On Tuesday, I finally got around to renewing my AGO membership – it had been a while and although I had poked my head in since the Gehry transformation, I hadn’t given the new building a good look-see.
It really is phenomenal. The use of wood, the bendy staircases and more than anything, the increased space to show the AGO’s fabulous collection have really combined to make for a special building.
I took advantage of being there to check out the current big show, “Drama and Desire: Artists and the Theatre” and while I found the first few rooms to be rather “meh,” I thought that the latter sections were excellent. It was a wonderful surprise to walk into the 19th Century France room and be greeted not only by some nice chamber music (after the heavy intonations of a Stratford production of Lear had resonated in another area) but also by Degas’s delightful “Blue Dancers.”
Equally intriguing was a chance to see “The Opera Orchestra” up close:
After taking in “Drama and Desire,” I just wandered the building a bit, finding the inner bendy staircase first and then the exterior one that takes you up to the espresso bar (a nice touch). I also checked out the Grange, which is now the members’ lounge as well as the Galeria Italia, which is the most breathtaking aspect of the transformed AGO. The arching Douglas Fir beams, which serve as the spine of the glass facade, are magnificent. A must see for anyone coming to Toronto.
PS: In my whirlwind tour of the building and collection, I did take time to see some of Varley’s work (my favourite of the Group of Seven and a very under-appreciated portratist) and the special room dedicated to Frans Masereel’s colour prints and engravings. The two pieces depicting a 6 day bicycle race are wonderful.
Some Varley for those who don’t know him:
[Note: this portrait of Vera, one of my favourite paintings, hangs at the National Gallery in Ottawa]
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