James Gardner
​Curriculum Vitae
Education
2017-2020 MFA, Painting and Drawing, Concordia University, Montréal Québec
2004-08 BA, Honours, (Major in Studio Art & Minor in Art History), University of Guelph
Representation
2021-present Galerie Nicolas Robert (Montreal/Toronto)
2015-2017 Katzman Contemporary (Toronto)
Professional Experience
2022-present Adjunct Professor, Painting & Drawing, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec.
2010-2017 Co-Founder & Co-director, VSVSVS Collective and Artist-Run Centre, Toronto, Ontario
2011-2016 Board of Directors, G Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Solo Exhibitions
2026 Vines, Verses, and Venerators, Delaplaine Art Centre, Frederick, MD., USA.
2026 Cephalophores, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal.
2025 Iconophile, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto.
2024 Ecstatic Distance, Darling Foundry, Montreal.
2024 Here to Go, Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford Ontario.
2023 Moving Pictures (With David Lafrance), FOFA Gallery, Montreal.
2021 As Gardens Need Walls, Galerie Nicolas Robert Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
2021 To Climb A Tall Pine, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal Quebec
2020 Vessels and Broods, MFA Gallery, Concordia University, Montréal Quebec
2018 Sygyzy, McClure Gallery, Montreal, Quebec.
2017 Selenotropic, Campus Gallery, Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario
2016 At The Same Time, Calgary Contemporary, Calgary Alberta*
2016 To Space In, Katzman Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario*
2016 Painting Eaters, Katzman Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario
2015 Not Together But Alongside, Mercer Union, Toronto, Ontario*
2015 Drift, Centre Bang, Chicoutimi, Québec*
2014 Not For Sale, Niagara Arts Centre Flea Market Gallery, St. Catharines, Ontario*
2014 Things on Things, Niagara Arts Centre Plate Glass Gallery, St. Catharines, Ontario*
2013 Space Mods, Cambridge Galleries, Toronto, Ontario*
2013 Frank, Xpace Cultural Centre, Window Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2013 Frank, Gallery 1313, Window Box, Toronto, Ontario
2013 The Shelf, Xpace Cultural Centre, Window Gallery, Toronto, Ontario*
2012 VSVSVS Movies In!, Art Metropole, Toronto, Ontario*
2011 Paintings in a Room, Le Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 Pictura Montreal-Leipzig, Spinnerei Galleries, Leipzig, Germany.
2025 Iconomorph, Redeemer Art Gallery, Redeemer University, Ancaster Ontario
2024 Abstraction, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto Ontario.
2024 Chapter III, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal Quebec.
2023 Les plus beaux cauchemars/Cruel to Be Kind, Galerie Stewart Hall, Pointe-Claire Quebec.
2022 Paradisio, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal Quebec.
2022 SOS: A Story of Survival, Part 1, The Image, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener Ontario.
2020 Lucky Dip (Pictura), Maison de la culture de Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montréal Quebec
2020 Salon Des Refusés, McBride Contemporary, Montréal Quebec
2019 This Amazing Day, VAC Gallery, Victoria
2019 Plinth or Platform, MFA Gallery, Concordia University, Montréal Quebec.
2017 Desire Lines, curated by Art Spin, Toronto Ontario*
2016 DIY, curated by Dave Dyment, MKG, Toronto Ontario*
2016 Baker’s Dozen, curated by CK2, Michael Bailey Gate’s Studio, New York, New York*
2016 Cured Soil (two person Exhibition with Gillian King), PDA Projects, Ottawa, Ontario
2016 Showroom, University of Toronto Art Centre, Toronto, Ontario*
2015 Curious Artefacts, Curated by Becky Campbell, Art Wall, Athens, Greece*
2015 Minimale 2, Alpineum Galery, Luzern, Switzerland
2014 Taking [a]part, Mercer Union, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 Comfort Zone, curated by Yan Wu, Jackman Humanities Institute, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 Cross Sections, Modern Literature and Cultural Centre, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario
2013 Drawing 2013, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2013 The Show.13, Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge, Ontario
2013 Drawing 2013, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2013 More Than Two (Let It Make Itself), curated by Micah Lexier, The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario.*
2012 Guest Room, Art Barrage c/o PM Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2012 ERI 5: The Resistance to Change, Eyelevel Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia*
