On view: the work of the late Denyse Thomasos | Art buzz

In a special career retrospective, the work of the late Trinidadian-Canadian artist Denyse Thomasos is on show in Canada

  • Denyse with Babylon in NYC Studio, 2005. © The Estate of Denyse Thomasos and Olga Korper Gallery. Photo: Samein Priester
  • Denyse Thomasos. Maiden Flight, 2010. Acrylic on canvas, overall: 152.4 × 182.9 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Gabrielle Israelievitch in memory of her beloved husband Jacques, 2018. © The Estate of Denyse Thomasos and Olga Korper Gallery 2018/5

Abstract-style paintings that convey architectural structures — including housing blocks, harbours, scaffolding and more — are hallmarks of the late Trinidadian-Canadian artist Denyse Thomasos’ (1964–2012) work. Thomasos won numerous prestigious awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Canada Council Millennium Grant, a Pew Fellowship, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award in painting. And, in Denyse Thomasos: Just Beyond — a career retrospective at Canada’s Art Gallery of Ontario, running until 20 February — more than 70 paintings and works on paper show how she challenged the limits of abstraction, saturating her canvases with issues that were in turn personal and socio-political. Many pieces are being debuted for the first time, and the curators are supplementing the exhibition with sketches, photographs, and newly uncovered documentary footage of her working in studio. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the showcase.

Funding provided by the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme Direct Support Grants Programme.
The views expressed on this website are those of the the authors and do not reflect those of the Direct Support Grants Programme.

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