Biography 

Luis Jacob (born 1971, Lima, Peru) 

Luis Jacob is a Peruvian visual artist, writer, and curator based in Toronto. Luis holds a bachelor of arts in semiotics and philosophy (1994) from the University of Toronto. In 2003 he was involved in the Anarchist Free University in Toronto, a community education collective. Luis’s curatorial work is instructed by research in archival material, social relations, and their collision on representation in the arts in Canada. He was the curator in residence at the Blackwood Gallery at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he curated the exhibitions programming for My Rolodex (2002) and the Golden Streams: Artists’ Collaboration and Exchange in the 1970s (2002). In 2016, he curated the exhibition Form Follows Fiction: Art and Artists in Toronto at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, an exhibition that was published in book form in 2020 by the Art Museum in partnership with Black Dog Press. Luis’s writing has also been published in Canadian Art magazine. 

Luis’s studio work is informed by research about phenomenology and social disruptive philosophies, reflected in installations, videos, drawings, and sculptures. He has showcased in solo exhibitions including Borderline Cases: Two in the Brush (2022) at Patel Brown Gallery in Toronto, Habitat (2017) at TPW Gallery in Toronto, and The Grand Balcony (2016), curated by Philippe Pirotte for the Biennial de Montréal at the Galerie de la Universite de Quebec à Montréal. His work has also been part of collective exhibitions including the online exhibition 26th Annual Christmas Spice (2022) at Paul Petro Contemporary Art in Toronto, the Tip of the Iceberg (2019) at Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, Austria, and the online exhibition 150 oeuvres en 150 ans (2018–2023) at La Galerie de l’ Universite de Quebec à Montréal.

Sightlines & Album XIV, spread 10

2018

Perishing publishing, Standard forms, google images 2023, accessed 2023

Solo exhibitions

Luis Jacob solo exhibition Borderline Cases: Two in the Bush, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, 2022 

Luis Jacob review by Elyssa Stelman, solo exhibition The View From Here, The Platform, Winnipeg, 2019 

Luis Jacob solo exhibition Habitat, TPW Gallery, Toronto, 2017

Luis Jacob solo exhibition Luis Jacob: A Dance for Those of Us Whose Hearts Have Turned to Ice and Other Works, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2007 

Collective exhibitions

Luis Jacob online collective exhibition 150 oeuvres 150 ans La Galerie de l’ Universite de Quebec à Montréal, Montreal, 2018–2023 

Luis Jacob collective exhibition 26th Annual Christmas SpicePaul Petro Contemporary Art, 2022 

Luis Jacob collective exhibition Tip of the Iceberg, art stories program, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria, 2019 

Luis Jacob collective exhibition The View From Here, Union Station, Toronto Biennial, 2019 

Luis Jacob collective exhibition The Grand Balconycurated by Philippe Pirotte for the Biennial de Montréal, Galerie de la Universite de Quebec a Montréal, 2016 

Luis Jacob review by Saelan Twerdy, collective exhibition The Grand Balcony, curated by Philippe Pirotte, 2016 

Luis Jacob collective exhibition Surplus Authors, co-curated by Defne Ayas and Philippe Pirotte, Kunstinstituut Kunstinstituut Melly Contemporary Art Gallery, Rotterdam, 2012–2013

Interviews

Luis Jacob interview Art Gallery of Ontario AGO Insider Artist Spotlight, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2021 

Luis Jacob interview by Laura Cameron, Toronto Life, 2011

Presentations

Luis Jacob newsletter event Artist Talk Agnes, Etherton Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, 2022 

Luis Jacob video and audio performance Artist-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power, online exhibition commissioned by Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2021 

Luis Jacob Visiting Artist Talk, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, 2020 

Luis Jacob Critical Image Forum Dialogue Series Episode 7: Luis Jacob Groundless in the Archive: Ambient Immersiveness in Photograph, 2019 

Luis Jacob Centrepiece Speaker Tangled Gardens and Vacant Lots, Flotilla transatlantic gathering, 2017

Published work by Luis Jacob

Luis Jacob publications Canadian Art

Luis Jacob newsletter Art Toronto, 2012

Published work about Luis Jacob 

Luis Jacob article by Miklos Legrady, New Art Examiner, 2018 

Press release

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List of Grants, Awards and Projects

Luis Jacob online book launch of collective exhibition Form Follows Fiction: Art and Artists in Toronto, Art Metropole, 2020 

Luis Jacob curatorial tour collective exhibition Form Follows Fiction: Art and Artist in Toronto, curated by Luis Jacob, Art Museum at the University of Toronto, 2016 

Luis Jacob exhibition press release Form Follows: Fiction Art and Artist in Toronto, curated by Luis Jacob, Art Museum at the University of Toronto, 2016 

Luis Jacob overview of project The Eye, The Hole, The Picture, Le Mois De la Photo, Montreal, 2011 

Luis Jacob curator of collective exhibition My Rolodex, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2002 

Luis Jacob curator in residence overview Golden Stream Artist Collaboration Exchange in the 1970s, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2002

Using Format