Fall/Winter 2009

Uber-cool meets ancient history at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto this fall. Newly reopened after completing a $276 million renovation designed by Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry, the art gallery is host to the only Canadian stop of “Tutankhamun: The Golden King and The Great Pharaohs,” open November 24–April 2010. This traveling show shares space with European historical art, antiquities, Native Canadian and Inuit works, both past and present, and diverse contemporary exhibitions. The AGO is the permanent home of more than 73,000 pieces, including works by Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas and the impressive Thomson Collection, which features the artwork of Peter Paul Rubens, among others.

At this gallery, fun is the curatorial choice for contextualizing work from different eras according to theme (e.g. search for paradise, perception of climate or fascination with madness) rather than solely chronologically.

Intensifying the experience is the artistic beauty of the building itself — inside and out. Gehry’s design calls for a quiet and meandering journey though each gallery space, eliminating the need to retrace steps. Galleria Italia, an entirely wood passageway, features a ceiling of windows arched like a ship’s bow, allowing natural light to cascade in any time of the year. The highlight of the Gehry design is a four-story spiraling sculptural staircase bursting through a glass ceiling. While contemporary galleries of the late-20th century are defined by shiny metal surfaces and industrial references, this 21st-century wood interior is about enveloping the viewer in the warmth of nature and serenity.

- State - Ontario

- Type - Historic Tours

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