Featuring exhibitions of work by Kapwani Kiwanga, Athena Papadopoulos, Susan For Susan and Serkan Özkaya opening this spring
TORONTO, Jan. 12, 2023 – The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) announces its 2023 programming, with new exhibitions opening across the spring, summer and fall seasons.
After a successful year of programming in 2022, MOCA aims to continue to spotlight world renowned artists and artworks, be internationally recognized for a programme of new commissions, and provide a community space for enrichment, collaboration and creativity.
Spring 2023
2023 programming at MOCA Toronto kicks off in February with four exhibitions by artists who are Canadian and/or based in Toronto and with numerous never before seen artworks.
The first major survey exhibition in Canada by internationally celebrated Canadian/French artist Kapwani Kiwanga titled Remediation takes place across two-floors of the Museum. Alongside recent key artworks, Kiwanga is creating five new commissions and a site-specific sisal installation, that will all be produced locally. Through this curated selection, Kiwanga expands on her research into how botany has long held a relationship to exploitation and acts of resistance and how plant life has and may intervene in the rejuvenation of contaminated environments. The exhibition is co-organized by MOCA Toronto and the Remai Modern, Saskatoon.
For Greek/Canadian artist Athena Papadopoulos’ first institutional solo exhibition in Canada, MOCA has commissioned a site-specific exhibition of large-scale sculptural works. Papadopoulos’ distinct sculptures are built up of layers of material excess and have been shaped by the isolating experience of the last two years. Created under the title The New Alphabet, the artworks were made in the UK but will be completed locally in a studio in Toronto.
Collaborative arts duo Susan For Susan’s exhibition Trade Show arranges a set of design propositions for an apartment interior, suspended from a gantry system, with a dance between what is playful and what is industrial. The composition of potential product and furniture pieces marks Susan For Susan’s first outing in a museum context, and continues MOCA’s commitment to exhibiting cultural practitioners whose practices bridge disciplines, particularly between art, architecture, and design.
On the ground floor in the North End gallery dedicated to single presentations, MOCA is displaying the compelling installation ni4ni from conceptual Turkish artist Serkan Özkaya. This work uses digital technology, combined with a massive mirrored sphere, to create an immersive, site-specific, visitor experience that is poignant, reflexive, and encourages audiences to explore ideas of time, perception and self within the space.
Also continuing into Spring 2023 is AR exhibition Seeing the Invisible following its opening last fall, taking visitors on an exploration of virtual art and nature activating MOCA, Sorauren Park and High Park, with artworks displayed and experienced using a mobile app.
MOCA will continue to commission its lightbox and south-end stairwell, opening with new works by Toronto-based artists Patrick Cruz and Matt Nish-Lapidus.
“At MOCA, we strive to showcase exceptional, accessible and interdisciplinary programming that closely aligns with our mission, vision and values” said Kathleen Bartels, Executive Director and CEO, MOCA. “MOCA’s 2023 programming is no exception, with exhibitions that strive for excellence from a multiplicity of perspectives, showcasing high-cabler contemporary art from Canadian and international artists.”
Later in 2023
Looking further into 2023, MOCA will launch its summer programming, which includes: the continuation of Remediation, activated by music, sound and movement performances, as well as a new project by Toronto-based painter Emmanuel Osahor. In addition, the exhibition Impostor Cities is presented in full for the first time at MOCA investigating how Canadian cities double as others on screen.
MOCA’s fall programming will include a solo exhibition by acclaimed Vancouver-based artist, Liz Magor, offering sculptural moments of suspense; as well as a major, site-specific installation by British artist Phyllida Barlow that will encompass the entire entrance floor.
MOCA is also working towards its second exhibition in The City is a Collection series, which gives audiences a unique opportunity to access privately held, significant contemporary artworks.
For more information on MOCA’s fall programming and to purchase tickets, visit www.moca.ca.
Support
Visionary Support for MOCA in 2023 is provided by Gilles and Julia Ouellette, The Price Family, Castlepoint Numa and an Anonymous donor.
Kiwanga’s Remediation is supported by BMO as Presenting Sponsor, Richard and Donna Ivey as Lead Supporter, Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and Fondation DRG as Foundational Supporters, Partners in Art, Hal Jackman Foundation, Liza Mauer and Andrew Sheiner as Major Supporters and the Support of Consulat Général de France à Toronto. Özkaya’s ni4ni is supported by The Schulich Foundation. Seeing the Invisible is supported by Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and The Schulich Foundation as Foundational Supporters and Kiki and Ian Delaney as a Major Supporter.
MOCA is grateful for ongoing support from the City of Toronto, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
About MOCA Toronto
The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) presents rotating exhibitions that prioritize twenty-first-century artistic production, primarily through commissioning of new work. Artists, partnerships, experimentation, and reciprocal initiatives are at the centre of MOCA’s mission as a locally rooted and internationally connected organization. Focused on core values promoting equity, inclusion, access, courage, and responsibility. MOCA fosters active participation and engagement to serve as a welcoming cultural hub in the hyper-diverse city of Toronto.
