About Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery
Read MoreEXHIBITIONS
“ORIGIN – Paintings of scale and ambition”
Kyle Bennett, Cheryl HJ Lee, Jan Wheeler,
Majid Zeraati
- February 13 – April 28, 2025
There are no false starts here. The artists of “ORIGIN – Paintings of scale and ambition” know exactly where they come from and where they are going. Their works assert, expand, and command space. These are paintings of scale and ambition, born from a deep understanding of artistic lineage and a forward momentum that refuses limitation.
An artist creates, causes, or gives rise to another thing. Just as a spring is the origin of the stream, the stream of the river, and the river of the sea, so too does the artist set something in motion. A painting is not a fixed moment—it evolves and interacts with the audience through the progress of time.
ORIGIN reminds us that great paintings are not just seen; they are experienced. Here, the artists embrace that challenge, offering bold visions that stand at the origin of something enduring.
BIOS
Kyle Bennett resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He studied Fine Arts at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree in 2011. Recently, his focus has shifted from spectacular seascapes to magnificently highlighting the beauty of multi-faceted natural stone minerals. His large-scale canvases cause us to question our concepts of value.
Cheryl HJ Lee is a Korean-born Canadian artist whose creative journey started in Vancouver. She graduated as a Visual Arts major from Emily Carr University in 2017 and moved to Toronto to explore a life as an artist. She has participated in numerous art fairs and exhibitions including the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF), Artist Project 2024, Cabbage Town Art & Craft Show and Artist Project (upcoming, 2025).
Jan Wheeler is a Canadian landscape artist, whose work is connected to the elements surrounding her backcountry inspired work, including water, wind and sky. Wheeler has studied at Seneca College, the Byam Shaw School of Art in London and the Lorenzo de Medici School of Art in Florence. Her experience also includes the study of calligraphy in Sendai, Japan. She finds inspiration in hiking, paddling and snowshoeing in areas surrounding her century farm studio, and has exhibited in many cities around the world, including New York, Toronto, Jeddah, Tokyo and Nashville.
Iranian-born Zeraati is a prolific artist and educator who has taught painting and graphic design at several universities including: The University of Art and Architecture (Central Tehran) and the Jahad University of Art (Tehran). He has participated in many group exhibitions in Tehran and currently calls Canada home. Having fled an oppressive regime, he is eager to explore and expand his work, and excited to begin a new chapter with this his first exhibition in Canada.
Price:
FREE

Location:
Upper Gallery, Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery,
Columbus Centre
“Past Present Future:
L’Arte che Scompare /
The Disappearing Arts”
Cindi Emond
- May 5 – 26, 2025
Opening Reception: Tuesday, May 6,
7:00 – 9:00pmArtist Talk: Saturday, May 10, 10:00am –
Interview conducted by Margo Kelly, former
CBC Arts reporterMeet & Greet with Artist: Saturday, May 17,
10:00am – 12:00pm
This four-part series, “Past Present Future: L’Arte che Scompare / The Disappearing Arts”, is an exploration of extinguishing cultural arts in Italy, some of which are recognized by UNESCO. It is environmental portraiture representing Italian heritage, the persistence of cultural traditions and national identity. With the emerging forces of change and technologically advancement today, no one has time to reflect on our agro-pastoral past. The grape harvest of Asprinio, the Transumanza and the Cantu a Tenore, songs the shepherds sang, all connect to that past. The Marinelli Bell Foundry with its 26 generations of history may make one query why they should be considered in the context of disappearing arts. One only has to look at the crisis of faith to understand the worry the newest generation is grappling with. Emond hopes to share these fragile traditions with a broader audience because she thinks our cultures, rituals, and mythologies need to be preserved.
BIO
Cindi Emond is a Canadian artist based in Rome, Italy. She completed two degrees at York University, Toronto, obtaining a BFAH with a split major in Photography, studio arts and Art History, and holds a second degree in Marketing and Communications also from York. This unique training has influenced both the artistic and commercial perspectives of her portraiture.
A compelling storyteller, Cindi uses visual vocabulary to tell meaningful narratives that resonate with the viewer. Having captured still images of people, cultures, and landscapes from around the world, her photographic journey has led her back to Italy for this exhibition. The visual history her environmental portraiture addresses is one of Italian heritage, the persistance of cultural traditions and national identity.
