the modern.toronto A new Toronto museum for non-objective painting and sculpture.

Transcription

1

2

3 A new Toronto museum for non-objective painting and sculpture. With his new museum of modern art, Ben Woolfitt wants to bring to Toronto ambitious international art not previously seen in this city. The museum will be a great contribution to Toronto s already exciting art scene. Kenworth W. Moffett Ben Woolfitt s new museum is certain to be an important addition to the cultural resources of Toronto. With its focus on abstract art and the ambitious exhibition schedule he is planning for it, this museum will complement existing institutions and make a notable contribution to life in this city. Ken Carpenter

4 the museum

5 The modern.toronto will be located at 1153 Queen Street West, at the heart of a new and very hip area. The venue will occupy three floors of a new building which is currently being designed by Toronto architect Peter Clewes. To the East of the new building will be a park, which will incorporate sculptural elements into its design. The purpose of this new museum is to exhibit work not commonly seen in Canadian museums, in particular in the Toronto area. The idea is not to duplicate the efforts of other venues, but rather to show work which is innovative and compelling but more difficult to find. Physically the museum will be composed of three floors of approximately 5000 square feet per floor. This will allow for the exhibition of shows of substantial size. The building will be on the west side of Abell Street, next to the sculpture garden which will be located directly east of Abell. The museum s focus will be on non-objective abstract painting and sculpture. While this work receives less attention from the larger museums of today, it deserves a place to be seen, as it has much to offer today s younger painters. Balanced attention will be given to emerging artists as well as seasoned artists with established, international reputations. Some artists that will be approached to be shown include Bram Bogart, Tàpies, Soulages, and North Americans Jack Bush, Ken Noland, and Jules Olitski. The museum has a responsibility to support and exhibit younger and emerging artists, and this will be accomplished by shows in the summertime. The modern.toronto is at the core of an exciting, arts-themed revitalization of Queen West and is dedicated to bringing great art to the neighbourhood and to Toronto at large.

6 the sculpture roof garden

7 The rooftop floor of the museum will be dedicated to a sculpture garden meant to give visitors an opportunity to see the link between two great forms of art, painting and sculpture. This garden will be an excellent complement to the public park planned for the neighbourhood.

8 the queen west triangle park The Modern.toronto will be situated at the centre of an exciting, arts-themed development project for the Queen West Triangle, a plan which includes the creation of a new park for the public. This park space will cover.4 hectares of land to the east of the Museum. There will be an art component to the park, with plans to incorporate striking sculptural elements. The design for this community space will be aesthetically, structurally, functionally, and ecologically connected to the Triangle, and will act as a safe, arts-oriented gathering place for this great neighbourhood. This new park, along with the Modern.toronto and other ongoing projects in the Queen West Triangle, is sure to transform the neighbourhood into a real destination on the cultural map of Toronto.

9 1153 Queen Street W. X

10

11 The project s ambition is to become a significant new arts institution in the emergent Queen West cultural neighbourhood of Toronto and a unique facility in Canada. It will be housed within a new six storey structure comprised of street level retail, two floors of artists housing and a new three level contemporary art gallery and roof top sculpture garden. It will also include the retention and renovation of the existing two storey Woolfit s store and lofts above. The galleries will start on the fourth floor and be connected though a series of continuous ramps in a manner similar to Frank Lloyd Wright s Guggenheim Museum and most recently reinterpreted in Kazuyo Sejima s NewMuseum in New York. They will be expressed externally in the building facade using the ramp as a bifurcation to the retail and artists housing on the lower levels, and create an iconic definition to the new Abell Street park. Peter Clewes architectsalliance

12 A new Toronto museum for non-objective painting and sculpture. Ben Woolfitt Woolfitt s Art Enterprises Queen Street West Toronto, ON M6J 1J4 bwoolfitt@woolfitts.com