Toronto's Top 5 Must-See Art Exhibits this Summer

Why is it a must-see? Historical painting by Pan-American heavyweights of art. The AGO is hosting this wonderful historical exhibition of works created between the early 19th and early 20th centuries, just as the Americas were breaking with their colonial overlords, becoming full-fledged nations in their own right. Admire the work of our continent’s greatest artists of the time, showing us the potential they saw in their newly-established countries. Picturing the Americas is presented as a series of encounters between artworks, travelers and the land. The viewer will see beloved and unfamiliar sites as seen through the eyes of celebrated landscape artists. The inspiring works of Brazil’s Félix Émile Taunay and Tarsila do Amaral; Mexico’s Eugenio Landesio and Gerardo Murillo ‘Dr. Atl,’ Canada’s Cornelius Krieghoff and Lawren S. Harris and Frederic E. Church and Georgia O’Keeffe from the United States among others await your visit. June 20 – September 20, 2015Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West Toronto, ON

Why is it a must-see? Canadian photography that broke out of the pictorial box.Photography wasn’t always considered an art form. When the medium first began to take hold in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, awards were given out to talented photographers, in lieu of a traditional art market. At a time when photographers were styling their work after established painting styles, Dutch photojournalist John Vanderpant migrated to Canada. He cultivated a photographic style that emphasized light and form, showing subjects in focus and detail. In effort to refine this blunt style, Vanderpant led a group of his contemporaries to develop the new so-called ‘straight photography’ of the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. June 26 – September 12, 2015 Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1026 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON

Why is it a must-see? A performative art experience for the mind and body. Commissioned by the Art Gallery of York University, Ring of Fire is a 300-person strong street procession, two years in the making, hosted by internationally renowned Trinidadian artist Marlon Griffith. Staged at the ParaPan American Games, the performance takes place on Sunday, August 9 along University Avenue from Queens Park to City Hall. This large-scale art project is ‘a living line,’ the result of what organizers call ‘a trans-cultural and inter-disciplinary collaboration between individuals, groups, and organizations’ with the purpose of raising critical awareness around accessibility in solidarity with people with disabilities. Dancers with disabilities from Picasso Pro and Equal Grounds, the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, members of Toronto’s Capoeira Angôla community, and young spoken word poets from Jane-Finch, Malvern and Regent Park give life to the performance. ‘Ring of Fire is a living line and a symbol of endurance, solidarity, and social awakening,’ according to its website.

Why is it a must see? Superstar photographer connecting The Americas. Known for his lyrical, spontaneous photographs of everyday life, André Kertesz‘s black-and-white images have exerted a strong influence on both art photography and photojournalism. Considered the father of street photography, he is also credited with making the first distortion of the human form and the first nighttime photograph, both radical departures from photographic practices in the early 20th century. After Kertész and his brother Eugenie fled Hungary, André immigrated to New York while his brother immigrated to Buenos Aires. The two remained close and frequently visited each other. This exhibition tells the story of the Americas – of movement and displacement. July 7th to August, 2015Corkin Gallery, 7 Tank House Lane, Distillery District Toronto, ON