Guided Tour: Denyse Thomasos FULL
Date: Oct 12
2:30 pm
- 3:30 pm
Where: Level 3 Art Gallery
One of the finest painters to emerge in the 1990s, the late Trinidadian-Canadian artist Denyse Thomasos (1964-2012) left an indelible, yet frequently overlooked, mark on contemporary painting.
Join Renée van der Avoird, Associate Curator, Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario; Sally Frater, Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Guelph; and Michelle Jacques, Head of Exhibitions and Collections / Chief Curator, Remai Modern for a guided tour of Denyse Thomasos: just beyond in our level 3 Art Gallery.
This is a free tour but a ticket is required. Please reserve your free ticket online or by calling (709)757-8090.
About the Artist:
Born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, the acclaimed painter Denyse Thomasos was raised in Toronto and spent most of her professional career in Philadelphia and New York City. Thomasos earned a BA in Painting and Art History from the University of Toronto in 1987. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1988 (Maine, US) and the following year completed her MFA in Painting and Sculpture, Yale School of Art, Yale University (Connecticut, US). Throughout her career, she attended various residencies, such as the Ucross Foundation Artist Residency in 2000, in Ucross (Wyoming, US) and the Bogliasco Foundation Artist Residency in 2003 (Genoa, Italy). She won numerous prestigious awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship Prize in 1997; the Joan Mitchell Foundation award in 1998; and the New York Foundation for the Arts award in 2008; as well as grants from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been collected by private collectors, as well as major corporate and public institutions, including Rutgers University (New Jersey, US); Canada Council Art Bank (Ottawa, ON); Bank of Montreal (Toronto, ON); Banque Nationale du Canada (Montréal, QC); Art Gallery of Guelph (ON); Oakville Galleries (ON); the Hart House Collection at the University of Toronto (ON), and private collections throughout Canada and the United States. When Thomasos died tragically in 2012, she was at the height of her career, with major museum shows, a full professorship, New York and Toronto gallery representation, and many prestigious awards and residencies.
Image: Denyse Thomasos. Metropolis, 2007. Acrylic, charcoal, porous-point marker on canvas, unframed: 214 x 335.6 x 3.5 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchased with the assistance of the Toronto International Art Fair 2007 Opening Night Preview, and with the Financial Support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance Program, 2008. © The Estate of Denyse Thomasos and Olga Korper Gallery. 2007/241
Today's Events & Programs
Fall in Love with Creativity!
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, join us to turn everyday fabric scraps into beautiful braided fabric wreaths. Inspired by our exhibition, Toby Rabinowitz’s A World Within a World, we’ll celebrate joy and creativity in everyday life while giving old materials a fresh, fabulous twist!
No experience needed - just bring your enthusiasm! Got fabric scraps you’d love to include? Bring them along! If not, we’ve got plenty to share.
Cost: $40 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Register online or by calling 709-757-8090. This workshop is for ages 16 and up.
Join us for an inspiring afternoon highlighting the artists who captured the spirit of the 2025 Canada Summer Games—live and on location. While athletes competed across St. John’s, a volunteer collective of artists worked quickly with pen, paint, and pastels as they documented the energy of competition and community in real time.
This event offers a behind-the-scenes look at their creative process, from the challenges of drawing in motion to the thrill of finding the perfect line amid the action. You’ll hear first-hand stories from the field—weather swings, crowded venues, and the art of working fast—alongside selections from sketchbooks and paintings created during the Games.
Whether you’re an art lover, Games fan, aspiring sketcher or a curious community member, this session promises insight, inspiration, and practical tips for drawing in public spaces.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.
Image: CBC/Using watercolour, artist Shay Hucklebridge captures the scene at women’s soccer at the King George V Park. (Shay Hucklebridge)