On a recent wander through the Art Gallery of Ontario I encountered a few ‘people’. They were happy, forlorn, busy, engaging, cute, creepy, odd, and more. I hope that you’ll agree!
below: “Interesting Story” 1898, by Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930)
below: A Louis Valtat (1869-1952, French) painting that depicts a couple at a cabaret. Can you see the dancer?
below: “June”, bright and bold, by Lynn Donoghue (1953-2003, Canadian)
below: This is a section of “Torn Heart” by Natalka Husar (b. 1951, Ukrainian roots). One comment about her painting that I saw on an AGO website is, “Husar’s paintings are a compelling mix of joy, guilt, mystery, and seduction, and Torn Heart vividly expresses the complexities and paradoxes of love stories we have all lived.” (source)
below: “Night Games at the Paradise” by Rae Johnson (1953-2020, Canadian) is a painting of people sitting in the outdoor section of a bar next to Johnson’s Toronto home. No one is happy.
below: Watching one the videos made by Diego Marcon (b. 1985 in Italy). I am having trouble with this one as I found Macron’s videos to be too creepy, too dark. His digital/CGI people don’t look quite right (on purpose?).
The AGO has a photography exhibit, “Picture Space” (until 1 Nov 2026) that features some photos from their collection, including from the following four photographers.
below: Barbara Astman (b. 1950, Canadian) – two big eyes staring back at you. This is “Seeing and Being Seen #1”
below: Luther Konadu’s photos from “Ambient Photo” are actually four put together and displayed in one horizontal image. I have separated them into two halves (this photo and the next). “Ambient Photo” is on ongoing project that looks at the mechanics of photography.
below: Sandra Brewster’s “Hiking Black Creek” 2018 is a very large picture that is printed on wood panels. The original photo was taken in the 1970s and shows her parents hiking shortly after they arrived in Toronto from Guyana.
below: “Beauty at a Proper Distance” by Suzy Lake (b. 1947 in Detroit, now in Toronto).
And last, with a bit of silliness, a quirky photo taken in Yayoi Kusama’s infinity room.
as I walk Toronto 