Fall 2020 exhibition season

On view from September 26, 2020–January 3, 2021, The Power Plant is thrilled to re-open its doors and present three new exhibitions by Nathan Eugene Carson, Manuel Mathieu, and Howie Tsui. Each artist explores individual and collective histories to consider the political dynamics of place- and identity-making.

Nathan Eugene Carson: Cut from the same cloth
Curator: Laura Demers, TD Curator of Education and Outreach Fellow

In his first major institutional solo exhibition, Nathan Eugene Carson presents several interrelated series of paintings and mixed-media works on paper. Known for figurative explorations of hybrid creatures, animals, and human figures—both fictional and historical—Carson’s subjects emerge from richly-pigmented surfaces, and illuminate narratives that weave together themes of Black identity and history, personal memories, familial lineages, and charged symbolism.

Manuel Mathieu: World Discovered Under Other Skies
Curator: Amin Alsaden, Nancy McCain & Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow

Manuel Mathieu's first solo exhibition in Toronto features a constellation of new and past works—including paintings, drawings, and ceramics—shedding light on the relationship between his familial homeland, Haiti, and the world. Mathieu is known for vibrant paintings that seamlessly merge abstraction with figuration. His work reflects on our intertwined lives, in which the boundaries between the past and present or the personal and political are often blurred. By unearthing the traumas of state violence, he addresses issues that remain as urgent today as they have been throughout Haitian and global history.

Howie Tsui: From swelling shadows, we draw our bows
Curator: Justine Kohleal

Vancouver-based artist Howie Tsui presents two algorithmic animations, accompanied by lenticular and chromogenic prints in lightboxes and a site-specific installation in the Clerestory, to collectively examine the complexities of the Chinese diasporic experience. Growing up between Hong Kong, Lagos, and Thunder Bay, Tsui has described his childhood and adolescence as existing on the threshold of Chinese and Colonial culture. His artworks reflect this duality, blending classical and contemporary Chinese art, particularly wuxia—a popular form of martial arts literature that emerged in China during the mid-20th century, and which advocates for resistance and dissidence—with Western popular culture.

Working in tandem with our Fall exhibitions, our public programs provide numerous opportunities for visitors to engage with thought-provoking perspectives and insight—both in person and online. Please visit www.thepowerplant.org for more details.

Staff members at The Power Plant and Harbourfront Centre have been working diligently behind the scenes to ensure that our visitors can safely enjoy our Fall 2020 exhibitions. We will be following all COVID-19 guidelines from the federal, provincial, and city public health officials. Please follow @ThePowerPlantTO for updates and more specific information about re-opening and visitor protocols.

Support for Cut from the same cloth includes Support Donor: Anonymous; Donors: Sarah Dinnick & Colin Webster, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Ms. Sarah Aranha; Supported by: The Drake, Superframe. 

Support for World Discovered Under Other Skies includes Lead Donors: Steven & Lynda Latner; Major Donors: Fonds Hamelys, Pamela J. Joyner, Jay Smith & Laura Rapp; Support Donors: Bita Doagoo & Mazyar Mortazavi, Linda Frum & Howard Sokolowski; Supported by Galerie Hugues Charbonneau, HdM Gallery, Kavi Gupta. 

Support for From swelling shadows, we draw our bows includes Donors: Jennifer Grant & David Dattels; Supported by: Art Labor, Patel Brown. 

Admission to The Power Plant is All Year, All Free presented by BMO Financial Group.

Director: Gaëtane Verna

For images, interview requests and more information please contact: media@thepowerplant.org.