Wynick/Tuck Gallery

Wynick/Tuck Gallery is a privately owned contemporary art gallery based in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The gallery has an active exhibition program for contemporary art in Canada. Wynick Tuck Gallery also provides services including appraisals and resale of work from collections.

History

In 1968, Lynne Wynick and David Tuck, third year students at the Ontario College of Art, established Aggregation Gallery in downtown Toronto as a commercial gallery representing contemporary Canadian artists. At the time there was very few galleries showing solely contemporary Canadian artists and none in a downtown warehouse location. By starting a framing business they were able to maintain a space at 71 Jarvis Street, where they could support young artists and build their reputations with a fine space, vigorous exhibition program, media advertising and many policies that would expand the artists reputations as well as that of the gallery. Over a fourteen-year period they renovated two progressively larger gallery spaces. In 1972, moving to 82 Front Street East, a former 4500 sq. ft. warehouse previously occupied by Fred's Fruits just west of the St. Lawrence Market, they became the first dealer in Toronto to develop a loft-type space. At the forefront of the move to save historic buildings and areas in Toronto, Tuck supported and worked on a number of committees to stop the destruction of historic buildings, particularly the South St. Lawrence Market building (with the 2nd Toronto City Hall contained inside it).

By 1982, having established the gallery and many artists and with the St. Lawrence Market area in good condition, they set out to develop a multi-floor loft/warehouse art gallery/arts/cafe building concept. They worked in collaboration with fellow art dealer Olga Korper to develop the concept, and chose the rundown King and Spadina area for its potential of good buildings that were, at the time, being abandoned by the garment industry. In the fall of 1982, Tuck and Wynick opened at 80 Spadina Ave., renaming the gallery the Wynick/Tuck Gallery, with a 6000 sq, ft. space and several configurations/sizes of exhibition and viewing spaces. With the support of the building owner, Albert White, they encouraged other art galleries, art associations, artists and a cafe to move into the building. By the mid-80s the building had evolved into the arts building that they had envisioned. By the end of the 80s the area, as a whole, was being seen by the public and politicians as an arts community, and the buildings, with a few exceptions, were saved and flourish today, housing many arts and media related businesses and associations.

Tuck and Wynick were continuing to establish their artists in, primarily, the Canadian context. During the mid-80's they turned their minds to placing Canadian artists in a more international context, feeling that they could compete on the level of quality of work and thought. They chose to participate in a number of high profile international art fairs, Cologne in 1986 and Chicago six times during the next decade. At the time very few Canadian galleries supported contemporary Canadian artists in these international venues. Consistently they received an overwhelmingly positive response to the quality of Canadian artists.

From the early 70's Wynick and Tuck have felt that providing a fine space and also a more invigorating context within the gallery is crucial to the continuing health of the artists and community. Along with the space, they have consistently organized thematic exhibitions, primarily in the gallery, that placed the artist in a context that encourages new ways/entries for the public to view the work. By the mid-nineties the curated exhibitions had become more ambitious and the ongoing "Informal Ideas" exhibition program had begun. The gallery with its well-known senior and mid-career artists was still committed to establishing young artists. With this generational mix and with the, then uncommon, move to invite international artists to participate, Wynick curated a number of highly regarded exhibitions. Being able to effectively bring together artists such as Lawrence Weiner, Gerald Ferguson, Greg Curnoe, Mario Merz and many others on a small budget was very exciting and opened up new ways of presenting artists in a commercial gallery setting.

By the late 90's they felt it was important to make another move, to continue their vision to make their gallery and artists more accessible and visible. 401 Richmond building was being developed by the community minded Margie Zeidler in a similar way to the development of the 80 Spadina building. By 2000, combining their earlier history of a storefront/warehouse location and the multi-floor building concept, Wynick and Tuck renovated a new space at 401 that combined the best of their previous spaces, particularly the combination of a larger space with smaller spaces for more intimate viewing and a ground floor location.

During the years, both Wynick and Tuck have served on many boards. Tuck worked for many years (1973–1996) on the board of PADAC (now ADAC), when it was very involved in the development of critical government policies for the visual arts and the artists. He also was a member of the Community Relations Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario and helped advise the gallery’s transition to a more dynamic institution, more connected with the arts community and the community at large. Wynick served for five years on the Canadian Cultural Property and Review Board, during a time of growth and transition as the Cultural Property Act was becoming more widely known. She worked closely with the arts community to insure any changes and decisions were beneficial to the arts community. Wynick also served on the board of the Power Plant Art Gallery from its inception as the Art Gallery at Harbourfront through the new building transition and its first years in its present location. She was influential in ensuring that the gallery remained connected to the community while developing an international profile.

Throughout the years Tuck and Wynick have participated in may community events and exhibitions. They have provided their space, staff and expertise to the Casey House Art Auction (13 consecutive years) and the University of Toronto’s fundraiser for their new public gallery space in Scarborough.

Gallery artists

Represented artists include Kim Adams, David Askevold, Greg Curnoe, Gerald Ferguson, Doris McCarthy and Lawrence Weiner.

External links

• Wynick/Tuck Gallery

Coordinates: 43°38′52″N 79°23′41″W / 43.64782°N 79.3948°W / 43.64782; -79.3948