Three days in Toronto. Short, fast, and packed with purpose.
I was back in town for client meetings and to finally see, in person, the largest mural project I have ever completed. The piece at the Eaton Centre for Cadillac Fairview wrapped in December and spans over 27,000 square feet. Standing in front of it now, camera in hand, felt very different than watching progress photos roll in from across the country.
The meetings were solid. The Cadillac Fairview team was happy with the work, which is always the best kind of conversation to have. I also made my way out to Liberty Village to meet the team at McKinney about a new potential mural project. Another room, another table, another set of ideas on the horizon.
I traveled light, but not really. Two DSLRs and my Sony ZV-1 came with me so I could properly document the mural and the trip. Some things are worth carrying.
On my last day, I carved out a few hours for myself before flying back to Vancouver. After dim sum with Chad, I headed straight to the Art Gallery of Ontario. I almost skipped it. I had a tight window, a heavy bag, and work waiting on my laptop. But being alone at the AGO in my hometown is a rare opportunity. I checked my gear, bought a ticket, and let the afternoon open up.
Walking through the gallery without a backpack, a suitcase, or a bag of leftover dumplings felt oddly freeing. I moved fast at first, partly to burn off lunch, partly because time was ticking. I passed through Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors, which I have seen in LA, Seattle, and Hong Kong. Always a pleasure. I took in Henry Moore, African works, and a modern installation by Ranbir Sidhu.
Then I reached the Group of Seven.
Lawren Harris stopped me cold.
There was something in the way he handled light, water, and space. The stillness of the landscapes. The confidence in the simplicity of the shapes. It hit me harder than I expected. I stood there longer than I had anywhere else in the gallery.
Later, I passed by Rothko, Kelly, Picasso, Warhol, Chuck Close, and Miró. Legends, all of them. But none of them held me the way Harris did.
It took a moment to understand why.
When I first met Denise, the art assignment she was working on was about Lawren Harris. That was our first real connection. That project, that conversation, that moment, changed my life in ways I still struggle to put into words. Standing in front of his work years later, I felt that entire thread of my life quietly loop back on itself.
Some art just lives in you for reasons that go far beyond paint and canvas.
Now I am back in my Vancouver studio. The sky is low, grey, and lightly misting. Typical coastal winter. And I find myself thinking about Toronto’s cold, blue skies. The dry air. The crunch of snow and salt underfoot. The energy of the city, the buildings, the pace.
I will take a Toronto winter over a Vancouver winter any day.
But summer on the west coast is another story. That one is still undefeated.
