Opening Night at Art Toronto: Highlights From Our Staff

Art Toronto always serves as a point of convergence for so many different facets of the art world, from dealers to artists to collectors. At Waddington’s, our team always enjoys the opportunity to connect with the community and enjoy some of the best art on offer, both at home and abroad. We asked our group of attendees for their standout moments of the art fair – we’d love to hear yours!

Goulven Le Morvan, Head of Department, Canadian & International Art – Senior Consignment Specialist, Montreal: Being based in Montreal, the art fair offers me a wonderful chance to explore the diverse selection of galleries and discover new artists and perspectives in person. I come to Toronto regularly, but there are inevitably exhibitions that I miss out on seeing. The art fair allows me to see a lot in a relatively short time. I also love catching up with colleagues, clients, and partners, as well as exchanging ideas in such a relatable setting.

Palmer Jarvis, Senior Specialist, Inuit, First Nations, and Métis Art: Art Toronto is always a great opportunity to check in on what is happening in the Canadian gallery scene. Collection tours offered as part of the fair’s VIP programs are particularly invigorating–seeing artworks in person and in context to larger collections is key to building relationships with clients, and keeping what art dealer Allan Stone once called our “sensitive antennas” sensitive.

Julia Deo, Design & Production Manager: For me, a highlight of Art Toronto is seeing what’s on view at galleries based out of other provinces. I always look forward to visiting Norberg Hall’s booth, as I’ve yet to make it out to their beautiful gallery in Calgary, Alberta. Viewing Erica Eyres’ delicate, uncanny sculptures is a delight, and her life-size ceramic of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest was a favourite. Kablusiak’s Dolls in Atikluks were another favourite.

Other highlights include Franz Kaka’s booth, exclusively featuring the intimate, ephemeral installations by Karice Mitchell, and Eliza Kożurno’s bright still life paintings on view at Roberts Gallery’s booth.

Elizabeth Gagnon, Consignment Specialist, Inuit, First Nations & Métis Art: My attention was first pulled to the Galerie COA booth by the densely colourful and fun drawings of Pitseolak Qimirpik. When I turned around to explore the rest of the artworks, I noticed this charming little guy, and I was smitten. Chatting with Moïse Piuze, the artist of this delightful work, was a highlight of the evening.

Amelia Zhu, Senior Specialist, Business Development, Asian Art: I was truly impressed by the range of offerings at Art Toronto this year — from established Canadian masterworks, such as works by Lawren Harris and Alex Colville, to exciting new pieces by emerging artists like Hayley Chi Hay Chiu (b. 2001). I had a lovely conversation with Chiu, who is represented by a Chinese-Canadian contemporary art gallery SSEW Project, and I was delighted to learn that one of her works was acquired by a museum by the end of the convention. To me, this is a wonderful sign of the continued strength and growing enthusiasm for Canadian art in the market.

Emily Whittome, Marketing and Communications Coordinator: I am forever lamenting about how I need to get out and see more art and go to more galleries. Art Toronto provides a great opportunity to see different galleries, and even discover new ones, all at once! It’s also wonderful to speak to gallery owners and artists to learn more about the works or artists themselves on a more personal level. The passion of the arts community is unmatched!

Alicia Bojkov, Associate Specialist, International Art, Prints & Photography: My favourite part is that it kind of feels like a family reunion (with distant relatives) and that you get to reconnect this one time of year before the Major Fall sales season is in full swing.

Jacqui de Leeuw, Director, Western Canada: It was wonderful seeing all of the contemporary Indigenous artists’ new work. My favourite booths were Fazakas, United Contemporary and Macauley/Ceremonial Arts. My favourite piece was Amber Sandy’s take on the ‘Birkin’ (Birchkin) bag, made from hide and porcupine quills.

Kendra Popelas, Consignment Specialist, Canadian Art Department: The best part of Art Toronto for me is getting to tour the wonderful offerings of Canadian Art from dealers across the country. I love seeing what has already sold on night one. In our line of work, we are the ones typically doing the previewing of our auction offerings, so it was really nice for the roles to be reversed – I loved being in the audience for a change!

Katie Mergelas, Appraisals and Consignment Coordinator: If I had to choose a favourite from the show I would say Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber’s Book Room at Patel Brown’s booth. I’m a big fan of their work and this installation had so many little details to get stuck into and enjoy.

Dara Vandor, Manager, Creative and Content; Charity Auctioneer: I really loved “celebrity spotting” the famous Donna Meaney, who modelled for both Mary and Chris Pratt. I am told that Donna goes back to Art Toronto every year to help out at Christina Parker Gallery’s booth. Seeing perhaps the most iconic model for Canadian art – forget Hollywood, that’s a true celebrity sighting!

Austin Yuen, Specialist, Asian Art: I really enjoyed spending the opening reception and weekend connecting with colleagues from a variety of fields, sharing insights and the latest developments. It was wonderful to catch up with fellow auction house professionals, appraisal peers, and old friends and classmates who are excited to become part of the fine art collecting community.

We’re already looking forward to 2026! Missed chatting with us at Art Toronto? Want to talk about all things art? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.