.ca/exhibitions.
“The AGO’s fall lineup brings exciting and educational programming for all ages,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “I encourage everyone to bring their friends and family and experience everything the AGO has to offer, including these unique collections by renowned international artists.”
Exhibitions opening this fall at the AGO include:
- Opening August 12, 2023, is Cities in Flux, a wide-ranging exploration of the city told through a selection of 100 photographs from the AGO Collection. Highlighting the various economic, political and cultural realities that underpin the urban experience, the exhibition showcases photographs, post cards and albums – many on view for first time - made since 1850. Berenice Abbott, Bhupendra Karia, Paul Kodjo, Diane Liverpool, Danny Lyon and Gillian Wearing are among the more than 45 artists included in the exhibition. Criss-crossing the globe from Chicago to Tokyo, via Prague and Mumbai, with a stopover in Toronto, the exhibition is curated by Marina Dumont-Gauthier, AGO Curatorial Fellow, Photography and will be on view through December 3, 2023.
- Opening September 27, 2023, Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly (1974), better known as KAWS, makes his Canadian museum debut at the AGO with KAWS: FAMILY. Renowned for his larger-than-life sculptures of cartoon-inspired characters and exuberant hard-edge paintings, in this original AGO exhibition, visitors will see first hand the artist's meticulous methods, creative process and range, through more than 75 artworks including wall murals, sketches, paintings, sculptures, his altered phone booth advertisements and product collaborations. Centered in Signy Eaton Gallery, with interventions throughout the museum, the centrepiece of the exhibition, is a larger-than-life painted bronze sculpture FAMILY (2021), featuring four of KAWS’ recurring figures of varying sizes posed as a nuclear family. Organized by the AGO, the exhibition is curated by Julian Cox, AGO Deputy Director and Chief Curator.
- Opening October 18, 2023, and drawn from the AGO’s extensive holdings, Building Icons: Arnold Newman’s Magazine World, 1938-2000, presents the creative career of the American photographer through more than 200 gelatin silver prints. Newman is widely acclaimed for his compelling portraits of artists, composers, actors, and political figures of the post-World War II era. Stepping into Newman’s magazine world highlights how magazines inspired and shaped his practice. It expands upon the story of his portraits and brings the wide range of his photographs to the fore, with landscapes, abstract explorations, collages, and documentary-style photographs. On view through January 21, 2024, the exhibition is curated by Sophie Hackett, AGO Curator of Photography, with photo scholar and independent curator Tal-Or Ben-Choreen.
- Opening November 8, 2023, and making its only Canadian stop at the AGO, comes Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody, a major retrospective of the late American artist. Organized by The Broad, Los Angeles, and celebrating Haring’s creativity and activism, the exhibition reveals the artist’s vast output through more than 120 artworks and archival materials. Known for his use of vibrant color, energetic linework and iconic characters like the barking dog and the radiant baby, Haring’s artwork continues to dissolve barriers between art and life and spread joy. Visitors will see an expansive range of Haring’s art, from early student works to his AIDS activism demonstrations and collaborative practice with other artists. On view through March 17, 2024, the exhibition is curated by Sarah Loyer, Curator, The Broad. The AGO presentation is curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, AGO.
- Opening November 11, 2023, from The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, U.K., comes Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest, an artful exploration of the many ways artists and individuals have used currency for social commentary – by punching it, scratching it, over-printing or even digitally manipulating it. Telling the stories behind the damage, from the French Revolution to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Black Lives Matter movement, the exhibition features historical examples of defaced coins and banknotes, alongside contemporary artworks. On view in galleries 140 and 141, this exhibition is curated by Dr. Richard Kelleher and organized at the AGO by Adam Harris Levine, Associate Curator of European Art, AGO.
- Opening December 6, 2023, Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art, 1950s to Now traces the extraordinary impact of the Caribbean diaspora in Britain, and their defiant creativity, as well as the region as inspiration and catalyst. Co-curated by photographer and curator David A. Bailey and Tate Britain Director Alex Farquharson, the exhibition features more than 40 artists – those from the Caribbean as well as those influenced by it – including Aubrey Williams, Donald Locke, Horace Ové, Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson, Peter Doig, Hurvin Anderson, Barbara Walker and Alberta Whittle. On view through April 1, 2024, the exhibition was originated by Tate Britain and is overseen at the AGO by Julie Crooks, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, AGO.
- Opening December 23, 2023, Casa Susanna brings together for the first time three collections of photographs created by a network of crossdressers, who from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, found refuge in the Catskills region of New York State. The 250 photographs are candid, playful, and at times staged, blending family and fashion photography conventions. They served not only as souvenirs of happy times, but also to validate their inner selves – or “the girl within.” On view through April 14, 2024, these images provide insight into this historically significant crossdressing scene. Co-curated by the French photo historian, Isabelle Bonnet and AGO Curator of Photography, Sophie Hackett, the exhibition is coproduced by the Art Gallery of Ontario and Les Rencontres D’Arles.
Stay tuned for more information about these and other upcoming exhibitions at AGO.ca/exhibitions. Opening dates may be subject to change.
Beyond Toronto, AGO original exhibitions continue to inspire audiences across three continents:
- Anthropocene, co-organized by the AGO and the National Gallery of Canada in conjunction with Fondazione MAST, Bologna, continues its world tour. The
exhibition will open August 12, 2023, at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan.
- Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956-1971, organized by the AGO and curated by Sophie Hackett, continues on view at Contemporary Calgary until Sept. 17, 2023.
- Fragments of Epic Memory, organized by the AGO and curated by Julie Crooks, will open at Portland Museum of Art, Maine on October 6, 2023.
- Denyse Thomasos: just beyond, curated by the AGO’s Associate Curator of Canadian Art, Renée van der Avoird, Remai Modern’s Head of Exhibitions & Collections/Chief Curator Michelle Jacques and the Art Gallery of Guelph’s Curator of Contemporary Art, Sally Frater, will open at the Vancouver Art Gallery on November 10, 2023.
- Robert Houle: Red is Beautiful, organized by the AGO and curated by Wanda Nanibush, continues to be on view at the National Museum for the American Indian in Washington, DC, until June 2, 2024.
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Contemporary Programming at the AGO is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
ABOUT THE AGO
Located in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest art museums in North America, attracting approximately one million visitors annually. The AGO Collection of more than 120,000 works of art ranges from cutting-edge contemporary art to significant works by Indigenous and Canadian artists to European masterpieces. The AGO presents wide-ranging exhibitions and programs, including solo exhibitions and acquisitions by diverse and underrepresented artists from around the world. The AGO is committed to being welcoming and accessible: admission is free for anyone under 25 years, and anyone can purchase an annual pass for $35. In 2022, the AGO began the design phase of an expansion project intended to increase exhibition space for the museum’s growing modern and contemporary collection. When construction begins in 2024, it will be the seventh expansion that the AGO has undertaken since it was founded in 1900. Visit AGO.ca to learn more.
The AGO is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Additional operating support is received from the City of Toronto, the Canada Council for the Arts and generous contributions from AGO Members, donors and private-sector partners.
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