TORONTO, ON – Liss Gallery is proud to announce two unmissable exhibitions this spring at its Yorkville location, 112 Cumberland Street. On May 9th, the gallery opens a new showing of original oil paintings and limited edition works by Todd White – the Austin-based painter whose rat-pack-meets-Picasso vision has made him one of the most beloved and collected figurative artists working today. Then on June 6th, Liss Gallery welcomes the legendary Lynn Goldsmith, presenting a rare opportunity to acquire silver gelatin and C prints from one of the most celebrated music photographers in history. Together, the two exhibitions make for a season that is as visually thrilling as anything the gallery has mounted in its 30-plus years as a trusted leader in contemporary art.
TODD WHITE – OPENING MAY 9TH, 2026
Todd White’s paintings arrive already carrying a reputation. His canvases – populated by asymmetrical faces, eloquent hands, cigarettes, martinis, and the warm fog of late-night rooms – have found their way into the collections of Vin Diesel, Hugh Hefner, Macaulay Culkin, Eric McCormack, Ryan Stiles, and Joe Rogan, and galleries consistently struggle to keep his work in stock. The style he has developed, born during his years working on ‘Tiny Toons’ and ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ at Warner Bros., translates the precision of character design into something richly expressive and deeply human. “I actually name my pieces first and then visualise each face and its personality,” White has said. “Then I develop each person’s story.” Whatever is not essential to that story is left off the canvas. Backgrounds rarely appear. Hands, by contrast, are everything – each one, in White’s view, full of personality. The result is work that demands a second look and rewards it: intim ate, humorous, and unmistakably his own.
LYNN GOLDSMITH – OPENING JUNE 6TH, 2026
If Todd White captures imagined lives with painterly invention, Lynn Goldsmith captured real ones with a camera and the instincts of an artist who understood that a photograph, at its best, performs. Her images – silver gelatin and C prints spanning decades of rock, soul, blues, and pop history – are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her subjects read like a roll call of the 20th century’s defining voices: Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, KISS, Blondie, Bob Dylan, and dozens more – each captured not merely as a subject but as a presence, fully revealed. Goldsmith has won a Lucie Award, honours from World Press Photo, and a Lifetime Achievement award from the Professional Photographers of America. The Liss Gallery exhibition brings her work to Toro nto in intimate, collectible form – an extraordinary opportunity for anyone who has ever felt the power of a great rock photograph.
Liss Gallery is located at 112 Cumberland Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 1A6. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm, with Monday visits available by appointment. For inquiries, contact the gallery at 416-787-9872 or info@lissgallery.com. For collecting and acquisition, contact Brian Liss directly at brianliss@lissgallery.com. Visit lissgallery.com for full exhibition details.