The Same Thing Looks Different
Jen Aitken
Past Exhibition
Jun 23 – Sep 04 2023
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
- MAJOR DONORS
Katy Graham Debost
Richard and Donna Ivey- SUPPORTING DONORS
Terry Burgoyne
Sherri and William Appell
Dell Pohlman and Lauren Raymore
- CURATOR
Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs
- ASSISTANT CURATOR
Jacqueline Kok, Nancy McCain & Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow, 2021–23
Jen Aitken is a Toronto-based artist whose first major institutional presentation features both new commissions and a selection of existing concrete sculptures. Primarily working in sculpture, Aitken’s practice considers how we relate to space, form, and material as we move through our urban environment. Common building materials—concrete, wood, and fibreglass—are formed into unexpected and ambiguous configurations that engage with the viewer's body and interact with the gallery's architecture. Aitken will also debut her first video installation, animating the geometric lexicon of her sculptures into an immersive prelude to the exhibition.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Jen Aitken on The Same Thing Looks Different at The Power Plant
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Lexicon!, 2023. Three-channel video animation, approx. 10 min. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Balopine, 2015. Concrete and foam. Collection Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Anonymous Gift, 2023. Installation view: The Same Thing Looks Different, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Lunopel, 2016. Concrete and foam. Collection Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Anonymous Gift, 2023. Installation view: The Same Thing Looks Different, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Oppik, 2016. Concrete and foam. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Installation view: The Same Thing Looks Different, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Yna, 2016. Concrete and foam. Private collection. Installation view: The Same Thing Looks Different, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Ellocape, 2019. Concrete and foam. Private collection. Installation view: The Same Thing Looks Different, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, The Same Thing Looks Different, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Altered Cylinder A (Reaching), 2023. Epoxy resin and fibreglass cloth. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Altered Cylinder B (Crouching), 2023. Epoxy resin and fibreglass cloth. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aikten, Altered Cylinder C (Standing), 2023. Epoxy resin and fibreglass cloth. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Meltivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aikten, Outline 2, 2023. Plywood and glue. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aikten, Outline 1, 2023. Plywood and glue. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Jen Aitken, Outline 1 (detail), 2023. Plywood and glue. Commissioned by The Power Plant, 2023. Courtesy the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and TrépanierBaer, Calgary. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
About the Artist
Jen Aitken
Jen Aitken (b.1985) makes sculptures and drawings that combine perceptual ambiguity with structural clarity. Based in Toronto, she received her MFA in 2014 from the University of Guelph, and her BFA in 2010 from Emily Carr University, Vancouver. Aitken received a Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts Award in 2021, and the Hnatyshyn Foundation and TD Bank Emerging Visual Artist Award in 2017.