From Electrical Fire Spirits May be Kindled - 2025

Group Exhibition, 2025. 

From Electrical Fire Spirits May Be Kindled presents a selection of neon and LED artworks by Toronto artists. This exhibition celebrates the history of the gallery’s location at 272 Avenue road: from 1970-1976 it was home to The Electric Gallery whose visionary programme exhibited electric-based artworks, and included many artists who experimented with the neon medium. The gallery represented an astonishing roster of influential Canadian and International artists with a focus on cutting-edge new media practices.

Alongside the organization of this exhibition, research was undertaken to gather the histories surrounding The Electric Gallery. This took the form of gathering oral accounts–including speaking with the gallery founders, Sam and Jack Markle (The Markle Brothers), former curators Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker and Ihor Holubizky, and community members such as Peggy Gale–as well as archival investigations. Much of The Electric Gallery records have been lost to time, to lapses in memory, and to an Australian flood. This exhibition pays homage to an important and exciting time in Toronto’s art scene before it is consigned to the dustbin of history.

Text by Two Seven Two Gallery 
Photos by Toni Hafkenscheid

Hanging Kilim, 2025. (right)

Blue Totem on Red, 2025. (left)       

The two works by Roda Medhat in this exhibition explore the material qualities of textiles—their weight, drape, and softness. Drawing from research and archival imagery of traditional Kurdish rugs, Roda carefully reinterprets these patterns in LED neon, preserving them in an industrial material. This transformation imbues the original designs with new light and vitality, bridging tradition and contemporary media.

Using Format