The Power Plant

New works by artists Abdelkader Benchamma, Amartey Golding, Brenda Draney, Jen Aitken, and Ron Terada make their debut at Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is proud to announce the five lead exhibitions for its 2023 program. Beginning February 3, 2023, the gallery will showcase new commissions and work by celebrated and emerging artists who are shaping cultural conversations in Canada and abroad.

The 2023 program includes exhibitions of Adbdelkader Benchamma (born in Mazamet; based in Paris and Montpellier), Amartey Golding (born in London; based in Norwich), Brenda Draney (born in Sawridge First Nation, Treaty 8; based in Edmonton), Jen Aitken (born in Edmonton; based in Toronto), and Ron Terada (born and based in Vancouver). Further details will be announced in the coming months.

“As 2022 comes to a close, we are thrilled to share a preview of our program for the year ahead, one that represents The Power Plant’s commitment to diverse art and ideas,” said Carolyn Vesely, Interim Director. “This year, we are proud to continue this mission with a spotlight on voices shaping artistic practices in Canada today. As a non-collecting institution, The Power Plant constantly seeks to expand the reach of the artists we work with through our commissioning program and touring exhibitions. We look forward to sharing their thought-provoking works with audiences across Canada and internationally, in 2023 and beyond.”

2022–23 marks The Power Plant’s 35th anniversary. In celebration of this milestone, the gallery will present in parallel, a two-part presentation of twelve Ontario-based artists that evokes The Power Plant’s inaugural exhibition in 1987 — Toronto: A Play of History (Jeu d’histoire). Both presentations will highlight the tensions, hopes, and the transformative spaces artists create in the unfolding aftermath of settler colonialism. The first iteration runs February 3 – May 13, 2022, followed by a second June – September 2023.

Winter 2023

Brenda Draney (b. 1976, Sawridge First Nation, Treaty 8; based in Edmonton, Canada)
Drink from the river
February 3 – May 14, 2023

Painter Brenda Draney’s largest institutional exhibition to date, Drink from the river, features nearly 40 works by Draney, including five previously unexhibited paintings that examine the complex nature of intimacy. The presentation will be accompanied by a publication co-produced by Arts Club of Chicago.

Amartey Golding (b. 1988, London, UK; based in Norwich, UK)
February 3 – May 14, 2023

Amartey Golding’s first solo exhibition in Canada features three films, including the debut of Chainmail 3 (2018) from the artist’s Chainmail film series and Bring me to Heal 1 and 2 (2021). Screenings are accompanied by two installations of garments featured in the films, as well as photographs that further explore their imagery and narratives.

in parallel
February 3 – May 14, 2023

in parallel brings together six artists from Tkaronto to explore how visual documentation and cultural practices can reclaim narratives of their respective communities despite colonialism’s persistence, featuring work by Rouzbeh Akhbari, Joi T. Arcand, Aylan Couchie, Simon Fuh, Anique Jordan, and Julia Rose Sutherland.

The second iteration of the project, centred on language-based forms of resistance, will be presented as part of The Power Plant’s Summer 2023 program and feature work by Ella Gonzales, Sami Tsang, Erdem Taşdelen, Shaheer Zazai, Micah Lexier, and Matt Nish-Lapidus.

Summer 2023

Jen Aitken (b. 1985, Edmonton, Canada; based in Toronto, Canada)
June – September 2023

Jen Aitken’s solo exhibition at The Power Plant—the artist’s first major institutional presentation—features both new commissions and a selection of concrete sculptures from the past several years. The exhibition also debuts her first video installation, animating the geometric shapes of her sculptures into an immersive prelude to the exhibition.

Ron Terada (b. 1969, Vancouver, Canada; based in Vancouver, Canada)
June – September 2023

Ron Terada’s exhibition at The Power Plant is comprised of paintings from TL; DR, his most recent series of work, produced in five parts since 2017. Terada has been producing series of found text paintings since 1993. Their sources include commercial gallery ads, high school yearbook quotes, Jeopardy clues, the subject index from a book about art world finance, and the full text of an artist’s memoir.

Fall 2023

Abdelkader Benchamma (b. 1975, Mazamet, France; based in Paris and Montpellier)
October 2023 – January 2024

In his first major solo presentation in Canada, and most comprehensive to date in North America, Abdelkader Benchamma presents drawings on canvas and on paper, as well as a site-specific work as part of The Power Plant’s Fleck Clerestory Commission Program.