We're delighted to announce that the Gardiner Museum will reopen to the public with two days of free admission on Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12. From July 13 onward, we'll resume our regular hours and admission rates. It seems we've been gone so long—we miss you and can't wait to welcome you back! Please read about our new health and safety protocols before your visit.
During our temporary closure, we're posting exhibitions and selections from our collection online. Discover Inuit ceramics, Chinese and Japanese porcelain, pottery from the Ancient Americas, and more!
We're excited to present a new live series hosted by Chief Curator Sequoia Miller in which an artist will share three of their artworks and speak about them in connection to a larger theme. On Thursday July 9 at 1 pm, Azza El Siddique, a Sudanese-Canadian interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture, installation, painting, photography, and film, will discuss three of her artworks in the context of the theme “Absence”. Registration is free!
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!
We’re closed until further notice, but we’re planning for the day when we can again welcome visitors. We encourage you to make a gift to the Gardiner. This will be vital for when we reopen, and is the optimistic message we all need.
Featuring zodiac-inspired installation by Toronto-born artist David R. Harper
TORONTO—The Gardiner Museum’s annual 12 Trees exhibition has become New + Now, a celebration of national and international ceramics in support of the Museum’s clay education and outreach programs.
The highlight of this year’s inaugural New + Now event is a dramatic celestial installation commissioned from Toronto-born artist David R. Harper. David R. Harper: Zodiac, on display to the public from November 16 to January 6, features twelve works placed throughout the Museum, each one inspired by a different astrological sign.
Harper, whose work can be found at The Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), the National Gallery of Canada, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, is known for his innovative use of traditional and non-traditional materials including ceramics, embroidery, stained glass, rubber, and dehydrated milk.
The works in the series, which visitors will discover as they make their way through the Museum in search of each piece, include a porcelain ram’s head and a life-sized sculpture in the form of a goat.
“I want people to be able to see themselves, based on their zodiac characteristics, in some way in the work,” says Harper.
The Gardiner is also collaborating with Canadian author, performance artist, and astrologer, Liz Worth, to create horoscopes that will be unveiled on the Museum’s social media channels throughout the month of December with images of each work from the installation.
Also part of New + Now, the Gardiner is holding an International Ceramic Art Exposition on November 16 and 17 showcasing work from top established and emerging contemporary ceramists including Robin Best, Ruth Duckworth, Sara Flynn, Kayoko Hoshino, Ron Nagle, Lucie Rie, Toshiko Takaezu, Peter Voulkos, and Zane Wilcox.
“We’re excited to be working with some of the most prominent galleries in Canada and internationally to bring a selection of exceptional ceramics by leading artists to Toronto for a limited time,” says the Gardiner’s Chief Curator, Sequoia Miller.
The participating galleries are Erskine Hall & Coe (London), Joan Mirviss Ltd (New York), Ferrin Contemporary (Massachusetts), Jeffrey Spahn Gallery (California), and David Kaye Gallery (Toronto).
Guests of the sold-out New + Now Gala on November 15 will have the opportunity to preview the International Ceramic Art Exposition as well as the installation by David R. Harper.
For more information about New + Now, visit gardinermuseum.com/new+now.
ABOUT THE GARDINER MUSEUM
The Gardiner Museum brings together people of all ages and communities through the shared values of creativity, wonder, and community that clay and ceramic traditions inspire.
The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art was founded by Toronto businessperson and philanthropist George Gardiner and his wife Helen in 1984, and was established in a building designed by Keith Wagland on the campus of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. The Museum was managed by the Royal Ontario Museum from 1987 to 1996 and then, with an additional endowment from George Gardiner before his death in 1997, became and remains an independent, non-profit museum. The Gardiner’s remarkable building was substantially renovated in 2004 by KPMB Architects.
The Gardiner Museum’s collection of ceramics comprises approximately 4,000 objects, and focuses on specific areas which have been collected in depth. These include the most important collection of European porcelain in Canada, with particular strengths in Meissen, Vienna, and Hausmaler decorated porcelain, as well as a comprehensive collection of figures inspired by the commedia dell’arte. It holds the best collection of Italian Renaissance maiolica in Canada, and a superb collection of English tin-glazed pottery. The Gardiner preserves highly significant collections of ceramics from the Ancient Americas, Chinese blue and white porcelain, Japanese porcelain, and contemporary Canadian ceramics. It also houses a research library and archives, clay studios, award-winning Shop, and a restaurant.
The Gardiner Museum is among the few museums in the world focused on ceramics, and is one of the world’s most notable specialty museums. For more information, please visit: gardinermuseum.com.
Media Contact:
Rachel Weiner Senior Manager, Marketing Gardiner Museum 416.408.5062 rachelw@gardinermuseum.com
With thanks to our New + Now Honorary Committee
Nicky Eaton, Chair Gail Appel James Appleyard Anne-Marie Applin Dan Bain Debra Campbell Stephen Dembroski James Eaton Linda Frum Emmanuelle Gattuso Hank Latner Barb Macdonald Linda Maxwell Margaret McCain Kent Monkman Anjli Patel Lynda Prince Diana Reitberger Ellen Roland Simona Shnaider Roly Watt
Commission Sponsor
Education & Outreach Partners
Rosemary Phelan, The Langar Foundation Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin The Thor E and Nicole Eaton Family Charitable Foundation
Emerging Artist Supporters
Susan Crocker and John Hunkin