Cindi began working as a fine art photographer in 2015 and her work is showcased in corporate and private collections in Canada and Italy.
Price:
FREE

Location:
Lower Gallery, Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery,
Columbus Centre
Presented in partnership with Contact Photography Festival.
Under the Auspices of Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto, and the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto.
Art Exhibition Archives
2024
An art exhibition showcasing the exceptional talent and creativity of students from our Columbus Centre Art Programs, led by instructor and professional artist Sam Paonessa. Many of the displayed artwork pieces were available for purchase, making them perfect Christmas gifts!
This exhibition celebrates the 2024 edition of Italian Contemporary Art Day by featuring the works of Anna Romanello and Mario Martinelli, two artists who explore symbols, history, and the passage of time.
Romanello’s “Cretti” installation, with its jagged black cracks, baked earth textures, and vivid orange rust streaks, evokes a sense of timelessness and transports viewers to different eras. Her work invites contemplation of place and memory, allowing for a personal journey through time.
Martinelli’s “David’s Shadow”, a monumental wire mesh sculpture created for the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo’s “David”, mirrors the height and form of the original statue, using striking chiaroscuro to bring the figure to life. Both artists masterfully layer materials and play with transparency to create immersive, timeless pieces that transcend traditional artistic boundaries.
The f8 Photography Collective, formed in 2010, hosted its 27th photography exhibition at the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery, its second at the Columbus Centre. Titled “Artists’ Retrospectives”, it draws from member collections of stunning images produced over many years.
This all-female exhibition features the exceptional talents of Academy of Realist Art alumni, including Fanny Ku, Robyn Asquini, Miriam Rosenthal, Lynne Crouch, Leslie Morgan, Elaine Rakowski, and Debra Repka. These artists skillfully use classical techniques from 18th-century French Academies to create stunning pieces that speak to contemporary audiences.
“Unveiling the Queer Italian Canadian Experience” is a literary and photographic artistic project, a collaboration between Toronto photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo and Montreal writer Liana Cusmano. The photographs feature queer Italian-Canadian persons in Toronto and Montreal in spaces where their queer and Italian-Canadian identities meet. This intersection is further explored in poetry and poetic prose.
A Photographic Journey of Sicily by Marcello Tarantino
In celebration of Italian Heritage Month 2024, Villa Charities and Viva Vitalità Italiana present a special exhibition featuring the astonishing beauty and magnificence of Sicily through the lens of Marcello Tarantino’s camera.
In this large photographic exhibition, Tarantino explores the length and breadth of Sicily, including Palermo, Catania, and Syracusa—and the smaller but no less charming Ortigia, Noto, and Enna —as well as Ragusa Ibla.
Calabrian-born and raised, Marcello Tarantino hopes to preserve his Italian cultural heritage through his work. He was inspired to travel throughout Italy and photograph the beauty he happened upon as part of his desire to embrace his roots. This was the inspiration for Viva Vitalità Italiana, which he founded in 1998.
This exhibition in conjunction with the Jewish Music Week Festival, explores that many facets of Jewish Music. Influences and inspiration are drawn from 3,000 years of Jewish history, spanning every continent and era, Sephardic, Mizrachi, Ashkenazic and Levantine.
The focus this year is on the ancient Jewish communities of Italy, that began in Rome long before the destruction the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Experience the unique nature of Sicilian influences before the expulsion of 1492, and the explore the renaissance and baroque splendor of Venice captured in majestic synagogue inspired tapestries.
Curators of this exhibit, Melanie Siegel and Ian Leventhal, are represented, alongside, contemporary digital artist; Gina Godfrey, Mixed Media Sculptor: Sara Petroff, Multi Media Painter Matt Pine and Abstractionist Rina Gottesman.
Franco Deleo’s photography is as concerned with the mediums of social practice and painting as it is with the techniques of photography. His focus on collaboration and care, as well as his references to art historical portraits and classical poses are exemplified in two recent bodies of work. Through deep engagement with his subjects, the Italian-Canadian photographer explores tensions of sexuality and tradition, interior and exterior, and vulnerability and strength in his exhibition “Homecoming”. “Homecoming” is part of the Contact Photography Festival.
