The Art Museum’s Winter 2023 Exhibitions Examine Identities Invented and Re/Imagined

Celebrate the opening reception of Conceptions of White and THE COUNTER/SELF on Wednesday, January 11.

Ken Gonzales-Day, The Wonder Gaze, St. James Park, from Erased Lynchings series, 2006–2022, vinyl wall installation. Courtesy of Luis De Jesus Los Angeles.

Conceptions of White

January 11–March 25, 2023
Art Museum at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto Art Centre

Opening: Wednesday, January 11, 6pm–8pm

Works by: Arthur Jafa, Barbara Meneley, Deanna Bowen, Fred Wilson, Hiram Powers, Howardena Pindell, Jennifer Chan, Jeremy Bailey, Ken Gonzales-Day, Michèle Lalonde, Nell Painter, Nicholas Galanin, Robert Morris, Ryan Kuo, and Artist once known, after Leochares

Conceptions of White examines the myths and meanings behind the idea of a “White race”—a relatively recent invention that helped shape the modern world. The exhibition examines the origins, travel, and present reality of “Whiteness” as a concept and a racial invention that classifies degrees of civility/humanity. The contemporary artists in this exhibition complicate this historical foundation, considering Whiteness as a North American, settler-colonial invention of the seventeenth century created alongside “Blackness” and “Aboriginality.” Together, the diverse narratives, images, and concepts presented in Conceptions of White examine the existential, experiential, and ethical dimensions of engaging in classifications of Whiteness, while also drawing on the conceptual connections between colonial Whiteness and the aesthetic, social, and philosophical meaning we ascribe to the colour white.

Organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery and curated by John G. Hampton and Lillian O’Brien Davis.

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PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Opening Reception: Winter 2023 Exhibitions
Conceptions of White and THE COUNTER/SELF
Wednesday, January 11, 6pm–8pm

Join us at the Art Museum to celebrate the opening reception of Conceptions of White and THE COUNTER/SELF. Opening remarks will take place at 6:30pm at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery in Hart House and at 7:00pm at the University of Toronto Art Centre in University College.
Read more.

Curatorial Tour with John G. Hampton and Lillian O’Brien Davis
Saturday, January 14, 2pm–4pm

John G. Hampton and Lillian O’Brien Davis will speak about the origins, travel, and present reality of “Whiteness” as a concept and a racial invention that classifies degrees of civility/humanity as presented in the various artworks in Conceptions of White.
Register.

Stacey Tyrell, Mistress and Slave, from Untitled series, 2018, archival C-print. Courtesy of the artist © Stacey Tyrell and General Hardware Contemporary.

THE COUNTER/SELF

January 11–March 25, 2023
Art Museum at the University of Toronto
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery

Opening: Wednesday, January 11, 6pm–8pm

Works by: 2Fik, Helio Eudoro, Julius Poncelet Manapul, Meryl McMaster, Sasha Shevchenko, Adrian Stimson, Stacey Tyrell, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Jamie Griffiths

Navigating the complexities of selfhood, agency, and representation, THE COUNTER/SELF brings together a group of Indigenous and diasporic Canadian artists who create and embody imaginative alter-egos to examine, perform, and subvert identity constructs and politics. Through the use of make-up and elaborate costumes, the artists transform their own appearance and stage layered photographic, video, mixed media, and sculptural scenes that destabilize viewers’ presumed realities and points of reference to expose prejudices with regards to gender, race, ethnicity, and nationhood.

Informed by personal and cultural histories entwined within the artists’ life experiences, their counter/selves advance divergent perspectives that upend deceitful national legacies and social expectations.

Curated by Mona Filip.

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PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Curatorial Tour with Mona Filip
Saturday, January 28, 2pm–4pm

Join Mona Filip for an in-depth curatorial tour examining the themes and artistic strategies in THE COUNTER/SELF.
Register.

VISITING THE ART MUSEUM

Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
(in Hart House)
7 Hart House Circle
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H3
416-978-8398

University of Toronto Art Centre
(in University College)
15 King’s College Circle
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7
416-978-1838

Admission is free. All are welcome.

Museum Hours
Tuesday to Saturday, 12 noon–5pm
Wednesday, 12 noon–8pm
Sunday and Monday closed

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artmuseum@utoronto.ca
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OUR SUPPORTERS

The Art Museum at the University of Toronto gratefully acknowledges operating support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Media Contact: Marianne Rellin, marianne.rellin@utoronto.ca