Sue Carter’s Top Ten (plus!) Toronto Art experiences of 2022

What a fantastic year it’s been for Toronto art-goers! With strong showings from artist-run centres and small commercial galleries, there was also a retrospective of work at the Image Centre by photographer Sunil Gupta, whose images have documented and inspired several generations of LGBTQ artists and activists. At the Royal Ontario Museum, Cree art star Kent Monkman unveiled his powerful new exhibition, “Being Legendary,” which features the return of his alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle and 35 new figurative paintings integrating items from the museum’s permanent collection. I adored the Art Gallery of Ontario’s ambitious show “I Am Here: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces,” which also gets the award for best soundtrack of the year.

Here are some of the moments I will take with me into 2023.

Harbourfront made me sweat. Art Spin, a roving organization dedicated to site-specific installations, brought together two of my favourite things in May when they pulled up to Harbourfront Centre with a 16-foot trailer transformed into a fully functional wood-burning sauna and multimedia gallery space. When I first popped my head into “Mobile Sweat” to check out the video art in the sauna, my glasses were too fogged up to notice the three guys in bathing suits sitting cosily on the bench, revelling in the steam. “Mobile Sweat” was part of Nordic Bridges, a cross-country fest that highlighted cultural work from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. I love how communal saunas invite a sense of belonging, which is why I am intrigued by Art Spin’s promise of a larger “Public Sweat” in 2023.

Art Toronto made me laugh. I don’t know if we’re all seeking levity or if gallerists are enjoying some great edibles, but there was a general optimism and brightness to much of the work that was shown at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in late October. Plenty of cheek, too: I am a long-time fan of Cal Lane, who uses a blow torch to transform heavy materials like industrial steel into delicate lacy confections, and her intricate weight bench “Queen Size” did not disappoint. I also snacked on Maggie Hall’s photorealistic Hawkins Cheezies paintings and Erica Eyres’ ceramic bowls of Fruit Loops.

I am a huge fan of Michael Dumontier’s and Neil Farber’s collaborative painted works. Their 2013 book “Animals With Sharpies” (exactly as it sounds) has a revered place on my shelves. At the Patel Brown booth, paintings of faux book covers and titles from their latest project, “Library,” were on display, creating a large gridded wall of chuckles. I would really like to read “I Was in Love With You, Because I Didn’t Know You” or “Things Rabbits Sort of Like.” If you missed Art Toronto, their book, published by Drawn & Quarterly, would make a great gift for any designers or bibliophiles on your list.

The Gardiner went small and tall. The ceramics museum hosted two of the most provocative exhibitions this year, exploring contemporary concerns in gloriously dramatic ways. First up was Shary Boyle’s theatrical “Outside the Palace of Me,” which featured ceramics, paintings, music and animatronics touching on a variety of themes from Black, drag and genderqueer beauty to her working-class roots and the ongoing effects of colonization. I have thought often of Boyle’s “White Elephant,” an animatronic sculpture of an eight-foot-tall woman with porcelain skin, spidery limbs and a head that would spin unexpectedly, drawing attention to the discomfort of white guilt.

Montreal sculptor Karine Giboulo’s “Housewarming,” which runs until May 7, reimagines her home during COVID-19, filling the space with more than 500 miniature polymer clay figures, each empathetically treated as an individual with needs, wants and sorrows. Touching on themes as diverse as mental health, the environment, elder care and homelessness, Giboulo’s feat of an exhibition is poignant and familiar, with a perfect touch of humour.

Art returned to the streets. This year saw the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival in May and Nuit Blanche in October return to pre-COVID spectacle. As December’s grey skies meet the dirty slush, I long to return to Tyler Mitchell’s Contact multi-venue exhibitions, which embraced the greenery of his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. In particular, his 13 oversized portraits outside of Metro Hall celebrating Black skin filled the street with luminescent figures and floral beauty.

The free all-nighter art fest Nuit Blanche featured works by more than 150 artists, for the first time spanning the full GTA. I clocked many kilometres that night, but my favourite remains Nunatsiavut artist Mark Igloliorte’s installation “Saputiit — Fish Weir Skate Plaza,” inspired by stone arrangements Inuit use to mark locations of fish spawning in rivers. It was exciting to see so many skaters engage with the space over the night, the sound of wheels mixing with the DJed music as they were cheered on by an audience using a special mobile app to make virtual Arctic char swim through the square.

Although ArtworxTO, Toronto’s year dedicated to public art projects is winding down, there are many new pieces worth checking out, including Jordan Bennett’s brightly patterned mural “pi’tawita’iek: we go up river” at OCAD University, inspired by Mi’kmaq porcupine quillwork. (Bennett’s site-specific exhibition at the school’s Onsite Gallery was another highlight of the year.)

“Afrophilia” by Frantz Brent-Harris at the Toronto Sculpture Garden on King Street East stands out in any season. A series of 10 bright orange and red busts perched atop stands, the artist describes his striking work as a “love letter to Black people.” My last visit there I saw at least two groups of people waiting patiently to take selfies in front of this powerful piece, a testament to its resonant message.

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