Gareth Long is an artist whose diverse artistic practice unifies around a range of recurring motifs: repetition, seriality, amateurism, translation, collaboration, pedagogy, knowledge transmission and the retelling of narratives. These various themes are mobilized in his work towards a larger project that dismantles notions of authorship and articulates a deep suspicion of originality and a clear investment in the domain of things already said, already written. Often, this has seen him working across the converging roles of artist, curator, archivist, editor, educator and student, as he has sought to further complicate notions of artistic creation and production. These themes are both a central thematic concern and a method in the production of the work.

Many of Long’s projects have often adopted a discursive mode of practice, engaging others in truly interdisciplinary, collaborative and pedagogically focused projects that include installations in the public realm, written texts, book-works, performances and discussions on the topics of cultural production, artistic labour, amateurism, copying and post-studio practice. Long is currently the Director of the Visual Studies program at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, where he is also an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream. Long has previously taught at numerous universities in North America and Europe. 

Long’s solo exhibitions have been staged at venues including Kunsthalle Wien, Austria; the Blaffer Museum, USA; the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge; Oakville Galleries, Oakville; Kate Werble Gallery, New York; Michael Benevento, Los Angeles; TORRI, Paris; SpazioA, Pistoia; Galerie Bernhard, Zurich; Super Dakota, Brussels; and Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto. His work has been shown at galleries and institutions such as MoMA PS1, Long Island City; Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver; The Power Plant, Toronto; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal; Artists Space, New York; Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York; Flat Time House, London; Drawing Room, London; Spike Island, Bristol; Wiels, Brussels; Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg; Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe; and Kunstinstituut Melly (formerly Witte de With), Rotterdam.

He holds an Honours BA in Visual Studies and Classical Civilizations (2003) from the University of Toronto, and a MFA in Sculpture (2007) from Yale University.