About the Exhibition A ballet dancer steps onto an empty stage and performs an arabesque. With one leg firmly on the ground, she lifts the other behind her straight into the air; with arms extended, she arches her torso into a back bend. She takes two steps forward and repeats this series of movements as […]
About the Exhibition Linen shards float upon a pink celestial void. Repeatedly, these fragments are pushed and pulled by the gravity of the nebulous plane upon which they lie. Subtle layers of colour — yellows and whites — surround and define each piece of material, giving them weight within this raw environment. Sarah Cale combines […]
About the Exhibition The On Your Mark series is the catalyst for a study of the products and processes of mark making, a thematic thread which is woven throughout our 2016 exhibition programming. From both a historic and contemporary perspective, our exhibitions explore how artists use marks as both a means to an end, and as […]
About the Exhibition Chinese export watercolours were produced in the port cities of China, which were open to foreigners in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and were offered for sale to western customers. The cheaply produced watercolours were imported to Britain, America and other countries in quantities, and had considerable influence on the western […]
About the Exhibition Artists: Native Art Department International, with Norval Morrisseau (1932–2007), Daphne Odjig (1919–2016), Steve Snake, and John Laford (1955–2021). This exhibition features work by Native Art Department International (NADI) alongside pieces from the collections of the Varley Art Gallery of Markham and Markham Public Art. NADI is a long-term collaborative project founded in […]
About the Exhibition In this solo exhibition, Shantel Miller tackles the nuanced relationship between faith, spirituality, and the church, and the ways in which these are expressed within her Jamaican-Canadian community. On view is a new series of figurative paintings and photographs showcasing the people and traditions that make up the Legacy Christian Community Worship […]
About the Exhibition Artists: William Berczy (1744–1813), Maurice Cullen (1866–1934), Pat Fairhead (1927–2023, James Wilson Morrice (1865–1924), Herbert Sidney Palmer, (1881–1969), Gustav Weisman (1926–2000) To complement our Main Gallery exhibitions, paintings from our permanent collection have been taken out of the vault. Featuring paintings in watercolour, gouache, oil, tempera, and acrylic, this exhibition showcases the […]
About the Exhibition In 2022, the Varley Art Gallery invited Cole Swanson to create new work in response to field sketches by F. H. Varley. Two years earlier, the gallery had received a transfer of over 400 drawings from the Art Gallery of Ontario, and we were excited for contemporary artists to engage with this […]
Presented in partnership with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival Longing Belonging, 100 Years 100 Stories, a community engagement project and exhibition organized by the collective Long Time No See (LTNS), tackles Canada’s troubled colonialist history by marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. LTNS members engaged with local Markham communities, interviewing and photographing people in spaces that […]
Field Notes was awarded the Innovation in a Collections Based Exhibition at the 2023 Galeries Ontario/Ontario Galleries Awards! About the Exhibition Field Notes brings together historical sketches by F. H. Varley with contemporary animation and drawings by Winnie Truong. Although their bodies of work and approaches to art-making are vastly different, both artists share a desire […]
