Maryon Kantaroff

Maryon Kantaroff is a Canadian sculptor known for her large-scale outdoor sculptures in bronze and other materials.

Early life and education

Kantaroff studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto and earned a degree in art and archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1957. In 1957-1958 she worked as an assistant curator at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She traveled to London for postgraduate studies in American Ethnology at the British Museum and remained in England for several years, studying with Eric Stanford at Reading College. Her further studies took place at the Sir John Cass College of Art and the Chelsea College of Arts.

Career and impact

In 1962 Kantaroff had her first solo exhibition at the Temple Gallery, London. She returned to Toronto for an exhibition at City Hall in 1968 and soon after began an association with Galerie Dresdnere, which represented her through the early 1970s. In 1974, frustrated at the lack of a local foundry with capacity for casting her larger works, Kantaroff purchased the Toronto Arts Foundry with the partnership of Al Green (Greenwin Investments). Kantaroff works in a variety of materials including bronze, stone, metal and fiberglass. Her outdoor commissioned sculptures can be seen at J.D.S. Investments, Sheridan Mall, Mississauga (Bird of Paradise, 1970) the Baycrest, Toronto (Song of Deborah, 1979) and the Windsor Sculpture Garden (Cordella, The Garden). She has been a member of the Sculptors Society of Canada since 2004. Kantaroff is represented by the Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto.

Selected works

• Cordella, Odette Sculpture Park, Windsor, Ontario
• The Garden, Odette Sculpture Park, Windsor
• Counterpoint (1971), Don Mills Road, Toronto
• Greenwin (1973), Al Green Sculpture Park, Toronto
• Song of Deborah (1979), Baycrest Hospital, Toronto
• Frederic C. Gans Memorial (1980), University Avenue, Toronto
• Anodyomene (1995), University of Toronto, Toronto
• The Secret Life of Plants (2009)

Awards and honours

In 1992 the artist received the prestigious President's Award of the Sculptors Society of Canada.