Gather | Tonia Di Risio
April 23 – May 17, 2025
The artist will be present Saturday April 26, May 3, May 10 from 12 – 5 p.m.
Canadian Art Hop, May 1 - 3: Di Risio will be facilitating a public informal discussion with Red Head Members May 3, 3-4pm. Full details below.
As part of the exhibition Gather, an artist talk and potluck-style supper will be prepared by the artists from the Alchemy 2025 Spring Residency on Thursday, May 15. Limited spots available – enter the ballot at the gallery by May 10 for a chance to attend.
The Red Head Gallery is excited to exhibit Gather by Tonia Di Risio.
Gather invites you to appreciate the labour, skill, and quiet beauty embedded in everyday kitchen tools. Using the simplest of materials as mediums—Tonia Di Risio reimagines functional objects as art, capturing the essence of time, place, and ritual in the kitchen. Bold lines, tracings, and playful colours transform traditional utensils, encouraging you to see them anew.
Di Risio’s latest offering combines the memory of shared meals, a lifelong respect for the work of the kitchen, and the silent dialogue between objects and their users. As much as food is a social ritual, so is the act of cooking—preparing, sharing, and passing down knowledge. This installation mixes Di Risio’s choice of traditional objects, and ideas in an artful exchange of creativity and tradition. Gather is perhaps not a statement but rather an invitation to slow down and reflect on the elements of engagement that shape a shared experience in preparing and enjoying meals. These traditions shape our lives—simple yet powerful, much like the objects themselves.
An exhibition essay by artist Claire Tallarico accompanies this exhibition.
As part of this exhibition, Di Risio will be facilitating an informal discussion between Red Head Members, May 3, 3-4pm. We Made This! Red Head Gallery turns 35, join us for a lively conversation with Red Head Gallery member artists, including David McClyment and Pearl Van Geest. What makes this gallery different? How are shows selected? Who pays for it? Bring your questions—we’re ready to answer.
Free and open to everyone.
Tonia Di Risio is a multimedia artist who often makes use of photography, video, collage and installation in her practice. Her work has developed through an ongoing engagement with domestic spaces, food preparation and interior design. She received a BA in Art and Art History from the University of Toronto and Sheridan College and an MFA from the University of Windsor. She has exhibited across Canada and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Nova Scotia, and Ontario arts grants. Along with founder Claire Tallarico, Di Risio helped to establish the Alchemy Artist Residency program. Alchemy is devoted to the exploration and synergy between artistic practices, cooking and the sharing of locally cultivated food. She has been a Red Head Gallery member since 2012.
For more information visit: www.toniadirisio.com | @toniadirisio
Red Head Gallery is situated on Treaty 13 lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee. Toronto is currently home to many different First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. The artist acknowledges that her home and studio is located on Treaty 14 and Treaty 22 lands and she thanks the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, the Treaty holders, for being stewards of this land.
