Joanne Tod

Biography

Toronto artist Joanne Tod (A.O.C.A., R.C.A.) has exhibited her work nationally and internationally for the past thirty years. Evolving from an early interest in Pop Art and documentary photography, Tod is widely known for her subject of social critique in the guise of high realism paintings. Her series Vanity Fair (2002), featured portraits of individuals from the Toronto art community posing as contemporary representatives of characters from William Thackeray’s 19th century satire. The exhibition Kingdom Come (2009) at Nicholas Metivier Gallery, examined notions of proprietary and moral rights, in relation to antiquities and museum holdings. Between 2007 - 2011, Tod painted every Canadian soldier that fell in Afghanistan. The project, entitled Oh, Canada – A Lament, consisted of 6" x 5" portraits that were interspersed with other painted panels arranged to resemble a fragmented Canadian flag. The installation travelled to prominent galleries and museums across Canada including the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Toronto's Harbourfront Centre and the Winnipeg Art Gallery (forthcoming). Joanne Tod teaches in Visual Studies program at the University of Toronto and is also a member of the Advisory Board for Sotheby’s Canada. Her work is held in many collections including, The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa; the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto; and the Vancouver Art Gallery and Musee d'art contemporain in Montreal. Tod is represented in Toronto by Nicholas Metivier Gallery.

Research Interest

Visual Studies