Lessons in Objectology | Gord Peteran

Renowned Toronto artist Gord Peteran brings his conceptual woodcraft and sculpted assemblages to Koffler Arts with *Lessons in Objectology*, an exhibition curated by David Liss that interrogates how everyday domestic items shape human psychology.

About the Artist and Works

Over a four-decade career, Peteran has occupied a unique space at the intersection of fine furniture-making, assemblage, craft, and contemporary sculpture. His pieces frequently incorporate salvaged items, antiques, and recognizable furnishings, disassembling and rebuilding them to strip away their utilitarian purpose. In their place, Peteran constructs hidden drawers, secret compartments, and symbolic apparatuses holding musical instruments, tools, or weapons. Recurring juxtapositions—contrasting halos with handguns, comfort with menace—unsettle the viewer's instinct to categorize and normalize domestic objects.

The Exhibition Experience

Curated for Koffler301, the gallery space on the third floor of Artscape Youngplace, the show encourages slow looking and philosophical inquiry into consumer habits and material attachment. Rather than passive decor, each work functions as an intellectual prompt about memory, utility, and human vulnerability.

Venue and Visiting Info

Koffler Arts is situated at 180 Shaw Street inside Artscape Youngplace, nestled just north of Queen Street West in the Trinity-Bellwoods neighbourhood. Admission to the exhibition is free to the public during regular gallery hours from Wednesday through Sunday. The building is fully accessible, easily reached from either the 501 Queen or 505 Dundas streetcars.