Arnie Lipsey: Past. Tense.
August 27 – October 31, 2026
Homeroom Galleries
Aurora Town Square – 50 Victoria Street, Aurora
Suspended somewhere between the now and then, Arnie Lipsey's narrative portraits navigate the porous space between inherited memory and imagination. Using painting to trace a family history shaped by immigration, trauma, and silence, the artist leans into the surreal to bridge the gap between what is remembered and what can only be imagined.
As a second-generation Jewish Canadian, Lipsey paints from a position of postmemory – a term that describes the ways in which the trauma of previous generations is internalized through stories, images, and cultural memory(1). His parents, European Jews who immigrated to Montreal before World War II, escaped Nazi persecution but lost many relatives in the Holocaust.
Drawing on his family archive, Lipsey reinterprets black-and-white photographs into fantastical compositions that bring into focus the cultural, historical, and personal circumstances that linger beyond the frame. Through complex symbolic language and unexpected juxtaposition, Lipsey's work reveals the interpretive layers through which family narratives are continually reimagined.
(1) Marianne Hirsch, "The Generation of Postmemory," Poetics Today 29, no. 1 (2008): 103.
Programming
Opening Reception | Thursday, August 27 from 6:30 – 8:30pm | FREE: All are welcome to celebrate the opening of Arnie Lipsey’s solo exhibition Past. Tense. Light refreshments provided with remarks at 7:00pm. Click event link to RSVP.
Crit Club | Saturday, September 26 from 9:00 – 11:00am | FREE: Crit Club offers a free space for artists to gather and engage in thoughtful dialogue surrounding their own and each other’s artwork. Click event link to RSVP.
Fall Artist-Poet Gathering | Saturday, September 26 from 11:00am – 1:00pm | FREE: A quarterly meetup for artists and poets to create spontaneous written and visual responses to the artworks on display within our current exhibitions. Click event link to RSVP.
Gallery Yoga and Sound Bath | Sunday, September 27 from 10:00am – 11:00am | $25.00+ HST: Join Dayna Wylder in the gallery for a one-hour group yoga and sound bath session, surrounded by the paintings of Arnie Lipsey. Attendees must bring their own yoga mat and water bottle. Click the link to purchase.
In Conversation with Arnie Lipsey | Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 pm | FREE: Visual artist Arnie Lipsey and Gallery Manager Ashlyn Gregory discuss Lipsey’s solo exhibition Past. Tense. in the context of Lipsey’s artistic practice and inspiration. All are welcome. Click event link to RSVP.
About the Artist
Arnie Lipsey was born and raised in Montreal, the son of European-Jewish immigrants who arrived in Canada in the 1930s. He studied Film Animation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design before relocating to Toronto, where he built a decades-long career in classical and digital animation as a director, designer, and storyboard artist.
Since returning to painting in 2018, Lipsey has focused on narrative and portrait work that bridges personal memory and collective history. Solo shows of his works have taken place in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and in curated and juried shows in both Canada and the USA. Lipsey's works are held in private collections in Canada, the United States and Australia. Solo shows have taken place at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, James Rottman Fine Art Gallery, and the Aurora Cultural Centre.
In addition to his personal works, Arnie Lipsey accepts and encourages commissions to help others preserve their family memories.