A little gallery and a big one

Kicked off the day at Douglas Coupland’s “Emoji Gallery” which sits across an immense redevelopment called King Toronto that recalls the modular design of Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ‘67 in Montreal. (The gallery has double duty and contains the leasing office.)

As architecture goes, it looks back and far out at the same time. I can’t help but immensely dig it without knowing fully what was lost in its footprint.

It seems to be the theme of Toronto, this explosive growth… Toronto has more cranes in use than most U.S. cities combined. And many of the high-rises and buildings tagged for tear down look recent and totally usable.

Density is a complicated beast.

A few snapshots in the gallery / leasing office:

My favorite piece? Coupland’s collection of spice tins.

A display of spices

Art Gallery Ontario

Next up was a 15 minute walk to the Art Gallery Ontario. Avner had recommended an aural installation Jónsi (part of Sigur Rós) and popping by to see the funky Sharpe Center building at OCAD along the way.

Highlights included the Leonard Cohen exhibit and room with mirrored balls by Yayoi Kusama.