“Youth, Truth and Imagination”, a collective exhibition that promises to weave a captivating narrative inspired by the lives of fourteen artists. A vibrant exhibit of pure imagination, where stories of everyday life, diaspora, feminism, queer and racial identities transcend into abstract fictitious masterpieces. With a mesmerizing collection spanning painting, paper cuts, sculpture, and textile works, the exhibition explores the boundless depths of creative expression.
The exhibition included works from Kristi Chen, Hayley Chiu, Olivia Di Gregorio, Jana Ghalayini, Joy, Avleen Kaur, Fong Ki Wan, Khadijah Morley, Sasha Q, Moraa Stump, Queenie Xu, Chason Yeboah, Lan “Florence” Yee, and Jason Zante.
A powerful and thought-provoking exploration of the things we hold in our hearts, both positive and negative. The exhibit features 20 artists working with a range of media, each bringing their own unique perspective to this deeply personal and universal theme. Through a carefully curated selection of 60 original artworks, viewers are invited to contemplate the complex emotions and experiences that shape our lives, from the joy and love that fills our hearts to the pain and sorrow that we sometimes carry within us. The collection provides a rich and multi-dimensional exploration of what it means to be human; what drives us, what are our intentions, and what is at the core of what matters.
2023
The Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery contrasts three mannerist portraits from its collection with the work of five contemporary artists.
The three Hippie portraits, painted in 1967 by Albert Chiarandini (1915-2007), depict beauty and idealism in an age of hopeful innocence. But the 1960s was also a decade of violence and revolution.
Today, Bonfanti, Campagna, Canaviri, Paina, and Stramaglia are the inheritors and interpreters of a changed world.
Their artwork differs intensely from Chiarandini’s artistic style of 50 years ago. They present the figure with bold originality – conceptually, sculpturally, and in paintings and drawings.
By defying established norms and disturbing our present ethos, they challenge the viewer to look at their art with intelligence and consider its significance and deeper consequence.
“Bring Me the Horizon” is a retrospective exhibition and visual journey of Italian-Canadian contemporary figurative artist Fabrizio Sclocco. Themes of self-embrace and self-healing are present throughout each collection, encouraging others to reconnect with their inner child and to embark on their own transformative journeys towards their horizons.
In celebration of Italian Heritage Month 2023, Villa Charities in partnership with the Consulate General of Italy and Viva Vitalità Italiana presents a special exhibition featuring the astonishing beauty of Calabria through the lens of Marcello Tarantino’s camera.
In this large photographic exhibition, Tarantino’s eye lingers on the natural gifts of this enchanted region, intertwined with centuries-old human architecture.
Calabrian-born and raised, Marcello Tarantino hopes to preserve his Italian cultural heritage through his work. He was inspired to travel throughout Calabria and photograph the beauty he happened upon as part of his desire to embrace his roots. This was the inspiration for Viva Vitalità Italiana, which he founded in 1997.
2023 marks the 500th anniversary of the passing of Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, the renowned Italian Renaissance painter commonly known as ‘Il Perugino’. To commemorate this occasion, Villa Charities presented a special exhibition featuring 15 large panel reproductions of iconic works by this Italian master.
The Academy of Realist Art (ARA) is one of a select few academies in the world that utilizes the academic approach to drawing and painting based on the teaching methodologies used by 19th-century European academies. As such, they have attracted many talented students from around the world who are dedicated to learning realist drawing and painting techniques.
A collection of works by eight talented young artists.
An exhibition of unique styles and varying subject matter extending the limits of form and content with artworks that are irreverent, entertaining, humorous, challenging, and beautiful. The talented young artists who formed this exhibition exist simultaneously in the age of “social media” and in the age-old world of materiality; painting on canvas and carving wood. Like a weather report, they alert the audience to the future of art – issues of identity; reimagined figuration; situational episodes of conflict; the importance of camaraderie, the importance of contemplation; the history of storytelling; the necessity of foundational tradition. In this time of technological change, political upheaval, war, and environmental degradation, Villa Charities and the Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery support courage of expression and are committed to displaying art that is experimental, that challenges us, makes us smile, and gives us comfort. The exhibition included work from Grace Swanek, Fabrizio Sclocco, Jobelle Quijano, Amanda Maccagnan, Serena Kobayashi-LeBel, Angelo Kalum Cavagnaro, Nicko Cecchini, and Miles Ingrassia. Sponsored by The Lindy Green Family Foundation.
