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Gordon Shadrach

@gordon_shadrach

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Toronto based artist represented by @unitedcontemporary gallery.

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What does Sunday Best mean to you? @read.foyer #artist #designer #contributor #portrait #session @agotoronto

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An incredible evening last Friday at the celebration of “Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style” marking an historic milestone as the first AGO @agotoronto generated fashion show. ✨✨✨✨✨✨

My deepest gratitude to curators Dr. Julie Crooks and Dr. Jason Cyrus for their vision in curating a phenomenal exhibition.
Thank you for the honour and privilege of being part of this outstanding project.

The exhibit showcases Black fashion, culture, art, photography and creativity of the diaspora. From historical figures to modern icons all assembled in exquisite detail. Congratulations to everyone involved.

The exuberance of the audience reaction to Greta Constantine’s @gretaconstantine stunning museum runway show, honouring 2 decades of Canadian fashion and design was well received and a very proud moment.

Toronto vocal group Echo Collective’s,
brilliant music was featured with a live performance.

The “Sunday Best: The Power & Glory of Black Style” is a beautiful commemorative book masterfully edited by Julie Crooks @julie_zacfilms , Jason Cyrus @jasonbrandoncyrus and Suzanne Boyd @suzanneboyd_ a must for your library, is available at the AGO Bookstore and at retailers online.
Exhibit open until February 28, 2027. #sundaybest #ago #blackfashion #blackart #blackculture

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A few of our favourite moments from "Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style." This moving exhibition has been four years in the making, co-curated by @julie_zacfilms and @jasonbrandoncryrus is one of the most incredible exhibits I've seen in a really long time. So much more than an exhibition about fashion, it explores how the tradition of dressing in one’s finest became a powerful expression of Black identity, pride, resistance and community across generations.

A very special thank you to Julie Crooks, for the personal guided tour. It was unique way to show Maxwell how our people found such joy and dignity in the way they dressed, regardless of how little they had or the adversity they faced throughout history...and is a reminder that even in the most challenging circumstances, personal style was a way to reclaim power, celebrate identity and express freedom.

"Untitled" from the series Aunties in Suits by @willyverse. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, 1989

Diotima wedding dress by designer @rachelleighscott
Born in Jamaica, 1984

Captured by Maxwell 🖤

Archival footage exploring Black migration and the enduring importance of personal style as an expression of dignity, identity and belonging.

"Season Opener" by gordon_shadrach
Born in Brampton, 1966

Ruffled blouse and ball skirt by Christopher John Rogers
Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1993

The exhibit goes back to the historical roots of contemporary Black diasporic style, with garments that date back to the early 1880s. This is an original look worn by abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century and a replica of his wife, Anne Murray Douglass, wedding dress.

This gown began with an 1860s ensemble by dressmaker and activist Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1907). Keckley, a formerly enslaved woman who gained her freedom through dressmaking, went on to become the dressmaker for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882). Constructed from silk faille panels, the gown transforms a historical reference into a study of colour, geometry, and silhouette.

This gown was made by @christopherjohnrogers for actress Sarah Jessica Parker,

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I was worried Sunday Best would be derivative of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style at the Met. But no. It’s an original exhibition to return to multiple times. A destination-worthy exhibit. A beautifully curated, collaborative show that bridges fashion, art, history & politics. An internationally travelling show that gives Canadian artists & designers their due. More of these please, @agotoronto! #SundayBest #artandfashion

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Still on a high from attending the preview of 'Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style' at the Art Gallery of Ontario - a brilliant new exhibition celebrating the power of Black style, self-fashioning, and storytelling.

Making its world debut in Toronto, Sunday Best is conceived and curated by Dr. Julie Crooks (Curator, Arts of Global Africa & the Diaspora, AGO) @julie_zacfilms and Dr. Jason Cyrus (Associate Lecturer, London College of Fashion) @jasonbrandoncyrus. The exhibition design is in consultation with U.K.-based architecture and design firm JA Projects @ja__projects. Sunday Best is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

*Scroll through to discover some of my favourite moments in the show. (Tap images to reveal the details)*
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From today's Globe & Mail:

The title 'Sunday Best' refers to clothing traditionally reserved for church or special occasions. Across the African diaspora, the ritual of dressing in one's finest evolved into a form of self-fashioning, resistance and community building.
Organized around five themes - Origins, Church, Migration, Liberation and Call & Response - the exhibition includes 50 garments, 70 photographs, 10 paintings and more.
"Beneath the beauty of these garments and the power of these artworks lies a deeper history of resistance and self-determination," says Julie Crooks, curator of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the AGO and a co-curator of Sunday Best. "By situating Black style within histories of enslavement, religious life, migration and liberation, this exhibition reveals the political conditions out of which new aesthetic narratives emerged."
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Sunday Best formally opens with an evening dedicated to Black style & sartorial innovation, featuring a fashion show by Kirk Pickersgill @kirkpickersgill of @gretaconstantine backed by the voices of the Toronto-based Echo Collective led by Kiara Lauren Picart – happening next Friday, October 16 from 6-9pm at the @agotoronto. Free with general admission, this promises to be a memorable night of fashion and fun. ✨

#SundayBest #AGOtoronto #ContemporaryAfricanArt #BlackStyle #BlackCanadianArt
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Ready to turn your artistic vision into a sustainable career? 🎨📝

Business smARTs: Beyond the Canvas, a 5-week drop in virtual workshop series designed to help emerging and mid-career artists strengthen their creative practice and build sustainable careers.

