45 Years in Focus: Corkin Gallery’s Anniversary Retrospective Traces Photography’s Cultural Impact
Between Life and Light runs through March 31st
Photography is a medium of light and shadow, but its real power lies in the space between—the tension of a moment suspended, the intimacy of a subject revealed, the complexity of a story untold. Few people understand this better than Jane Corkin, a trailblazing gallerist who has spent the last 45 years championing photography as more than just documentation, but as a fine art form in its own right.
Since opening Corkin Gallery in 1978, she has introduced visionary photographers to Canadian audiences, nurtured emerging talent, and built one of the country’s most influential art spaces. This year, as Corkin Gallery marks its 45th anniversary, it does so with a retrospective that is both a celebration and a statement: an ambitious exhibition that spans nearly two centuries of photography, from early experimental works to contemporary reinventions of the medium.
Curator Dr. Stephen Brown describes the Corkin Gallery retrospective as a story told through images—one that invites viewers to uncover connections between artists, eras, and themes.
Titled Between Life and Light, the exhibition brings together 95 iconic photographs, curated by Dr. Stephen Brown, to chart the evolution of photography—from Margaret Watkins’ 1919 still life, Domestic Symphony, to contemporary pieces like Michelle Forsyth’s Grips (2023). It is a meditation on photography’s ability to capture time, identity, and human experience with precision and poetry.
But this anniversary is more than just a milestone for the gallery. Jane Corkin is also being honored with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Toronto, a rare distinction that recognizes her contributions as a visionary curator, pioneering advocate for photography, and champion of Canadian artists. To coincide with the retrospective, the university’s Department of Art History has invited international scholars to a two-day symposium, further cementing Corkin’s legacy not just in the gallery world, but in the broader cultural conversation around photography as art.
Owner Jane Corkin outside of the Distillery District gallery.
“Photography has always been a mirror to society, but today its role is evolving at an unprecedented pace,” says Corkin. “It’s not just a medium of documentation but a vehicle for storytelling, activism, and self-expression. The rise of digital platforms has democratized the art form, giving more people the tools to create and share their perspectives, which has broadened photography’s visual language.”
Corkin also notes the increasing blurring of boundaries between photography and other disciplines, from sculpture to performance to digital art. “Crossing the threshold into the art world is difficult, and it’s why few have managed to do it successfully,” she says, acknowledging the challenge of standing out in an oversaturated visual landscape.
One of the exhibition’s strongest throughlines is its exploration of identity, queerness, and the human body—themes that have long been at the core of photography’s cultural impact.
“Early works often focused on representation and visibility, breaking taboos and making marginalized identities seen,” says Corkin. “Today, these themes have expanded into more complex dialogues, exploring intersectionality and the fluidity of identity.”
Corkin also notes a shift in technique, with contemporary photographers embracing experimental framing, layering multiple perspectives, and incorporating new technologies like AI and mixed media.
“Some of the work I see today—while just as subtle and beautiful—can be more direct,” she says. “For example, Sondra Meszaros’s work addresses the aesthetics and power dynamics of sexuality in a way that is striking and unapologetically provocative.”
The works of this Corkin Gallery retrospective range from Margaret Watkins’ 1919 still life, Domestic Symphony, to contemporary pieces like Michelle Forsyth’s Grips (2023), illustrating how photography has evolved both technically and conceptually. The exhibition highlights a dynamic mix of pioneers and visionaries, including Claude Cahun, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and Lucia Moholy, who reshaped photography’s relationship with identity, abstraction and narrative. The show also features Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, whose striking compositions revolutionized portraiture and fashion photography, alongside Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts, who redefined depictions of the body, queerness, and sensuality through stark, high-contrast imagery. “Who are those young lovers in a Nan Goldin photograph, and who was Barbara Astman typing a message to?” asks Brown. “There are endless questions to imagine and find the answers to.”
A Celebration of the Gallery’s Future
By spanning nearly two centuries, Between Life and Light does more than celebrate Corkin Gallery’s anniversary—it affirms photography’s lasting impact on art and culture. This retrospective also serves as both a reflection and a launchpad—one that encourages us to look back at photography’s history while imagining what comes next. At the same time, Corkin Gallery continues to expand its curatorial vision, currently showcasing Christian Butterfield’sApology Flowers—a series of richly layered paintings that further explore the intersection of art, materiality, and cultural reflection.
