Shalom II

 

Location: Bathurst between Sheppard and Finch

Date photo taken: 19 August 2023

If you wander into the 27 acre Sherman Campus of the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre on Bathurst, you might spot this monumental work by Kosso Eloul. It's the third of his pieces to be featured on this blog and while all are different in finish and arrangement, all are recognizable as the work of a single artist. In his own words, Eloul was "strongly prejudiced towards simplicity" and he used geometry, which was both "eternal and elemental", to explore relationships, the precariousness of life, and the search for stability. 

According to Toronto Sculpture, this piece was commissioned by the Jewish Community Centre in 1978.

Inner City Gate

Location: Elizabeth Street, north of Gerrard

Date photo taken: 12 December 2017

While it may be unusual for large pieces of public art to move around, it's certainly not unheard of. But what happens to the art when it moves? This piece, Inner City Gate by Kosso Eloul, today sits on a small grassy mound outside the Elizabeth Street entrance to Toronto General Hospital. While it looks at home there, it was originally created for the urban square at the TD Centre. There it reflected, on a more human scale, Mies van der Rohe's black office towers, and the pieces were arranged to imply movement, as if the sculpture were glimpsed in mid-stride. The artist felt that the move to the new location changed the personality of the piece. It is now more firmly-rooted and solid, creating a monumental entrance to the hospital complex behind. 

Zen West

Location: St. Michael's College grounds, NW corner of Bay and St. Joseph St.
Date photo taken: 24 September 2013

This precarious looking sculpture is the work of Kosso Eloul. It was created as an edition of two, and its twin can be found in Tokyo, Japan. While simplicity and geometry are hallmarks of his work, this  idea of duality is one that he also acknowledges as an influence. "In Canada, every outdoor sculpture is a twin. I am keenly aware of this duality. I study it and count on it when I conceive my works... It's solid, it's there, but it's never the same. Not only does it change moods with that of the viewer, but it also changes appearance with the passing of the day, the changing shadows.... And so, my sculptures have a distinct and refreshingly different personality, a different meaning in the white of winter to that of the colours of summer." Quote from "Celebrating With Sculpture", a 1991 exhibit catalogue.