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The Art of the Possible

The Art of the Possible

Mimi Gellman
b.1955

The Art of the Possible
  • Glass and steel
  • 1988-89
  • Size: Unavailable
  • 1 Blue Jays Way, Rogers Centre, Toronto

About the artwork

Included in the major public art commission for Rogers Centre in 1989, Mimi Gellman’s The Art of the Possible is located at the north end of the building’s 100 level concourse. The sculpture, made of glass and steel, was designed as a tribute to all of the men and women who built the facility. Incorporating more than 2,000 signatures from these unsung heroes. Gellman’s work also commemorates the historical significance of the site. Within the mural are images of artefacts discovered during excavations such as musket balls, pottery, and bottles from the previous century.

About the artist

An Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi Métis (Ojibway-Jewish/Métis) visual artist, designer and educator, Mimi Gellman practices in a range of mediums including architectural glass, drawing, painting, and conceptual installation. Her interdisciplinary work expands upon her interests in phenomenology and technologies of intuition through the embodied practice of walking and mapping. Gellman believes that her cosmological orientation, her Ojibway/Métis worldview and the language that expresses it, allows her to be open to seeing spirit and life within objects and their ability to communicate across diverse thresholds. Hailing from the Rat River Settlement in Manitoba, Gellman sits with the Midewewe (the Rattlesnake) clan. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Culture and Community at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, while completing her PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University on the metaphysics of Indigenous mapping. Gellman continues to exhibit her work internationally and was included in the seminal exhibition, “On line” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2011. Examples of her art can be found in the collections of Price-Waterhouse, Kraft/General Foods Corp., the Toronto Transit Commission and Rogers Stadium, to name a few.

Fun facts

  • Mimi Gellman's artwork, Invisible Landscapes, was recently featured on the cover of Canadian Art Magazine for their Winter 2020 "Antimatter" issue.
  • Producing major stained-glass programs has remained a passion for Gellman. She has designed many works for private residences, transit corporations, sacred spaces, and funeral homes.

Engagement questions

  • How do you think Gellman was feeling when she created this work?
  • How does the artworks location change the context of the piece?