From imaginative monsters to Nazi history to indigenous art to crafted textiles, there’s a wealth of exhibits to experience this season
Delve into the collection of imaginative items at Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters.
Raise a Flag: Works from
the Indigenous Art Collection (2000–2015)
To Dec. 10
OCAD University, Canada’s largest art and design school, christens its new 8,000-foot flagship galley in September with an exhibit that creates a dialogue surrounding Canada’s national identity. Works by more than two dozen First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists will be on display from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s comprehensive art collection.
Onsite Gallery, 199 Richmond St. W., ocadu.ca
Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters
To Jan. 7
Few modern filmmakers have made their stamp on the fantasy genre like Guillermo del Toro. This fall, the Art Gallery of Ontario exhibits a selection of items from del Toro’s famous personal collection of curiosities, including art, books and ephemera surrounding the afterlife, magic, occultism, alchemy, freaks and imaginary creatures. This show provides a window into the creative process of the mind behind Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim and The Hobbit.
Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W.
To Jan. 28
In 2000, architectural historian Robert Jan van Pelt proved in a landmark court case that Auschwitz was purposefully designed by the Nazis as a death camp. His research became a source for the emerging discipline of architectural forensics. The Evidence Room—an acclaimed exhibition when it debuted last year at the International Architecture Exhibition in Venice—displays key objects central to that research, including full-scale reconstructions of three major components of the Auschwitz gas chambers along with more than 60 plaster casts of additional architectural evidence.
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park
Diligence and Elegance: The Nature of Japanese Textiles
To Jan. 21
This exhibit displays 19th- and 20th-century fabrics and garments from Kyoto’s professional weaving workshops alongside Canadian-made cotton, cloth and silk kimonos created using traditional techniques. The show features work by contemporary artists Hiroko Karuno and Keiko Shintani, both of whose work has evolved from Japanese textile traditions.
Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Ave.