Facilitated by visual artist and educator Gordon Shadrach, learn how to craft an authentic artist statement, how to speak on your work, and explore career pathways, while gaining insight into the parameters around representation and working with institutional entities as a Black Canadian visual artist.

Through guided sessions on career mapping, artist statements, portfolio development, pricing artwork, and networking, participants will gain practical tools to confidently navigate the visual arts sector and connect with new opportunities.

Booting up October 13th from 6-8 PM for 5 weeks until November 10th. Register through the Zoom link in our bio.

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This is the work of artist @gordon_shadrach . From his upcoming October show SUNDAY BEST: The power and story of black style. I am SUCH a huge fan. #artist #supportartists #supportsmallbusiness #talent

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Let’s do too much

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Saturday’s Art & Food Excursion explored contemporary Canadian art & demonstrated the role of mentorship in shaping artists’ careers.

After meeting at Arvo Coffee, we walked to Corkin Gallery, a commercial gallery operating since 1979. One of the first arts organizations involved in the revitalization of the Distillery District 20 years ago, the gallery is located in a light-filled heritage building with soaring ceilings & multi-level spaces. Associate director Magdalena Arellano toured us through an exhibition of the monumental abstract works from the 1980s of celebrated Montreal painter Leopold Plotek. Also on view were figurative works by artist David Stewart, who studied with Plotek at Concordia University. Painting scenes from his daily life, Stewart’s light-filled compositions invite us to slow down & daydream. We also encountered works by many artists represented by the gallery & saw a private viewing room for clients & the art storage space.

We next stopped for lunch at Sukhothai, where we feasted on a buffet of delicious Thai dishes & debriefed on our gallery experience.

On our final stop, we visited artist Gordon Shadrach & his partner in their lovely Corktown home, where the front room serves as Shadrach’s studio. Shadrach’s paintings of Black men question the impact of cultural stereotypes in society & the prevalence of the colonial gaze. The group was enthralled as he described his journey from teaching in public schools to studying textiles at OCAD to being a full-time artist. Shadrach is known for championing Black art & representation in Canada. During our discussion, he shared how the racism he encountered fueled his artistic productivity & he highlighted the hypocrisy of arts organizations that posted black squares after the murder of George Floyd but had no Black artists on their rosters. He also offered advice to the artists in the group for moving forward in their careers. Sitting in comfortable chairs, surrounded by Shadrach’s paintings & works by others in his collection, we had a hard time leaving!

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Bespoke collection management never goes out of style.

A few things we happen to think are kinda chic around here ✨

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🖼️ Gordon Shadrach, "Remedy," 24’ x 30’, Oil on birch panel

🎯 @gordon_shadrach
💻 www.gordonshadrach.com

🍁 Gordon Shadrach is a Toronto-based portrait artist whose evocative paintings challenge stereotypes and expand the narratives of Black identity within contemporary portraiture. Born and raised in Brampton, Ontario (1966), Shadrach has been a vital part of Toronto’s art scene for over 25 years.

📷 A graduate of OCAD University (B. Des. in MAAD) and Niagara University (M.Ed.), Shadrach reignited his passion for painting six years ago, quickly establishing himself as a compelling voice in Canadian art. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum, The Artist Project Toronto, and in his critically acclaimed solo show at Toronto’s Black Artists’ Networks in Dialogue (BAND).

🖌️ Shadrach's practice interrogates themes of legacy, perception, and the Black body in art, confronting the historical exclusion of Black narratives in traditional portraiture. Through masterful use of color, texture, and symbolic framing, his works engage with intersections of race, masculinity, and class, serving as both personal testaments and collective calls to reimagine representation.

🎙️ Beyond his studio practice, Shadrach is a sought-after speaker, known for his insightful commentary on art and representation. He has appeared on TVO’s The Agenda (Reinventing the Museum) and CBC Radio’s Metro Morning (Group of Seven Out, Under-represented Artists In at the AGO), advocating for greater diversity in cultural institutions.

#GordonShadrach #CanadianArtist #BlackCanadianArtist #ContemporaryPortraiture #ArtAndIdentity #FineArt #BlackArtist

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Fattening > Flattening

Love Only Beyond This Point

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