TORONTO.- Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, from Toronto to São Paulo, painters began rejecting figuration and perspective, embracing colour, scale and line, in pursuit of a more expressive and immediate experience. On view now at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Moments in Modernism presents more than 50 works from the AGO’s collection of modern art, ranging from Minimalism to Pop Art, by some of the era’s most influential artists, including Jack Bush, Alex Colville, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly, Rita Letendre, Norval Morrisseau, Tomie Ohtake, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol.

Offering visitors the unique opportunity to see influential Canadian, American, Indigenous and Brazilian artists in dialogue across time, Moments in Modernism is organized as a series of encounters, between individual artists and styles. Co-curated by Stephan Jost, Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO, AGO and Debbie Johnsen, Manager, Modern & Contemporary Collections, AGO, highlights of the exhibition include conversations between Agnes Martin and Kazuo Nakamura, Rita Letendre and Jack Bush, and a meeting of Mark Rothko and Norval Morrisseau’s signature styles.

Moments in Modernism, marks the return to view of several AGO masterworks, including Mark Rothko’s No.1 White and Red, which since last fall has been on view in Paris, a jewel in the celebrated Rothko at The Fondation Louis Vuitton. Also, back on view for the first time in more than a decade are large scale works by Jack Bush, Robert Motherwell, Jules Olitski and Gerhard Richter.

“Seeing a great Warhol, Rothko or Letendre in person can be a very powerful experience,” says co-curator Stephan Jost. “When we look back, it is clear that the AGO acquired the right works by the right artists.”

“In pursuit of a new, expressive style of painting, these artists pushed the limits of what we think of as art,” says co-curator Debbie Johnsen, AGO Manager, Modern & Contemporary Collections. “Modernism takes many forms and it’s a privilege to showcase that here, through these larger-than-life paintings from Brazil, Nova Scotia, New York, Quebec and Toronto. The brilliance that produced modernism’s biggest moments, requires so much space and thought – we so are excited to share these landmark paintings with audiences.”

On view through autumn 2025, Moments in Modernism anticipates the forthcoming Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, which is currently in the initial stages of construction. When completed in 2027, the expansion will increase exhibition space for the museum’s growing modern and contemporary art collection.