2012 Sediment, G Gallery, Curated by Shane Krepakevich, Toronto, Ontario
2011 Noir, Rennan Isaacs Contemporary, Guelph, Ontario
2011 Sept, Le Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Selected Projects
2019 Maureen V, Yves Laroche Gallery, Montreal, Quebec.
2018 Maureen IV, Darling Foundry, Montreal, Quebec.
2016 Free School, Supermarket Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden.
2016 Plywood Pavilion, Canada Blooms, Toronto, Ontario*
2015 You Can(‘t) and You Shouldn(‘t), Feature Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario*
2015 Make it Flat, curated by Dave Dyment for Edmonton Nuit Blanche, Edmonton, Alberta*
2014 Water Carriers, C Magazine Sauna Symposium, Caledon, Ontario*
2014 Nap Station, Featured Project at Art Toronto, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 Posters for Kiosk, as part of Derek Sullivan’s Where do I end and you begin, City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland*
2014 Dunk Tank, Art Spin, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 Coat Check, Platforms Project at Art Athina, Athens, Greece.
2014 Temporary Monument, curated by Aisle 4 for Art on the Danforth, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 Artists’ Block, AGO Next, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario*
2014 How Hard is Your Art, AGO First Thursdays, Toronto, Ontario*
2013 Mystery Tapes, curated by Suzanne Carte and Su-Ying Lee for Under New Management, Artist’s Video Store*
2013 1-855-IS IS IT ART, Nuit Blanche Toronto, Toronto, Ontario*
2013 Inside Story, Canadian Art Foundation Gallery Hop Gala, Toronto, Ontario*
2013 Frozen, Art Spin, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Ivory Tickler, Mercer Union, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Less Making, More Breaking, Big On Bloor Festival, Toronto, Ontario
2012 VSVSVS at Art on the Danforth, Curated by Butcher Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Giftshop Giftshop, Curated by Sean Martindale, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Ontario
2012 Staging Project, New Traditions Festival, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto, Ontario
2011 Ghost Hole III (with The White House and Whippersnapper), Kensington Market, Toronto, Ontario
Grants & Awards
2026 Professional Development Grant, Concordia University Part Time Faulty Association
2023 Canada Council For the Arts, Concept to Realization Grant
2022 Canada Council For the Arts, Concept to Realization Grant
2020 Petry Award (deferred to Summer 2023)
2020 William Blair Bruce European Fine Art Travel Scholarship (deferred to Summer 2023)
2019 Tom Hopkins Memorial Graduate Award
2019 Graduate Student Mobility Award, Concordia University
2018 Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (SSHRC)
2018 Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canadian Master’s Scholarship (SSHRC)
2018 Concordia University Fine Art Travel Grant
2017 Tom Hopkins Memorial Graduate Award
2017 Concordia Merit Scholarship
2017 Faculty of Fine Arts Graduate Fellowship
2017 Ontario Art Council, Visual Artist: Emerging
2017 Canada Council For the Arts, Project Grants to Visual Artists
2016 Artist Prize, Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts*
2016 Canada Council For the Arts, Project Grants to Visual Artists*
2015 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant*
2014 Toronto Arts Council, Visual Artists Program: Emerging
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Visual Artists: Emerging
2014 Toronto Arts Council, Animating Historic Sites Grant*
2014 Toronto Arts Council, Visual & Media Arts Project Grant*
2014 RBC Painting Competition Finalist
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant*
2014 Ontario Arts Council Visual Arts Project Grant*
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Visual Artists: Emerging Grant*
2014 Canada Council For The Arts, Travel Grant
2013 Toronto Arts council, Emerging Artists Grant
2008 40th Anniversary Award: University of Guelph Juried Art Show
2008 Samuel & Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation Printmaking Prize
2008 Specialized Studio Award: University of Guelph
2007 Drawing Award: University of Guelph
Residencies
2026 Stove Works, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
2018 Bonnie McComb Kreye Studio Residency, Victoria, British Columbia
2017 Artscape Gibralter Point in Partnership with 8-11, Toronto Island, Ontario
2015 Centre Bang, Chicoutimi, Quebec*
Public Sculpture
2015 Symbology, temporary public installation for Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario*
2015 Something, Something Blue, installation commissioned by Waterfront Toronto, Toronto, Ontario*
​
Selected Publications and Press
2025 Garneau, L., “Alchemy and the Magic of Matter: The Layered Works of James Gardner,” Espace No. 141: Minerals, 2025 Bec, Valentin, “James Gardner: Ecstatic Distance,” Esse 113, February 2025.
