Lee Petrie
Shaping Toronto’s Art Experience
by Alexa Bouhelier-Ruelle
As the curator of Gladstone House, Lee Petrie has spent years shaping how guests and the public experience art in unexpected settings. With a background that bridges institutional work and community-focused projects, she brings together emerging and established voices, creating exhibitions that reflect the richness and diversity of Toronto’s art scene. We sat down with Lee to talk about her inspirations, challenges, and the joy of living surrounded by art.
What’s the first artwork you remember being moved by?
I was fortunate to grow up in a house filled with art – from the earliest years of their marriage, my parents purchased contemporary art. When I was a small child, they bought Captain Llewellyn Kean, a 1971 etching by Canadian printmaker David Blackwood, and it’s always captivated me. It’s a small work, very dark and atmospheric, with the intricate line work that Blackwood is known for. I remember thinking that it looked like it was cold and that Captain Kean looked tired and had a lot of stories to tell, maybe not all good ones. It was an early introduction to the storytelling power of art.
If you weren’t a curator, what other career could you see yourself in?
If I weren’t an art curator, I’d probably be something art-adjacent, like a costume or fashion curator. Clothing is a fascinating way to explore trade, culture, class, gender expression, aesthetics and technology. My dream job is curator of the David Bowie Centre at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Do you have a favorite spot inside Gladstone House to experience the art?
I love the Art Studio – we have a Resident Artist program, so it’s where I (and hotel guests and the public) can watch art being made and talk to artists about their creative process and techniques. It’s also where I unpack the work for new exhibitions. I also love walking up the main staircase – it’s home to rotating exhibitions, so as you wind your way up, the exhibition unfolds, and then you see the lounge on the second floor with more art. There’s a lovely sense of discovery as you move through the hotel.
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or past, who would it be?
I first saw installation work by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh in 2013. This site-specific installation in a row house incorporated domestic objects and room-filling delicate webs of yarn to reflect on memory and the past. I’d love to collaborate with her on an installation at one of Archive’s hotels.
Do you collect art yourself — and if so, what type of work do you gravitate toward?
I should act like more of a curator in my house and start a rotating exhibition program! My husband and I both collected art separately before we got married, and we continue to add to our collection. We have a LOT of art. I focus on work by living artists and usually buy directly from the artist. Many of my pieces are by female artists – Maureen O’Connor, Julie Gladstone, Kristy Blackwell. My taste is eclectic – abstract, figurative, photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles. Sometimes, it’s colour that draws me in, sometimes the image reminds me of a place I’ve been or captures a feeling that resonates.
How do you balance established vs emerging artists in your curatorial decisions?
When I’m selecting work for exhibitions or purchase, or choosing Resident Artists, I always consider balance and diversity – artists at different stages of their careers, different backgrounds, identities and experiences. I’ve shown work by artists who are in their final year at OCAD University and by artists who’ve been making work for decades. When I do calls for exhibitions and the residency program, I focus first on the work that the artist submits, rather than looking at their CV. Once I have a longlist, then I start digging into who the artists are and making sure that what I program in a year reflects the diversity of the city.
What is one of the most challenging curatorial collaborations you've undertaken, and what made it so?
Gladstone House changed ownership in the spring of 2020 and underwent substantial renovation, which included an opportunity to develop a new art program for the hotel. Delivering the program was the largest collaboration I’d ever worked on and involved working with close to 50 artists, as well as the hotel owner, general manager, and interior design team, construction team and marketing – all during the pandemic. I was a curator at Toronto Pearson International Airport for 10 years - an operationally complex environment with multiple stakeholders, and the experience I gained there served me well.
Where do you see the role of Gladstone House evolving in Toronto’s art ecosystem over the next few years?
Gladstone House has always been a leader in creating an environment for our guests that reflects our community, and I’m seeing more hotels and restaurants showing work by local artists, which is exciting. We currently partner with arts organisations and events, including Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, The Artist Project and Craft Ontario for awards. And I hope that Gladstone House will always be a place that provides opportunities for artists – studio space exhibitions and more – and allows them to be part of a creative, dynamic hospitality experience for guests and the community.
"...Looking at art – in galleries or on the streets – is always part of my travels and a place I often cite as inspiration are prisons!"
Which Toronto neighborhood inspires you the most creatively?
It’s difficult to pick one neighbourhood because creativity happens in so many places around the city. I’m more inclined to choose an event: I’m always inspired by the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. More than 400 artists working in visual art, ceramics, textiles and jewellery set up booths for one weekend in July on Nathan Phillips Square. The calibre of the work is consistently high, and I love having the opportunity to not only see art in person but also talk to the artists about their work. It’s fun to see artists whose work I know, but even better is discovering new-to-me artists.
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Has travel ever sparked an idea that you brought back into your curatorial practice?
Looking at art – in galleries or on the streets – is always part of my travels and a place I often cite as inspiration are prisons! I first visited the Eastern State Penitentiary historic site in Philadelphia in 2008. It’s a stabilised ruin, rather than restored. In addition to text panels and an audio guide about the history of the prison, they invite artists to create interventions and installations around the site. These temporary projects can forge connections between the past and present, add new voices and stories, and inspire visitors to return to a historic site that they might otherwise only visit once. More and more historic sites are doing this kind of programming now, but in 2008 it felt unusual.
When working on the Gladstone House and the Postmark Hotel, I kept in mind balancing the history of the buildings with contemporary work. In some of the guest rooms at Gladstone House, the artists’ works respond to the building and location.
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View more about the Gladstone House in the Toronto Issue
Words by Alexa Bouhelier-Ruelle
Photos provided by Gladstone House
