Art Toronto, Canada’s leading art fair, marked its 26th edition with a vibrant display of contemporary creativity. Uniquely designed spaces offered an immersive experience throughout the venue, where striking installations were encountered from the lobby entrance and interwoven across the fair’s diverse presentations.
One of the standout presentations came by BAND Gallery—the Black Artists’ Network in Dialogue—a Black-owned and Black-focused organization dedicated to serving a diverse public both in Canada and internationally. At booth A10, titled Transitions & Transmissions, BAND (Toronto) presented the work of artist Damien Ajavon. The installation invites reflection on the spaces between memory, matter, and imagination, encouraging viewers to pause within these shifting intersections.
Damien Ajavon, Le griot et le tisserand, BAND Gallery (Toronto)
Positioned nearby was a wall displaying works by several artists, notably Alicia Henry and Judy Chartrand. TrépanierBaer Gallery (Calgary) showcased Henry’s remarkable Untitled (Inspiration for Clerestory) (2018), along with several outstanding and previously unseen pieces by the artist.
Alicia Henry, Untitled, TrépanierBaer Gallery (Calgary)
Judy Chartrand, a contemporary artist of Manitoba Cree heritage based in Vancouver, presented lustrous ceramic works that, while visually captivating, powerfully address themes of racism, ignorance, and privilege.
Judy Chartrand, Don’t You Worry About them birds, Macauley+ Co. Fine Art (Vancouver)
At Art Toronto, ELLEPHANT Gallery (Montreal) showcased artists whose works draw on ancestral knowledge to imagine equitable and thriving futures. Among them, Xiaojing Yan presented a sculptural installation created from mushrooms she cultivated and dried over six months, evoking healing and transformation. Glenn Gear, whose practice is shaped by Inuit ways of learning, explored the intricate relationships between humans, animals, and the land, revealing the cycles and connections that bind them.
Xiaojing Yan, Lingzhy Girl, 2025, ELLEPHANT Gallery (Montreal)
Glenn Gear, Whale Tail, 2022. ELLEPHANT Gallery (Montreal)
Continuing the fair’s commitment to showcasing diverse voices and global perspectives, Art Toronto introduced Arte Sur, a new section debuting at the 2025 edition that celebrates the vibrant and diverse artistry of Latin America.
Judas Galeria Valparaiso, Arte Sur booth
Following the international focus of Arte Sur, the fair also highlighted Canadian talent through the Joe Plaskett Foundation, to support young Canadian artists studying in Europe. Claire Drummond, the most recent recipient of the $65,000 biennial Plaskett Award, challenges the notion that artworks centered on maternity and domesticity are aesthetically or politically marginal.
Claire Drummond, like the thud of a great beast stamping, The Joe Plaskett Foundation
Taglialatella Gallery, known for modern and contemporary art in New York, Toronto, and Paris, specializes in Pop and Street Art. At Art Toronto, the gallery featured a collaborative installation by Trevon Wheatley and Cosmo Dean—a seven-tier rotating sculpture of abstract forms, evoking playfulness, nostalgia, and shifting meanings. Originally presented in 2023 at TTC Lower Bay Station as part of the Yorkville Murals, individual symbolic pieces from the installation are also available for sale.
Trevor Wheatley and Cosmo Dean, End to End, 2024, Taglialatella Galleries (Toronto, New York, Paris)
Art Toronto 2025 brings together galleries from around the world, each presenting a rich selection of artists’ works, with standout highlights including Arte Sur and Indigenous art exhibitions. The fair is well-organized, featuring engaging art talks and curator visits, making it a vibrant celebration of global creativity and cultural dialogue.
Text and photo: Nusrat Papia
As I viewed the fair from the balcony and watched the bustle between the booths, my excitement for Art Toronto 2025 steadily grew. Immediately entering the RBC Principal Sponsor booth, I recognized the painted figures of Preston Pavlis, Night Room (2023). To my delight, the installation opened, and patrons could witness the back of the painting, playing into the speakeasy theme of the booth.
RBC Principal Sponsor Group, booth view with crowd looking at Preston Pavlis, Night Room, 2023. oil on canvas, quilted onto fabric backing, 87.5 x 64 inches
The Daniel Faria Gallery space was the next to catch my eye, specifically Oluseye’s Good Luck Totem III (Dia de Oxalá) (2025) with its vending machine of cowrie shells.
Booth view with Oluseye, Good Luck Totem III (Dia de Oxalá), 2025, wood, vending machine, cowrie shells, 85.5 x 13 x 13 inches (in the middle)
The mesmerizing conch form of Pelorus (2025) by Jennifer Rose Sciarrino can be found here, beckoning visitors.
Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, Pelorus, 2025, alabaster, 11 x 22 x 10 inches
Walking among the visitors, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka’s works on the external wall of Patel Brown’s booth were a captivating vision. The trio installation of Lying Down (2025), navigating (2025) and Inside and beneath (2025), swept upwards with passersby. Also sharing this wall is a work from Catherine Blackburn of Fazakas Gallery (Vancouver). Territories and Time (2025) with its braiding of hair from one body mirrored into another, creating a sense of the celestial especially given the geode impression at its centre.
L-R: Patel Brown Gallery (Toronto), Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Lying down, 2025, linocut print, indigo ink, vintage wash from Kashiki Seishi, Konnyaku, 79 x 22 1/2 inches, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, navigating, 2025, hand-carved and hand-printed linocuts, sumi ink, indigo dye, wash from Keshiki Seishi, 73 x 30 1/2 inches, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Inside and beneath, (2025), linocut print, indigo ink, vintage wash from Kashiki Seishi, Konnyaki, 71 x 22 1/2 inches, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Soft snow, hard water (blue), 2025. Hand-carved and hand-printed linocut on wash from Kashiki Seishi, 50 x 39 1/2 inches, (framed centre) and Fazakas Gallery (Vancouver), Catherine Blackburn, Territories and Time, 2025, Laminated photo on dibond, edition of 5, 30 x 60 inches
Towards the end of the evening, there were several people ambling about the booths wanting to maximize how much they could see. I was drawn to the sculpture Goblin Teapot (2025) by Lindsay Montgomery of Chiguer Art Contemporain (Montréal/Quebec City). The goblin’s mischievous smile prompted my own as I imagined it singing, “here is my handle” for its tail, and “here is my spout” for the second face pushing the spout from its mouth.
Chiguer Art Contemporain, Lindsay Montgomery, Goblin Teapot, 2025, glazed earthenware, 15 x 18.5 x 6.3 inches
The final booth I entered was that of Smokestack Gallery (Hamilton). The still life prints by Kristin Sjaarda were a moody, beauty-in-decay, conclusion to the evening. Flanked by Lauchie Keid’s armoured swine of Sus Fidelus (2025) on the left, and Kristiina Lahde and Adam David Brown’s phases of the moon collaborations Under the Influence series (2023) on the right, Sjaarda’s cool-toned still life Winter (2025) sits at the centre. The intermingling of the works balances out the hibernal energy, as there is the faith or promise of a changed state.
On my way out I saw an amazing installation by Judy Nakagawa, Failure to Contain, 2025.
Judy Nakagawa, Failure to Contain, 2025. Bamboo strips, printed text, 168 x 144 x 48 inches presented by de Montigny Contemporary
As the remaining crowd of attendees left the fair at the close, one could hear excited talk of the spots they will visit in the subsequent days, the engaging conversations had, and the pleasure of possibilities that Art Toronto offers.
Text and photo: Rashana Youtzy
*Featured image: Smokestack Gallery’s booth