Living Lab: José Luis Torres  - The place as an object and the object as a place

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The 2024 project by artist José Luis Torres’ The place as an object and the object as a place turns the gallery into a year-long laboratory for community action with an architectural platform built for spontaneous exploration, creation, and exhibition. This exhibition experience, reminiscent of a cabinet of curiosities, seamlessly intertwines past and future, fiction, and reality. It draws inspiration from both the natural world and the otherworldly to cultivate an evolving collection enriched by monthly artist-led workshops.

Constructed as a site-specific installation, José uses everyday, provisional materials, and second-hand goods to build portals for future actions and sharing. The Gallery is filled with colourful structures lined with mirrors – creating a kaleidoscope – connecting people, place, and objects. 

In this project, the collaborative efforts of contributing artists enhance the rare, new, and special elements found inside the gallery. This living experience, reminiscent of a cabinet of curiosities, seamlessly intertwines past and future, fiction, and reality. The Living Lab draws inspiration from both the natural world and the otherworldly to cultivate an evolving collection enriched by monthly artist-led workshops.  

This cabinet of curiosities defies the conventional encyclopedic approach of categorical boundaries and linear narratives. The place as an object and the object as a place reveals the unknown and unreadable stories of the objects’ overlapping histories, ideas, and meanings. Here, there is no singular narrator; instead, the artists, the contributors, and your ideas take center stage. 

Over the course of the year community organizers, artists, activists, and orators host a series of workshops, talks, craft-circles, demonstrations, and manifestations to slowly grow a collection of rarities. Every month, an invited guest guides participants through an exploration, inviting them to contribute an object that becomes an integral part of the expanding assemblage.  

Step into this intricate experiment, where the stories shared by artists and participants stand as a living testament to the ever-evolving convergence of art, knowledge, memory, and imagination. The artist would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

AGB Hours

Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday – Thursday: 10 AM – 9 PM

Friday – Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM

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• Art Gallery of Burlington agb.life

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Art Gallery of Burlington

The Art Gallery of Burlington delivers thought-provoking exhibitions, learning opportunities, and public programs that spark meaningful connections for people to learn, see, think, and make. We activate our collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics and explore the intersection of contemporary art and craft.

The AGB commits to fostering a fair, diverse, and inclusive environment where everyone is respected and valued, regardless of their background. We do not discriminate based on sex, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or identity, disability, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, or socioeconomic status. We embrace diverse life experiences and honour their value to our organization. We aim to set a positive example and promote best practices for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the not-for-profit sector.

The AGB is grateful to acknowledge that we are on Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the ancestral territory of many Indigenous Nations, including the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Métis peoples.

AGB Hours

Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday – Thursday: 10 AM – 9 PM

Friday – Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM

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