2022
Sicilian-born and raised artist Mimmo Baronello explores the morphing of nature through painting, drawing, and installation applying classical symbols and styles in a contemporary perspective. Baronello graduated with honours from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan before moving to Toronto in 1998. He paints the tensions he observes in our modern environment, where pristine nature is slowly contaminated by industry and consumer culture, and nature’s response — adapting and morphing beyond human intrusions. His paintings blend the mannerist and baroque style present in Sicilian culture and architecture, with contemporary imagery from Canadian natural richness.
A new monumental mosaic series by master artist Lilian Broca. Made of 6-foot-high mosaics constructed from Venetian glass, this series of 7 monumental scale panels explores the figure of Mary Magdalene. In Broca’s rendering Mary Magdalene is not a woman in need of redemption and forgiveness but a spiritual companion to Jesus, someone who both supported his message but truly embodied it through her life and legacy. Broca’s work will leave viewers contemplating and reassessing this woman who has been greatly misunderstood for 2000 years.
An extraordinary collection of paintings from the artist’s ‘Italian Series’ and ‘Tattoo Series’, created during the 1970s and 1980s.
Aba Bayefsky (1923-2001) was a Toronto-based artist who began drawing at the age of 16 in Toronto’s Kensington Market. He became an Official War Artist with the RCAF in 1944 and an instructor with the Ontario College of Art (now known as OCADU) from 1957 to 1989, influencing and inspiring generations of Canadian artists. Bayefsky was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1979.
Presented in collaboration with Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies, University of Toronto and sponsored by The Lindy Green Family Charitable Foundation.
Italian-born artist Lucilla Candeloro and Toronto artist Tracy Thomson take the viewer on a journey through the spiritual, poetical, harmonic, vulnerable power and beauty of nature, represented as an endless source of inspiration.
“The Quiet Immigrant Project” is a multifaceted, multimedia, and multilayered legacy exhibit that pays homage to the brave Italian women who immigrated to Canada after WW2 and through sheer strength of character wove their way into the fabric of society. Their stories of strength, courage, determination, and sacrifice are sure to move, amuse, and captivate.
Presented by Cultural Connections and sponsored by Villa Charities and Myseum of Toronto.
An exhibition exploring the nature of the creative process upon scientific discovery, by Nick D’Aleandro, featuring artistic video contributions by Sophie Duarte and Alessia Agostino.
2021
Villa Charities invites you to attend “Immigrant Story,” an exciting new exhibition about the immigrant experience in words and pictures. The exhibit features 40+ stories about members of our community who immigrated to Canada from Italy and other countries. Created and developed by Sholom Wargon, this exhibit is an evolution of the Immigrant Story Project.
Presented by Sholom Wargon Design and Pizza Nova.
2020
In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Columbus Centre, Villa Charities presents “40 under Forty,” an exhibition of 40 artists under the age of forty. From faces to figures, still life to action painting, landscape to seascape, this broad exhibition at the Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery will give the audience a look at varied themes and disciplines as diverse as the young artists themselves.
Additionally, accomplished multimedia artist and Villa Charities’ Artist in Residence Franco Berti has created a special 40th anniversary collage, commissioned by Villa Charities to serve as a memorable and welcoming symbol for the Columbus Centre community at large; celebrating the past while engaging with the present time.
“We Adore You” by Anthony Ricciardi
“We Adore You” includes 30 specially created canvases, two signature sculptures and a mural. Ricciardi is a renowned multi-disciplinary artist from Toronto who has exhibited his canvases, murals and installations internationally. Driven by enthusiasm, depth of feeling and storytelling to produce his art without limits, he introduces his audiences to distinctive, vivid and colourful artworks organized and presented in unique arrangements.
“Dreaming In Colour” by Peter Triantos
“Dreaming in Colour” brings together 30 abstract canvases by this internationally recognized, Toronto-based artist. Triantos will exhibit paintings from his iconic ‘Jelly Bean’ series, ‘Napa Valley’ series and his ‘SP2’ series. The artist constantly experiments with shape and colour. “Colour your heart, colour your mind and add colour to your dreams with art!” – Peter Triantos
2019
A collection of works by members of the Golden Age Academy. The Golden Age Academy is a non-profit organization that encourages individuals to use their skills, knowledge and experience as a contribution to their community. Canada: Coast to Coast builds upon the organization’s foundation, to encourage development of artists’ inner gifts and express themselves in various forms of artistic creation.
