TORONTO.- Renowned Toronto artist Michael Snow explores the art of looking at the Art Gallery of Ontario with an exhibition celebrating his June 2011 winning of the Gershon Iskowitz Prize. On view from July 18 to Dec. 9 in the AGO’s Signy Eaton Gallery, the exhibition highlights Snow’s continuing contribution to Canadian art and his ongoing investigation into visual perception.

Curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, the 14 works brought together in Objects of Vision are abstract sculptures from the 1950s, the late 1960s and 1982. They are objects that are variously meant to be sat on, touched and approached with caution. Featuring the spear-like installation Transformer and the clay column Core, these works reflect Snow’s fascination with the act of looking. According to Snow, “all of these works are ‘Directors of Attention’ in the sense that their forms suggest the paths a spectator’s eyes should take.”

Born in Toronto in 1928, Michael Snow’s career spans all media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film, video projection, sound art, bookmaking and experimental jazz. The AGO is home to over 82 works by Snow, including several of the sculptures to be included in the exhibition.

“Michael Snow’s sculptural works are dynamic and relatable, and these works truly demonstrate his profound curiosity, and his many layered approach to the act of seeing art,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, director and CEO of the AGO. “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to present this unique exhibition, and also to pay homage to Michael’s unparalleled contribution to Canadian art and culture."

A free public reception will be held at the AGO on Wednesday, July 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Michael Snow and curator Georgiana Uhlyarik will be in attendance and will be leading visitors on a tour of the exhibition, which is open to the public as part of the AGO’s regular free admission on Wednesday nights.

Gershon Iskowitz Foundation President Jeanette Hlinka said, “The Foundation is particularly pleased with our partnership with the AGO, as it affords the prize winner a solo exhibition. This provides a chance to celebrate the work of each winner beyond the simple awarding of the prize, and to involve a much larger public.”

In 1986, Gershon Iskowitz created the prize and the foundation, which bears his name to recognize and support Canadian artists. Twenty-one years later, the Foundation joined forces with the AGO to carry on the tradition through the Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO, awarded annually to an artist who has made a significant contribution to the visual arts in Canada. The prize recipient is selected by a jury comprised of Iskowitz Foundation trustees and an invited external curator or artist.

In addition to the solo exhibition, Michael Snow received a $50,000 award from the Iskowitz Foundation.

Sculptor and installation artist Kim Adams is the recipient of the 2012 Gershon Iskowitz Prize. An exhibition featuring Adams’ idiosyncratic and often humourous sculptures will open at the AGO in late 2012.