We've reopened exclusively to Gardiner Friends & Get Acquainted cardholders, and we'll reopen to the public with two days of free admission on July 11 and 12. Regular admission rates resume on July 13. We can't wait to welcome you back! Please read our new health and safety policies before you visit.
From sticky to crusty, pliable to powdery, and shaped to shapeless, clay’s ability to transform in real time is prompting a new generation of artists to explore the possibilities of this ancient material. RAW features new work by four artists who are pushing boundaries with unfired clay: Cassils, Magdolene Dykstra, Azza El Siddique, and Linda Swanson. It reopens to the public on July 11!
We're posting family-friendly art activities inspired by our collection and the endless possibilities of clay. Visit our Family Day page for weekly crafts, colouring pages, and more fun art projects that you can enjoy at home.
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
As we begin to welcome visitors back to the Gardiner, we need your support to continue offering innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects on site and online. Make a donation and help us build community with clay.
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival Featured Exhibition
ARTIFACT by Deborah Samuel explores the narrative of transformation. While the individual images remain static, when the viewer moves, the photographs evolve in an almost cinematic manner. Viewed collectively and at a distance, the twelve 20 x 24 inch carbon pigment prints produce a planetary effect evoking ancient human cultures and mysterious celestial constructions. As the viewer gets closer, the images resolve into their essential materials: earthy, mineral matter within stone forms, ashes, and water. Ambiguous in scale, and sensual in tonality and texture, the stillness of the compositions in black and white renders these abstractions serenely minimalist. Installed on the first floor of the Gardiner Museum, the works are presented as a typological series, a continuous wall.
About the artist
Born in Vancouver, Deborah Samuel studied photography at Sheridan College. Known for her fashion photography and portraits of celebrities including Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood, Rush, and Queen Noor, Samuel’s work has appeared in GQ, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Spin, and Entertainment Weekly. Her photographs are part of the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, Winnipeg Art Museum, and Santa Barbara Art Museum, as well as numerous private and corporate collections. Samuel’s recent work captures the beauty and mysteries of the natural world. She has published three books, Dog and Pup, a collection of canine portraits, and The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds: Designs, Patterns and Details. She currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
About the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
In recognition of the 150th anniversary of confederation, the Festival’s artistic vision focuses on Canada through a series of exhibitions, public installations and events. From documentary explorations of the nation’s shifting landscape and inhabitants, to projects that challenge perceptions of history and definitions of photography, CONTACT 2017 presents outstanding projects by established and emerging Canadian artists and curators.
CONTACT is the largest photography event in the world, and a premiere cultural experience in Canada, with over 1500 artists in 200 exhibitions and happenings throughout the month in the Greater Toronto Area. Founded in 1997, CONTACT is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to celebrating and fostering the art and profession of photography.
Image: Deborah Samuel, ARTIFACT.Matrix 126 (detail), 2016