“Immersed” is a collection of paintings and drawing by Toronto artist, Aurora Pagano. The works invite the viewer to dive into the wet and wondrous metropolis of the ocean for an extraordinary adventure. Pagano presents the awkward, fragile, devoted and beautiful creatures as they risk predators, displacement, fight for dominance, and establish social structures while facing extinction. Pagano calls us to connect with those born privileged and those who live to serve the most daunting of creatures. Remarkably, nature has duplicated itself above and below the water’s surface. Come find your twin within the depths of the sea; you’ll find we’re not so different after all.
Watercolours from Indigenous Canadian and Italian Artists. This international exhibition will present artists from different environments: Italy, with its Mediterranean expressiveness and Canada, with its multilayered cultural tapestry and Indigenous artists who retain the roots of their heritage. Both different in origin, but offering a common expressive language: watercolour.
“Material Worlds” by Lucas Biagini
Lucas Biagini is a “process artist”. A creator interested in the process of how things come to be. He is motivated to create paintings that are highly textured, layered, fused with colour and even geological in appearance. He hopes that the viewer will explore and resonate with a painting, and even experience a physical reaction to the 3D nature of the work.
“Above and Beyond” by Nick Biagini
Nick Biagini has been painting and exhibiting for over 25 years. He is inspired by the beauty of Italian sceneries. He uses a technique called ‘impasto’, where the paint is laid on in very thick layers, appearing to come out of the canvas. His approach is unconventional, personal and free of constraints. All the results are an expression of joy! It is the act of painting that truly matters to Nick.
The personal tragedy of homelessness and its seemingly permanent place in our urban landscape are the themes of Marco Sassone’s landmark exhibition, “Home on the Streets,” which made its Canadian premiere at the Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery.
Portrait photography from Leah Denbok, an 18-year-old, Toronto-based photographer who works with homeless people in Toronto on collaborative storytelling and camerawork.
For more information, please contact:
Giulio Recchioni
Executive Director, Cultural Programming
Phone: 416-789-7011 ext. 218
Email: GRecchioni@villacharities.com
COLUMBUS CENTRE
Since its opening in 1980, the Columbus Centre has served as a vibrant community centre where people can enjoy the richness of Italian culture within a Canadian setting. Today, the Columbus Centre remains a major hub for the GTA’s Italian-Canadian community and a popular meeting place frequented by more than 150,000 visitors every year. Patrons of all ages and ethnicities visit the Columbus Centre for dance, visual arts, music, Italian language and children’s camps; view art exhibitions at the Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery; attend cultural events and programming; and participate in a wide range of athletic, aquatic and wellness programs at our expansive Athletic Club.
In 2018, the Columbus Centre was added to the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register. Designated heritage elements include the mosaic-tiled and brick “St. Mary’s Training School” door frame and decorative mosaic at the southeast corner of the original building; the Rotunda, built originally as a venue for social functions and weddings, and converted in 1986 into an art gallery; and the adjoining landscaped setting of the sculpture garden.
The Columbus Centre is home to TLN Media Group’s corporate and multicultural media production headquarters, Leonardo Da Vinci Academy and the Academy of Realist Art.
To view Programs and Services offered by the Columbus Centre, click here.
Board of Governors
We are looking for Board Members!
Are you interested in getting involved in your local community and making an impact on a community centre that has played a vital role since 1980? For more than four decades, the Columbus Centre has served as a social, recreational, cultural and athletic complex, and a popular destination for the Italian-Canadian community. The Columbus Centre has been described as “a home away from home” and a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone is safe. It is a true multigenerational facility.
We are looking for accomplished leaders that can take their places on the Board and make an impact. Please send your CV and a cover letter indicating why you are interested. Clearly indicate what demonstrated skills and experience you have that would be an asset to the Board, and what personal qualities make you an ideal candidate for the role.
Please email your materials re: Columbus Centre Board of Directors to the attention of: Chair, Nominating & Governance at volunteering@villacharities.com or mail/drop off in person to:
Villa Charities Inc.
901 Lawrence Ave. West Toronto, ON M6A 1C3
Attn: Chair, Nominating & Governance, re: Columbus Centre Board of Directors
The deadline for applications is July 15, 2024.