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PAST EXHIBITIONS:
4 GENERATIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
BY THE GILBERT FAMILY
An 80th Anniversary Celebration << Back to Past Exhibitions
(Click a photo for a complete image)View Original Invitation
Flavio Belli, Director of the Carrier Gallery introduces the Consul General of Italy, Dott. Luca Broferio and his wife Manuela to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
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Vincent Lobraico Art collector and philanthropist poses in front of his portrait by Al Gilbert used on the exhibition invitation
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Opening night audience for
the Gilbert exhibition
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A 2nd view of
the audience
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Flavio Belli at the podium
at the start of the opening ceremonies
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 Ribbon Cutting: (Left to Right) Flavio Belli Director & Curator of the Carrier Gallery; Nick Torchetti, President of the Columbus Centre Board of Governors; Rudy Bratty, Chairman of Villa Charities Foundation Board of Governors; Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto; Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario; Al Gilbert, his wife Gail, his son Michael and his brother Jack Gilbert.
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On May 4, 2004 the Carrier Gallery presented a chronicle of four generations of one Toronto family and their inspired dedication to photography. In this exhibition, we sawS the changing style of portrait photography from Nathan Gilbert's 1923 glass-plate negatives, to his son Al's celebrated portrait photographs, to his grandson Michael's production of large format prints, to his great-grandson Darren's gritty, tell-all portraits in 2003.
The young history of photography is embodied in this family's output and also experienced in their remarkable collection of early cameras, specialty cameras, photographic memorabilia and historic prints. This contemporary and historical exhibition featured original prints by legendary Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and renowned Hollywood portrait photographer George Hurrell.
Nathan Gilbert's family portraits created after arriving in Toronto from Kiev, Ukraine in 1922 were the first images in the exhibition. On display were ten of his rare photographs produced with a large format view camera and printed from glass negatives. In 1923, he opened Gilbert Studio in Toronto. There he taught his sons how to retouch negatives and inspired them with the love of creating photographic images.
Al Gilbert, often referred to as the Ambassador of Canadian Photography, was voted Photographer of the Year in Canada and he holds a Master's Degree in photography. He is a member of the Order of Canada, holds the Confederate Medal in Canada and is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Photographic Industry of America and the International Award from the American Society of Photographers.
Throughout his distinguished career, Al Gilbert has photographed hundreds of famous people including Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra and Pope John Paul II. Al Gilbert's contribution to the exhibition will include his portraits of the famous and the unknown. A big part of his career has been the capture of weddings and family gatherings, including the series 27 Years of Laura's Theme, (27, 20x20 colour images) in which he photographed Laura on her birthday every year to her marriage.
His most recent series of photographs has recognized prominent Italian Canadian men and women who have made major contributions in their field. These distinguished subjects include: Sun political cartoonist Andy Donato; Chief of Police, Julian Fantino; Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, The Honourable Frank Iacobucci; Senior Cancer Research Scientist for The Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Nancy Oliviera; Executive Producer, Radio Arts and Entertainment, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Damiano Pietropaolo; Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner, Giuliano Zaccardelli.
Michael Gilbert, Al's son, will displayed vibrant, large format photographs that capture the beauty and tranquility of Italian landscapes. Michael is the founder and director of The Pacific Center for Photography - a photography gallery and digital printing studio in Wailuku Maui, Hawaii. Michael was a portrait photographer in Toronto before relocating to Hawaii ten years ago. His fine-art photographs are exhibited and collected throughout the United States and Canada.
Darren Levant creates intense black and white portraits that are tight, close-up and personal. His other colour explorations are landscape images.
Jack Gilbert, Al's brother, is a retired lawyer. He uses the tools of our time, the digital camera, computer, imaging software and desk-top printer (the "digital darkroom") to create abstracted conceptual compositions, which are as much about imagination as reality. His subjects come from personal experiences - wild animals in Africa, delicate trillium flowers in the woods near his home to ruins in Burma.
Ina Gilbert, Jack's wife, is an artist whose paintings have been exhibited in Toronto galleries since 1968. Her imaginative collages are constructed from prints of her close-up photographs. Her subjects include the contents of an abandoned fishing boat, blossoms, city buildings and old farm tractors.
Yousuf Karsh (1909 -2002) is a Canadian of legendary status. On view were four original, signed photographs. His portraits have become 20th century icons - the kind of images that define an age and are etched into memory. On display were the world famous photographs of a grim Sir Winston Churchill, Georgia O'Keefe, Ernest Hemingway and Marc Chagall.
George Hurrell (1904 -1992), the "Grand Seigneur of the Hollywood Portrait", was represented by 20 original, signed photographs (30x40 and 16x20). Hurrell became famous for his photographs of Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford, Clark Gable Jean Harlow and Greta Garbo. His work set a high standard for movie studio portraits inspiring a new name for the genre - 'glamour photography.' His photographs capture the drama, romance and nostalgia of Hollywood's "Golden Era."
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