Thaddaeus Ropac Announces Zadie Xa's First Major Ontario Solo Exhibition at The Power Plant
The Facts
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto will present the first major solo exhibition in Ontario of Vancouver-born, UK-based artist Zadie Xa, in collaboration with artist Benito Mayor Vallejo, opening in October 2026. The immersive installation, titled 'Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything,' will feature new and existing works, including paintings, murals, sound, and a mobile sculpture of over 600 brass bells suspended from the ceiling in the shape of a conch shell. The exhibition responds to the gallery's context and explores Xa's themes of Korean mythology, folklore, diasporic identity, and marine ecology, connecting to the shores of Lake Ontario. The exhibition is organized in partnership with Esker Foundation in Calgary, where it is on view from May 23 to August 23, 2026, and PHI in Montréal, where it will be on view from April 29 to September 12, 2027.
The Signal
The exhibition marks a significant career milestone for Xa, whose multi-sensory, narrative-driven installations have gained international attention. The collaboration with Mayor Vallejo and the partnership across three major Canadian institutions signal a growing institutional interest in immersive, culturally layered contemporary art. For collectors and curators, the show underscores Xa's rising prominence and the increasing prominence of diasporic and ecological themes in gallery programming.
- Artists: Zadie Xa, Benito Mayor Vallejo
- Galleries: Thaddaeus Ropac, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Esker Foundation, PHI
- Locations: Toronto, Calgary, Montreal
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