This Fall at the Gardiner Museum

Transformed European Porcelain Gallery Reopens, Kent Monkman Exhibition,
and 12 Trees Reimagined

Toronto, ON July 21, 2015—This fall brings exciting changes and special events to the Gardiner Museum, including the unveiling of the transformed European porcelain gallery, the opening of the highly anticipated show Kent Monkman: The Rise and Fall of Civilization, and the Museum’s annual 12 Trees exhibition, which this year reimagines the Christmas tree both aesthetically and conceptually.

Obsession and Intrigue in the Eighteenth Century: The Transformation of the Gardiner’s European Porcelain Gallery
September 26, 2015

For the first time in 30 years, the Gardiner Museum has undertaken a major reinterpretation of its European Porcelain Gallery. This world-renowned collection will be animated by stories of the discovery of porcelain involving alchemists, spies, sabotage, and stolen secrets. The personalities behind the porcelain will be brought to life, from Augustus the Strong who suffered badly from ‘porcelain disease’, to Mme de Pompadour who was accused of planting porcelain flowers in her winter garden to amuse her lover, Louis XV.

At the heart of the new gallery will be a sumptuous recreation of a late 18th century dessert table, featuring a temple, obelisks, and urns made of sugar, rare Sèvres porcelain sculptures, and a lavish period dessert served on the Museum’s prized Derby botanical dessert service.

The transformed gallery will be unveiled to the public on September 26. Admission is free on September 26 and 27 as part of Culture Days, featuring docent tours and performances by Talisker players.

Kent Monkman: The Rise and Fall of Civilization
October 15, 2015 to January 10, 2016

Internationally acclaimed contemporary artist and Cree-Irish Canadian, Kent Monkman, mounts a new site-specific installation at the Gardiner Museum comprised of a nine-foot high buffalo jump topped by two full-sized mounted bison and a sculpture of Miss Chief, the artist’s alter ego. At the base of the cliff, smashed ceramics reference the build-up of bones often found at buffalo jumps, the result of years of sustainable hunting before the decimation of the bison population by European settlers.

Monkman’s installation addresses the bison’s near extinction in the 1800s, when their numbers were reduced from 50 million to the hundreds, and the implications that this had for the Native population.

An illustrated publication featuring an interview with the artist by Gardiner Museum Executive Director and CEO Kelvin Browne will accompany the exhibition.

http://livetest.gardinermuseum.com/exhibition/kent-monkman-the-rise-and-fall-of-civilization

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:

Oct 13

Patron Opening and Panel Discussion featuring Kent Monkman, Kelvin Browne, and David Liss (MOCCA)

Oct 16

Public Opening with ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Soundstreams

Oct 23

Kent Monkman Book Launch with Art Toronto

Oct 29

Human Rights Watch Lecture

Nov 6

RPM Indigenous Music Culture showcase

Nov 13

RPM Indigenous Music Culture showcase

Dec 2

Lecture by Dr. Norman Vorano, Queen’s National Scholar in Indigenous visual and material cultures of the Americas

12 Trees of Christmas: The Joy of Creativity
November 12, 2015 to January 3, 2016

For the past 26 years, the Gardiner Museum has celebrated the holiday season by displaying Christmas trees decorated by renowned artists and designers. This year, curator Dee Dee Eustace has reinvented this holiday tradition under the theme “The Joy of Creativity”, selecting participants—mostly contemporary artists—to reinvent the Christmas tree both aesthetically and conceptually.

The results include a Christmas tree formed by the negative space between two giant lightning bolts; a projection of an evergreen tree comprised of gesturing limbs; and an installation made up of recycled air conditioner coils embossed with Christmas trees. The designers themselves range from acclaimed abstract painter and “king of pop-ups” Michael Adamson to French luxury brand Hermès; from Gladstone Hotel artist-in-residence Bruno Billio to celebrity fashion photographer Trevor Godinho.

THE DESIGNERS: Michael Adamson, Bruno Billio, Justin Broadbent, Sophie DeFrancesca, Trevor Godinho, Hermès, Hunter Lewis Lake, Jenn E. Norton, The Stratford Festival, Susanne Shaw for Holt Renfrew, The Ukrainian Museum of Canada, and Jane Waterous.

In addition to the exhibition itself, an exterior display designed by Dee Dee Eustace will be erected on the Museum’s front plaza as a gift to the community.

The 12 Trees of Christmas will be celebrated at the exhibition’s signature gala party—The G Party—on December 1, 2015. Funds raised from the event will enable the Gardiner to continue engaging the community through the beauty and creativity of clay.

livetest.gardinermuseum.com/exhibition/12-trees-of-christmas-the-joy-of-creativity

ABOUT THE GARDINER MUSEUM
Located in the heart of Toronto at 111 Queen’s Park Crescent, the Gardiner Museum is Canada’s only ceramics museum, and one of the world’s great specialty museums. The Gardiner is committed to making a contribution to the medium of ceramics, as well as the community it serves, and is an inviting destination that inspires and connects people, art and ideas through clay. The Gardiner’s permanent collection comprises several extraordinary collections from sophisticated, dedicated collectors, making it one of the most significant centres of ceramics in North America. The breadth of the Museum’s holdings include pottery from the Ancient Americas, rare examples of Meissen, Du Paquier and Chelsea porcelain, Chinese blue and white porcelain, Japanese and Japanese-inspired porcelain, to contemporary ceramics—including an exceptional donation from contemporary ceramics collector, Raphael Yu. For more information, details on exhibitions, events, workshops, clay classes, and more, please visit: livetest.gardinermuseum.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Rachel Weiner
Communications and Volunteer Coordinator
Gardiner Museum
[email protected]
416.408.5062