LUCIDMEDIA

The New and Improved AGO

Written by Nadine Bachan Wednesday, 29 April 2009 10:03

The Art Gallery of Ontario underwent major renovations and redesign, under the instruction and vision of Frank Gehry and Gehry International Architects Inc., which began in 2005. The expansion project came to be known simply as Transformation AGO. The gallery reopened to the public in November 2008. This April, I finally got the chance to visit the Toronto landmark.

Upon approaching the gallery from the street, you are already awed by the new design. The new wooden and glass façade that curves outward on Dundas Street is a striking sight. Upon entrance, visitors are right away faced with another interesting design, a tiny swirl entry to the front desks, which I’m sure both children and adults got a kick out of. I profess to have giggled a bit as I swerved around the wooden entry. There are, of course, two straight walk-ups on either side of the swirl for those who wish not to become a spectacle.

Walking through the five floors, I was impressed. The flow of the spaces was smooth, allowing for easily-engrossing view and study of the artwork, collections, and installations. The new design has apparent allowed more space for visitors to roam about and view. Some rooms, especially those housing the large European portraits and paintings were almost overwhelming — every bit of wall space was filled. The breadth of the AGO’s current collections and exhibits are amazing: Canadian, Aboriginal, Contemporary, European, African, and a vast catalogue of drawings, and photography. Artists represented (in no particular order) include David Milne, The Group of Seven, Monet, Andy Warhol, Henry Moore, Peter Paul Rubens, Tom Thomson, and Picasso. 

The varied lighting worked well as one moves from to room to room and floor to floor. The darkened areas where the older artwork could be viewed worked well, gave the pieces a priceless, almost pious stance. The small viewing areas created mazes on these floors, which made it very easy to lose yourself as you looked at some of these achingly beautiful pieces. It was enough to get you a bit disoriented, but not really minding it as each turn around the corner brought you to new wonders. The brightly-lit, white-walled, large-windowed, open concept areas that held the contemporary pieces set the appropriate viewing mood as well.

I was, however, irked by the presence of small steps on some floors where there seemed to be no wheelchair access. While I am sure there were ramps in the vicinity for the disabled, these accessible areas were not clearly visible, which would result in having to halt your experience of taking in the artwork in order to find the necessary places to access these elevated points. The same issue occurred again while walking up the glass overlook of the Grange, which can be accessed on the fourth or fifth floor. The staircase in beautifully designed and allows viewing of the city across Grange Park. Unfortunately, those using wheelchairs or other mobility devices would be unable to partake of the view or experience the exterior design as it is a stairway without accessibility. In a city like Toronto, with a significant presence of people with disabilities and the increasing population of the elderly, I found this important to note. While aesthetically pleasing, these design choices were also socially perplexing.

For a breather, visitors can enjoy a coffee and snack at the indoor café or sit down inside the wood and glass façade, looking out on the shops and buildings on Dundas. Another addition to the gallery is FRANK restaurant, where you can partake in lunch, brunch, or dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. Of course, there is also the shop on the main floor, should you decide to purchase a souvenir, book, or gift.

Overall, the renovation has been widely praised and hailed as a success. While the city spent close to 300 million dollars (a mind-boggling amount of money!) on the building’s makeover, I find it to be a worthy effort and investment for the city and for collective spirit of the people here in general. Perhaps the beautiful new exterior will draw in more people, residents and tourists alike, to behold some of the wonderful and magnificent collections within. If anything, the time and commitment spent on the AGO is an encouraging nod for the liberal, artistic community, despite the Conservative outlook that such matters are not all that important and amidst great concerns regarding the rapidly-accelerating plummet of the economy. This rejuvenation seems to state “Yes, we still care about the arts.”