2024 Delgado, Jerome, “Tout se Transforme,” Le Devoir, May 11th, 2024. Ledevoire.com, Print/Web.
2022 Gismondi, Chris, “Creative Conjuring, Ritual, and Place: Amanda Amour-Lynx’s Skite’kmujuawti in Conversation with the Works of James Gardner, Alana Bartol, and Jamie Ross” Esse 105, May 2022.
2018 El-Sheikh, Tammer, “James Gardner at McClure Gallery,” Akimbo, December 5th, 2018. Web.
2016 Blackwell, Adrian. “How to Turn a Foreclosure Crisis Into a Domestic Revolution,” Border Crossings, Volume 35, ,
Number 2, Issue No. 138. P. 90-95.*
2016 Whyte, Murray. “James Gardner: Outside the Hive,” Toronto Star, Saturday, February 6th, 2016, p. E2. thestar.com.
2016 Henderson, Lee, “‘Accesibility’ and the New Hoser Aesthetic,” Momus, April 27th, 2018. Web.*
2015 Mackrous, Paule, “Drift par VSVSVS: l’Art de l’Utopie concrete,” Esse 85, Fall 2015. Print
2015 Travis, Rebecca, “VSVSVS.” Canadian Art, Fall 2015, p. 180-181. Print
2015 Whyte, M. “VSVSVS: At Mercer Union, it's all for one.” Toronto Star, May 31 2015. Print/Web.*
2015 VSVSVS, “Inventory by VSVSVS,” C Magazine, Summer 2015, p. 126. Print
2015 Vaughn, R.M. “VSVSVS at Mercer Union: A White-cube Compromise” Momus, June 18 2015. Web.*
2015 Dick, Terrance, “VSVSVS at Mercer Union, Toronto.” Akimblog June 02, 2015. Web.
2014 Whyte, Murray. “Taking [a] Part at Mercer Union.” Toronto Star, July 2014. thestar.com. Web.*
2014 Dick, Terence. “Taking [a] part at Mercer Union.” Akimbo, July 2014. Akimblog. Web.*
2014 Ireland, Ann. “Strength in Numbers: Meet VSVSVS, Another Group of Seven.” Canadian Art, Page 66-71, Summer 2014. Rhodes, Richard. “Ami Barak at Nuit Blanche: Revisiting the Readymade.” Canadian Art, September 2013.
2013 Whyte, M. “At the Power Plant, All Together Now.” Toronto Star, Sept 2013. thestar.com. Web.*
2013 Rhodes, Richard. “The Rose Without Why.” Canadian Art, Fall 2013, pgs. 144-147. Print.*
2013 Moser, Gabrielle. “Art Spin: Critical Mass in the Making.” Canadian Art Online, Aug. 2013. Web.*
2013 Bloom, Jess, and Rachel McFarland, “VSVSVS, Artist Collective,” Studio Beat, February 2013. Web.*
2013 Collings, Aurelie, VSVSVS: Graffiti Removal Removal, Neurartic Blog, Monday June 4th 2013. Web.*
*In Collaboration with VSVSVS. The full VSVSVS CV available upon request and for more info visit vsvsvs.org.