Starting at Koffler Gallery at 2 PM, join us for two artist-led walkthroughs of our newest exhibitions, ending at Koffler301 (3rd floor) at around 3:15 PM.

Navigating a Glorious Catastrophe: A guided tour with Gillian Iles

Moving through an installation of paintings, sculptures, video, and precariously balanced objects, Gillian Iles will share insights into the ideas behind the work and the dualities at play. Explore with the artist the exhibition’s three interconnected sections, shifting between perspectives of inside and outside, “them” and “us”, and moments where the catastrophic and the glorious intersect.

Walkthrough & Talk: Kalmplex on Blessed and Highly Favoured

Artist Kalmplex guides us through Blessed and Highly Favoured at Koffler301. He shares his process of creating portraits of those he considers African royalty, starting with the eyes. Discover Kalmplex's practice and learn more about his dedication to community, celebration, and connection.

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GILLIAN ILES

Since 1997 Gillian Iles has exhibited in public institutions, artist-run centres and commercial galleries in Europe, the United States, South America and Canada. Gillian’s ideas draw from current events and their relationship to individual experience. She finds commentary within power dynamics, social constructs and systems of belief related to colonial Western culture; particularly their manufactured existence, illusionary value, tenuous persistence and questionable motives.

Gillian’s practice spans painting, sculpture, constructions, sound & video. Installations merge real and illusionary space into a composite of realities and points of view. Often large-scale, her installations respond to the opportunities of a space and ways to implicate the viewer. She is a founding member of two artist collective galleries in Toronto - Propeller and Loop, and has been with Red Head collective since 2012. She teaches at OCADU and Sheridan College in Canada.

KALMPLEX

Kalmplex is a multimedia visual artist who was born and raised in Toronto to Jamaican and Ghanaian ancestry.

Painting, photography, videography and djing vinyl is a prominent forte. Kalmplex has been independently documenting art and culture in Toronto for over 2 decades. Kalmplex has participated in Contact Photography Festival for various years, solo and group shows at The Run Gallery, Antikka Cafe, Cafe Espresso, Dbeastro. Kalmplex was the inaugural artist in residence at Uma Nota’s Art Vessel projects and has also participated at the Geary Art Crawl.

Photo credit, Gillian Iles (left): Max Power

Photo credit (right): Kalmplex