Reframing Doris McCarthy: A Symposium on the Life and Work of Doris McCarthy

The Doris McCarthy Gallery is thrilled to present Reframing Doris McCarthy – a symposium that will provide a multi-faceted look at the life, creative force, and legacy of Doris McCarthy (1910-2010). Artists, academics, and professionals have come forward to enthusiastically share their insights. Some have known McCarthy professionally, as her student, or deeply as her friend – often with overlap. Those fortunate enough to have spent time with McCarthy are forever changed by their encounters, and have captivating stories to tell. We will also hear from presenters who know McCarthy through the resonance of her creative achievements, and her commitment to mentorship in the community. Some have intensified their knowledge through participation in the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program at Fool’s Paradise.

the body may be said to think, Fictional Winds, and Revisiting Fool’s Paradise: The Doris McCarthy Fonds are three exhibitions that complement the symposium. Through the body may be said to think, curator Stuart Reid pairs the artistic forces of Kate Wilson and Doris McCarthy. The combination makes apparent the artists’ kindred spirits, and the ways in which they translate both the visible and invisible features of our environment.

In her Instructional Centre Vitrines installation, Fictional Winds, Kate Wilson has selected recent drawings that are invitations to travel with gusts that may blow close to the ground, or gusts that lead our gaze outward to limitless space, and stories untold.

UTSC Librarian Paulina Rousseau has curated Revisiting Fool’s Paradise, a display drawn from the McCarthy archival fonds here at the University. Rousseau’s research offers a view into McCarthy’s meticulous plans for a home that could accommodate an artist’s need for solitude as well as provide space for frivolity.

Talks by Erin Silver, Dustin Garnet, Ralph Kolewe, Wendy Wacko, Paulina Rousseau, Lynne Wynick, Steven Beckly, Lou Sheppard, Nancy Holmes, Eva Kolcze, Jan L. Coates 

Roundtable Discussion Moderated by Meaghan Hyckie

Performance in the Doris McCarthy Gallery by Catherine Carmichael and Harold Klunder, Sound and Synergy