Glorious Catastrophe | Gillian Iles
Koffler Arts will welcome Toronto artist Gillian Iles to the Koffler Gallery to present her new exhibition, Glorious Catastrophe (March 26 - June 13, 2026). In this exhibition, Iles delves into the chaos of the current moment by exploring paradoxical themes of devastation, wonder, precarity, power, dereliction, and glory.
The installation, which includes paintings, sculptures, videos, and projections, will inhabit the entire gallery space. Much of the work will be precariously installed, gesturing toward the fragility of the world right now. Paintings on Tyvek and glassine are strung up with thread, and furniture pieces rest on tea cups.
Glorious Catastrophe has three parts: the one-eyed man is king and Not like the other are companion pieces that explore ideas of us and them, using the metaphor of a hunting blind. the one-eyed man is king places the viewer outside the blind, akin to the role of a target. Not like the other brings the viewer inside the blind, looking out at images framed by the geometric shapes of the windows. All and nothing juxtaposes contradictory moments – the confluence of the glorious and catastrophic. Iles includes international and local references through a metaphoric lens, from the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain to the 2025 Central Texas floods to Toronto’s encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dualities present in the exhibition speak to a world in division, while capturing a suspended moment in which outcomes are yet to be determined, and an opportunity for something different or better remains in the air. Throughout, there is an allure of intersections, potentials, and the mysteries they contain.
For media inquiries please contact: Laura Chapnick-Klein lchapnick@kofflerarts.org
