CV
Toronto Life May 2019, Photograph by Derek Shapton
Biography
Portrait artist Gordon Shadrach was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario in 1966 and is based in Toronto. Gordon started painting in 2013 and paints in oil on wood or canvas, and creates textile-based installation pieces (his original field of study). He has exhibited in solo and group art shows in Canada and Internationally. He works from photographs at his in-home studio in downtown Toronto. He received his B. Des. (MAAD) from OCAD University and has a Master of Education degree from Niagara University. He has worked in education for the past 20 years for the Toronto District School Board and has taught at OCAD University.
As a portrait artist, Shadrach’s allegorical paintings focus on the Black male form in order to question the impact of cultural stereotypes in society and the prevalence of the colonial gaze. Shadrach’s textile installation pieces creatively utilize historic and vintage fabrics that extend his explorations of the impact of colonialism on the African diaspora. Notably, in the summer of 2022, Shadrach was the lead artist and co-curator for “Dis/Mantle”, a ground-breaking exhibition that was shortlisted by Museum and Heritage Trust Awards UK.
Shadrach is known for his advocacy, community involvement, and leadership as well as his frank and open interviews and artist talks that address championing Black art and representation within the Canadian and African diasporic context. Following Dis/Mantle, Shadrach presented a deeply personal solo exhibition at United Contemporary, reflecting on his recent cancer diagnosis and his journey of resilience and healing.
Shadrach’s work has been acquired by the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Agnes Etherington Gallery, City of Toronto, the University of Toronto and is included in notable North American diasporic art collections.
Artist Statement
I initially began painting as an extension of my love of fashion. However, I was raised to question and consider the ways my family and I presented ourselves in our community and how we were perceived by others. This compelled me to consider the semiotics of clothing and its profound influence on culture, identity, and social perception. I am particularly interested in the ways fashion is codified through race, class, and history, and how these codes shape our experiences of space, inform our relationships, and influence how we perceive one another.
My portraits are allegorical explorations that focus mainly on the Black male form. Drawing on historical and contemporary fashion, I construct narratives that examine the biases embedded in North American culture and challenge the assumptions through which Black masculinity is understood and represented. By presenting select works in gilded, antique frames, I evoke the visual language of traditional Western portraiture, inviting viewers to reconsider the histories, values, and power structures these conventions have come to represent.
My installations emerge from historical research and my background in textile design. Through the use of vintage and antique textiles, I investigate the enduring legacies of colonialism and their impact on the African diaspora within a Canadian context. These materials serve as both historical traces and symbolic references, representing the intersections of historical exclusion, cultural memory, and systemic racism.
Through my practice, I seek to disrupt the colonial conventions of portraiture and challenge the narratives that have historically shaped the representation of Black bodies in Western art. By placing these narratives in dialogue with my own work, I invite viewers to question established histories, reconsider familiar visual codes, and reflect on how representations of identity, power, and belonging continue to shape our evolving understanding of the world.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2005 Master of Science in Education, Niagara University, New York, USA
2004 Bachelor of Design, OCAD University, Ontario, CA
Curriculum Vitae
Group Exhibits, Fairs, and Events
2026 Sunday Best: The Power and the Glory of Black Style, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
2025 Too Much Fashion, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2024 Art Toronto, United Contemporary, Toronto Canada
2024 Gallery Stratford (Salah Bachir Collection), Stratford, Ontario, Canada
2024 Charles H. Wright Museum (CCH Pounder Collection) Detroit, Michigan
2023 Art Toronto, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2023 When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back, United Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2023 D’Agulair Foundation, Nassau, Bahamas
2022 - 2023 Dis/Mantle, Spadina Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2022 Art Toronto, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2020 Art Toronto, United Contemporary, Toronto Canada
2020 Curated Toronto - Online Exhibition, Toronto Canada
2019 Art Toronto, United Contemporary, Toronto Canada
2019 The Space Between, United Contemporary, Toronto Canada
2019 Positive Masculinities, Maison Depoivre, Picton, Ontario Canada
2019 Re:Direction, Maison Depoivre, Picton, Ontario Canada
2019 Here We are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
2019 Here we Are, Anna Kaplan Contemporary, Buffalo, New York, USA
2019 The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada
2018 Here We are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Montreal Canada
2018 Here We are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Canada
2018 The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada
2017 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Philips Square, Toronto, Canada
2017 Riverdale Art Walk, Jimmie Simpson Park, Toronto, Canada
2017 The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada
2016 Riverdale Art Walk, Jimmie Simpson Park, Toronto, Canada
2016 Queen West Art Crawl, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, Canada
2016 The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada
2015 Riverdale Art Walk, Jimmie Simpson Park, Toronto, Canada
2014 Riverdale Art Walk, Jimmie Simpson Park, Toronto, Canada
Solo Exhibits
2025 the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing…, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2023 Reposition, Canadian Embassy, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
2021 Trade, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2020 Net Worth+, United Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2018 Visceral, BAND, Toronto, Canada
2018 Personify, Gallery181, Toronto, Canada
2018 Presence, Artscape – Daniels Spectrum, Toronto, Canada
2017 Pried and Prejudice, BAND, Toronto, Canada
2014 Bucks, Peacocks, and Popinjays, Hotel Ocho, Toronto, Canada
Artist Talks, Panel Discussions, and Juror
2025 Kingston Prize, Lead Juror
2025 Power of Black Portraiture, Speaker
2025 Q with Tom Power, CBC Radio, Interview
2023 Left of Centre, NIA Centre, Talk and Critique
2023 Silent Stories, Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Juror
2023 Kingston Prize, Juror
2022 - 23 Dis/Mantle Artist Talk Series, Speaker
2021 Peel District Catholic School Board - Nurturing Hope, Speaker
2021 AROBA: Black Mental Health Day Symposium, Panelist
2021 SHINE ON: Art Talks, Building Community, University of Toronto, Human Resources and Equity, Panelist
2020 Sugarcane Magazine, Interview
2020 CPAMO Artist Panel (Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario)
2020 DGTL Artist Talk, Nia Centre, online
2019 How We Paint: Artist Talk, OCADU, Speaker
2019 Still We Rise NACCA Black History month event, Speaker
2019 Group of Seven Out, Under-represented Artists in at the AGO, Metro Morning CBC Radio, Interview
2018 Visceral, Artist Talk
2018 Where are You Going? Where are You From?, Mississauga Centre Square, Panelist
2018 Reinventing Museums, The Agenda (televised), TVO, Panelist
2018 Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and Musee des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, Canada, Panelist
2017 Representation in Art, BAND, Artist Talk
2017 Pried and Prejudice, BAND, Artist Talk
Special Projects
2024 Frame of Reference Digital Art Exhibit Part 2– Law Society of Ontario, Osgoode Hall
2019 In-Office Art Exhibit, Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Division
2019 Frame of Reference Digital Art Exhibit – Law Society of Ontario, Osgoode Hall
2019 Project 31, OCADU auction
2019 Still We Rise Art Exhibit– City of Newmarket and Newmarket African-Caribbean Canadian Association
2018 Ramp Up Funraiser, StopGap Foundation
2017 Ramp Up Funraiser, StopGap Foundation
2016 Ramp Up Funraiser, StopGap Foundation
Noted Collections
Art of Gallery of Hamilton
Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Queens University, Kingston
City of Toronto, Spadina Museum
Trinity College, University of Toronto
Massey College, University of Toronto
D’Auglair Collection, Nassau, Bahamas
The Wedge Collection
Salah Bachir Collection
CCH Pounder Art Collection
The Wright Art Collection