
Imagine waking up one day and deciding that with all the money you've made from stocks in your busy, capitalist centred life, you're going to start a collection. A collection of splendid things. Of ceramic pieces from across the globe to decorate your home. And in just 8 years, you've collected so much, you just have to open a museum. A dreamy museum with over 5,000 objects. Well, that's exactly what George Gardiner did and the Gardiner museum was born in Toronto in 1984.
Nestled between the posh shopping streets of Yorkville and often in the shadows of the ROM (which is opposite), the Gardiner Museum has recently reopened after a full scale transformation. The ground floor will be reopened following its completion in November 2025, but in the meantime, there is a lot to explore. From a wide variety of porcelain from Europe to Asia, and even some Picasso plates on show, the museum is a treat to walk around and it's super cool to see the diversity of ceramics and the skilled craftsmanship of so many makers from across the globe under one roof.
Some of the highlights walking around the two floors on show were the array of East Asian pottery, often depicting quirky animals, lingzhi mushrooms as a popular motif and dragons and other mythical beasts accompanied by short stories or the tradition behind them. A selection highlighting Indigenous art and another on ceramics as a way to portray belief, religion and ritual, a topic that would fill a whole amazing exhibition on it's own! Not forgetting the collection of modern Mexican art in the basement with black clay transformed into haunting skeleton figures which have stuck in the mind since our eyes saw them.
A little mention, it's currently pay what you can until the full building reopens... That means for as little as 1 Canadian Dollar (roughly 55p), you can see so much world class art. Amazing.
Why Souza loves it...
Lots and lots of wonky creatures to spot.
Ceramics are great to look at. Thumbs up.
Amazing little gift shop selling affordable art and gifts from local ceramic makers.
Cute little space for ceramic classes in the basement.
Acknowledgement of the Indigenous art as part of the collection and plans to highlight and celebrate this further.
Good benches for sleeping on (a lady was there with her eyes closed for a while, so must be good).
Art from lots of different countries including Japan, South America, Europe, China and Canada. Something for everyone! Very inspiring!
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