Moira Ness is a designer-maker and artist from Toronto. She reverse-engineered a nearly extinct woodworking technique known as Crown of Thorns, a style of joinery from the "tramp art" tradition. Practiced by itinerant craftsmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Crown of Thorns uses intricate notched sticks that interlock at right angles to form repeating, self-supporting, prickly structures. Each object is assembled by hand from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of individual notched components. Her work reorients the traditional crown of thorns style for a contemporary context.

Building on this interest in modular construction and hand-assembled structures, she also develops work in steel-based material systems. Gabion Cubes reinterpret traditional gabion retaining walls as small-scale sculptural objects. Each 1’ x 1’ x 1’ piece is made from welded steel wire frameworks and hand-filled with curated reclaimed materials, including brick, stone, and tile. Gabion Cubes function indoors and outdoors, individually as sculpture, or in modular groupings as furniture or spatial dividers.

She has exhibited extensively throughout North America, including The Harbourfront Centre, Gallery 44, Lonsdale Gallery, Roman Susan Gallery, Latcham Gallery, The Art Gallery of Mississauga, The Gladstone, and Kunstwerk Carlshütte. Moira serves on the board of directors and gallery committee of Arts Etobicoke, and is a mentor through RBC's Newcomer Artist Mentorship Program.

Moira Ness Studio

South Hill
Toronto

@moiraness
moira@moiraness.com
Full CV upon request

MOIRA NESS

SOLO SHOWS

2020

Life Cycles, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto

2019

Maladaptation, BBAM Gallery, Montreal

HEX, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Northern Contemporary, Toronto

I Hit My Head And Everything Changed, collaboration with Brian Harman and Esprit Orchestra, Koerner Hall, Toronto

2018

Revelation, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

2017

Nightscapes, Akasha Art Projects,Toronto.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025

Top Of Mind, 558 Window Gallery, Toronto

2024

VIBE Arts Auction, Broadview Hotel

Numeric Routes, Main Street Gallery, Toronto

2022

ACT 3 - WATER, Collaboration with Esprit Orchestra, Koerner Hall, Toronto

2021

Artist to Curator, 2gallery, Prince Edward County

The County Collects, 2gallery, Prince Edward County

PIXEL Exhibition, Garden Square, Brampton

Exchange Piece, DesignTO Festival Thematic Exhibition, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto

2020

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto

Rebel Lens, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto

SNAP! Live Auction for ACT, Toronto

Studio Showcase, Northern Contemporary, Toronto

Causality Loop, BUMP TV, Toronto

2019

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto

proudTObe, Northern Contemporary, Toronto

Inaugural, 2 Gallery, Prince Edward County

Main Street Arts Residency Alumni Exhibition, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY

GRAND, Northern Contemporary, Toronto

[ click here to edit ], OCADU, Toronto

2018

Darling…, BBAM Gallery, Montreal

Swash & Serif 5, Toronto Design Directory, Northern Contemporary, Toronto

Tension Becomes Wrinkle, Narwhal Contemporary, Toronto

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto

Salon 44, Gallery 44, Toronto

The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Toronto

SCAN – HOLD RESIDENCY - Cargo Collective

Moira Ness + Keight Maclean, Black Cat Gallery, Toronto

2017

Denial as the Leading Principle, 222lodge, Netherlands

DIS[ ] : ARBITRATION Pavilion, The Wrong’s New Digital Art Biennale

Slideshow, Roman Susan Gallery, Chicago

Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed, Orillia Museum of Art and History, Orillia

Format: Top Talent Salon, Unloveable Gallery, Toronto

repost_modern, OMNI MODERN, Austin, Texas

NordArt, Büdelsdorf, Germany

The Amended Landscape, Latcham Gallery, Stouffville

Deep Roots, Living Arts Centre, Mississauga

2016

Bright Lights at Nuit Blanche, The Red Head Gallery, Toronto

SELECTED AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES

2018

Memorandums, Peripheral Forms Residency

Catherine Bratty Award for Best of Art Fair, judged by Bruce Eves, Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

Main Street Arts Residency, Rochester, NY

The Emerging Artist Award, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition

2017

The 108 Residency, Germantown, NY

The Artist Project - UNTAPPED Emerging Artists Competition finalist and winner, Toronto

OAC Provincial Government Exhibition Assistance

PROFESSIONAL

2025

Clark Centre for the Arts, Exhibitions Juror

2020

"Cancellations, unpaid bills, eviction threats: Inside the grim reality of being an artist right now", CBC Arts, article

“It's hard to take a photo of the moon: here's how to do it better”, CBC Arts, article

EDGE: Youth Art Show Juror, Artscape Youngplace, Toronto

2019

RBC Newcomer Artist Mentor, Toronto Arts Foundation

Appointed to Arts Etobicoke Gallery Committee

EDGE: Youth Art Show Juror, Artscape Youngplace, Toronto

Main Street Artist Residency Artist Panel, Clifton Springs, Toronto

2018

Booth Camp 2018 Panel, Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Toronto

Nightscapes Workshop, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY

CyberArts Workshop, Lakeshore Arts and Lakeshore Collegiate Institute, Toronto

EDGE: Youth Art Show Critique, Artscape Youngplace, Toronto

2017

Appointed to Arts Etobicoke’s Board of Directors

PRESS

2018

Moira Ness: Nightscapes / Akasha Gallery, review, ArtToronto

How 20 Artists See the Color Red, article, Format Magazine

30 artists to look for at the Toronto Artist Project, article, blogTO

2017

"Pure in existence, wild in form": an interview with Moira Ness, interview, Split Lip Magazine

TOAF: Award Recipients 2017, article, Akimbo

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, 2017, article, Art Toronto

What To See At The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, article, blogTO

Must-Sees This Week: July 6 to 12, 2017, article, Canadian Art

Latcham Gallery exhibit to portray human effects on environment, article, Metroland Media

The Amended Landscape: Edward Burtynsky, Moira Ness, Eve Gane, Marco Francisco, Shavon Madden, article, Akimbo

Explore Hot 2017 Art Trends at the Artist Project, article, Reno and Decor Magazine

PUBLICATIONS

2018

Cyclical, Uppercase, Magazine

2017

WOTISART August, Arts and Literary Magazine

I SAVED EVERYTHING, Split Lip Press, Arts and Literary Magazine

A5 – Portfolio #3, Art Magazine

Die Angst, Art Magazine