Since opening in 1981, the Toronto Sculpture Garden (TSG) commissioned temporary artworks by over 80 artists, in a small City of Toronto park opposite St. James Cathedral on King Street East. Until 2014, it was operated as a partnership between the City of Toronto and the Louis L. Odette Family, benefactors who created the non-profit L.L.O. Sculpture Garden Foundation which funded and administered the exhibitions. Under the direction of Rina Greer, the TSG allowed artists to explore issues of scale and materials, as well as engage with the local community and visitors to the neighbourhood. For some, the expansion of their practice beyond the studio led to major public artworks elsewhere.
The Toronto Sculpture Garden is now managed by the City of Toronto and acts as a stepping stone between studio work and public art, providing artists with the opportunity to work experimentally in public space.
In partnership with the Toronto Biennial of Art
September 1, 2024 to March 20, 2025
Vimana (N1 Starfighter) (2024) is a newly commissioned sculptural installation. This sculpture is the latest in a series of spacecraft lanterns that draw inspiration from mainstream science fiction and Traditional Buddhist Vesak kūdu. The lanterns are historically made from bamboo and rice paper and are constructed with symbolic geometry; Rajni’s modern rendition features plywood and translucent acrylic lit with LED lights. The work explores themes of spacefaring and immigration, incorporating the Sanskrit term vimāna (which has various meanings related to flying) to challenge Western narratives of advanced aerospace technology.
Rajni Perera is an artist whose practice explores themes of hybridity, ancestral connections, the future, and migrant and marginalized identities, as well as the realms of monsters and dreamscapes through the lens of science fiction. Rajni’s concepts intertwine across various artistic mediums, from traditional drawing and painting to clay sculpting, woodworking, lantern crafting, new media sculpture, textiles, and the innovative realm of synthetic taxidermy. She unveils the vitality inherent in the icons, beings, and objects she brings forth. Through a subversive approach, she dismantles outdated narratives of oppression, allowing these creations to serve as a healing and rejuvenating force.
This sculpture was co-commissioned and co-presented by the Toronto Biennial of Art and the City of Toronto.
The Toronto Sculpture Garden is located at 115 King Street East, just east of Church Street, directly across the street from St. James Cathedral and between two of the oldest buildings in the city, dating from the 1840s.
The park is approximately 80′ by 100′ (25m x 30m). With its proximity to King Street to the north and the St. Lawrence market neighbourhood to the south, the park serves a wide variety of users, from those who live and work in the area to visitors to the neighbourhood and the City, people of all ages, those seeking out art and those coming across it by accident.
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily