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
Winter may be here, but there’s no need to stay home!
Join us at The Rooms to exercise and socialize during this colder and drearier time of year. While strolling throughout the building and enjoying both the exhibitions and the views, participants will focus on a different spotlight item from our collection each week. After our stroll, staff will lead a brief discussion on the weekly spotlight, and then everyone is encouraged to stay and socialize with friends new and old.
Following the Senior's Stroll, we will open our art gallery classroom for a guided art activity. All materials are provided, and everyone is welcome to attend.
No registration is needed. Included with the cost of admission ($7.80 plus HST for seniors), free for members.
For further information, please contact catherineoneill@therooms.ca
Peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador
Stroll across land and sea, and through time, to meet the peoples who have made Newfoundland and Labrador home for the past 9,000 years.
Each tour is approximately 30 – 40 minutes and is included in the cost of admission. Free for Rooms members.
In this conversation, writers and educators Rhea Rollmann and Daze Jefferies explore the possibilities of queer and trans worldmaking that are present across Erica Rutherford and Matthew-Robin Nye’s art and exhibitions. With specific attention to depictions of the child and childhood, and to the value of wonder in today's world, they reflect on the lived experiences, hopes, and dreams of trans and gender creative youth in Atlantic Canada.
This is a free program but a ticket is required. Please reserve your free ticket online or by calling 709-757-8090.
Rhea Rollmann (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, writer and audio producer based in St. John's, NL, and is the author of A Queer History of Newfoundland (Engen Books, 2023). She is a founding editor of The Independent NL and her journalism has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, CBC, Xtra Magazine, Chatelaine, PopMatters, Riddle Fence, Macleans and more. Her academic work has been published in the Journal of Gender Studies, Labor Studies Journal, Canadian Woman Studies, Journal of Work and Society, Canadian Theatre Review, Canadian Review of Sociology, Screen Bodies and elsewhere. She also has an extensive background in labour organizing and queer/trans activism, and she is Station Manager at CHMR-FM, a community radio station in St. John's.
Daze Jefferies (she/her) is a white settler artist, writer, and educator based in Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland). Her multidisciplinary, research-based practice explores queer, trans, and sex worker embodiments, counter-histories, and intergenerational relationships in Atlantic Canada. Her work has been exhibited and performed at The Rooms, Eastern Edge Artist-Run-Centre, and the Grenfell Art Gallery, with upcoming exhibitions at Union House Arts and the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Gallery. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Emerging Artist Award and 2025 Milestone Award from VANL-CARFAC.
A new year – a new round of trivia! Get your thinking caps on, settle in with your friends and get ready for some exciting Trivia!
Join host Ramona Dearing for an evening of questions inspired by the history, geography, and the culture of the province.
Teams of 2-6 people. Cash bar available and Prizes!
Ramona Dearing is a writer and a retired host of CBC Radio’s CrossTalk and its popular Trivia editions.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.