Jon Sasaki: Homage
Jon Sasaki: Homage
The Toronto conceptual artist Jon Sasaki (Class of ’96) began his career in the mid-nineties as a landscape painter. As the years have gone by, his approach to art making has evolved to include an ever-widening array of media, but one constant remains: his near-devotional attentiveness to the Group of Seven and their legacy in Canadian art. In this project, which was undertaken with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Sasaki takes his devotion to almost comic excess—swabbing the palettes used by the Group members and Tom Thomson held in the McMichael collection and growing the resulting bacterial cultures in petri dishes for his eventual large-scale photography. The results are microbial landscapes in their own right—records of slow blooms of colour and texture that exalt the natural world at the microscopic level while honouring the ghosts of Canadian art history. Sasaki’s photographs are thus cultural in both senses of the word, and intriguing testaments to the power of close looking. In this exhibition, they are shown alongside the objects that gave them life.
The Owens is thrilled to present this exhibition as part of its 130th anniversary celebrations. Join us on May 28 at 5:00 pm for a special gathering to mark the occasion; the artist will be present.
About the Artist
Jon Sasaki is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist exploring several streams of inquiry that regularly intertwine. While immersing himself in a landscape painting practice, (BFA Mount Allison University, 1996) he began his investigation into the mythologization of the Group of Seven and the trope of the Romantic individual confronting the forces of nature. Today he continues this inquiry in video, photography, sculpture, performance and installation, probing the ways the landscape genre dovetails with broader questions around our national identity.
Sasaki’s work has been exhibited across Canada at The Richmond Art Gallery (Richmond, BC), the Esker Foundation (Calgary, AB), The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, ON), the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON) and The Rooms (St. John’s, NL), as well as venues abroad. He has completed public art commissions both collaboratively and independently for the City of Mississauga, Toronto’s Waterfront, Sheridan College (Oakville, ON), the Toronto Transit Commission, and the City of Barrie Ontario. Sasaki is represented by Clint Roenisch Gallery in Toronto.
Support
This exhibition was organized and circulated by the McMicheal Canadian Art Collection. It was sponsored by Richard and Donna Ivey and supported by Contact Photography Festival.
Accessibility
This exhibition is located on the main-floor. The stairs to the Owens from the entrance nearest the University Chapel have a handrail. There is also ramp access at this entrance, however, the ramp is steep. The stairs to the Owens entrance off York Street also have a handrail, but there is no ramp. The main floor of the Owens is wheelchair accessible. Our second-floor gallery is not wheelchair accessible. Two flights of stairs lead to the second floor. Find more information at owensartgallery.com/visit/accessibility/
Top Image: Jon Sasaki, Microbes Swabbed from a Palette Used by F.H. Varley (detail), 2020, archival print, 91.44 x 91.44 cm, image courtesy of the artist and Clint Roenisch Gallery (Toronto)
