TORONTO.- The Gardiner recently announced that it would hold a national competition to select a new monumental ceramic sculpture for the Museum’s front plaza. The work will be unveiled on Queen’s Park next summer, coinciding with Canada’s 150th.

Now the Museum is sharing the final four proposals with the public, posting renderings and artist statements by Shary Boyle, Christopher Reid Flock and Sin-Ying Ho, Linda Swanson and Paul Holmquist, and Brendan Lee Satish Tang on the competition website and to the Museum’s social media channels.

The winner will be selected by a five-person jury made up of artist and novelist, Douglas Coupland; Director of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Gaëtane Verna; Associate Dean of OCAD University, Michael Prokopow; Gardiner CEO and Executive Director, Kelvin Browne; and Gardiner Chief Curator, Meredith Chilton.

“We’re very excited about the proposals and eager to see how the public responds to them,” says Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO of the Gardiner Museum. “After all, the winning design will become a permanent feature of our city; one that will delight, intrigue, and inspire people for years to come.”

The Museum will announce the winner in September.

The Gardiner is grateful to La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso for commissioning the artwork and to the City of Toronto for their support of the Ceramic Sculpture Competition, and would like to recognize Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Emmanuelle Gattuso, in particular, for their leadership in helping this important civic initiative to proceed.

The Gardiner Museum celebrates the art of ceramics and engages local and international audiences by promoting understanding of the long history of people crafting in clay. The Museum stewards a highly important collection, connecting visitors to the fundamental role of ceramics in many cultures throughout history, and offers special temporary displays, many highlighting the relevancy of ceramics to contemporary life.