IAN LEVENTHAL

ARTIST · SCULPTOR · DESIGNER · MURALIST

Ian Leventhal is a Canadian artist, sculptor, designer, and muralist whose work has brought colour and imagination into public spaces, commercial environments, and community projects across Canada, the United States, Israel, and China. Born in Toronto, he is an honours graduate in Fine Arts from York University, and furthered his training at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) and at Sarah Lawrence College’s program in Lacoste, France.

Leventhal’s work is defined by colour, humour, and an imaginative approach to sculpture and painting. While he has presented numerous solo exhibitions over the course of his career, he is perhaps best known for his large-scale, site-specific installations — work that adorns and defines restaurants, hotels, libraries, shopping centres, schools, hospitals, banks, and cafés from Toronto to Jerusalem.

MAJOR EXHIBITIONS & COMMERCIAL COMMISSIONS

Tiffany’s, Fifth Avenue —

The first Canadian artist commissioned in the history of Tiffany’s window installations. This five-piece sculptural exhibit, featuring vibrant papier-mâché figures set against the jeweller’s diamond creations, opened on Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan.

Bloomingdale’s, Manhattan —

A multimedia collection of fantastical furniture, functional sculpture, and three-dimensional paintings inspired by the energy and pace of New York City — Leventhal’s second major exhibition in Manhattan.

Pickle Barrel Restaurants — 20-year collaboration

A two-decade partnership producing hundreds of sculptures, plaques, mobiles, and murals across a range of mediums — from pink elephants and Gherkin-juggling jesters to parades of clowns and camels.

Second Cup Coffee Shops, Vancouver to St. John’s — from 1994

Commissioned in 1994 to reimagine a single coffee shop, Leventhal’s murals, sculptures, and mosaics went on to transform more than 100 Second Cup locations across the country, each a unique, award-winning design.

PUBLIC ART & CIVIC PROJECTS

Toronto City Hall Mural Projects — 2005

Appointed to the Mayor’s Round Table for a Clean and Beautiful City, Leventhal was commissioned to paint one of the largest murals in Canada — a 400-foot support wall along Highway 401 — followed by murals on the rail bridge wall at Avenue Road and MacPherson, and the Bloor and Mount Pleasant underpasses.

Retail & Brand Landmarks

Created “The Four Corners of the World,” a Christmas installation for the multicultural Dufferin Mall, and a seventy-foot kinetic façade for Yorkdale. Additional commissions include murals for P.J.’s Pet Centre and the Manulife Centre, Christmas campaigns for Laura Secord and Bell Canada, and in-flight imagery for Air Canada.

COMMUNITY, CULTURAL & JEWISH HERITAGE WORK

The Gift of Friendship — Shanghai — 2002

A 33-artist exhibition, created with Chinese and Jewish artists, honouring the compassion shown to the Jewish people by the people of China during the Holocaust era. Opened in Toronto before travelling to Shanghai, where it entered the permanent collection of the Ohel Moishe Synagogue Museum.

Jerusalem & Acco, Israel

Completed the mural “Jerusalem Welcomes” at Crossroads, a Jerusalem social service centre, and designed the whimsical gates of the city’s largest community centre. In Acco, served as artist-in-residence, working with local students to transform a domed structure into an artistic landmark depicting the city’s history.

Bat Yam Community Mural

An interactive mural project involving Ethiopian immigrant children and Canadian volunteers, adorning a seaside community centre and bringing a positive presence to an underserved neighbourhood.

Tiferet Boulevard, with Ve’ahavta — 2004

Partnered with the humanitarian outreach organization Ve’ahavta to bring art created by street youth in Toronto and Tel Aviv to a mainstream audience, culminating in a fundraising exhibition at the Blue Dot Gallery.

Baycrest Culture Hub

Instrumental in launching the Culture Hub at Baycrest and co-curator of numerous exhibitions, including Sha’ar: Song of the Gate (2022), Facing North: Portraits of the Jewish Diaspora (2020), and Painters Eleven (2019), on Toronto’s groundbreaking abstract painters.

Baycrest Justein Heritage Museum — 1997–present

Member of the museum committee for nearly three decades, organizing and producing exhibitions including Get Back: The Boomer Experience, Origins of Jewish Symbols, Suitcase Stories, and, most recently, Beyond the Object: Jewish Artifacts Reimagined.

Jewish Heritage Month — 2013–2025

Launched and led a multi-year series of performances and visual arts exhibits, including The Golden Age of Yiddish Theatre — an exhibition of archival photographs, performance posters, and personal reminiscences celebrating Toronto’s Yiddish theatre history.

DiverseCity

Curated, in partnership with the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto and Villa Charities, an exhibition celebrating Jewish, Chinese, and Italian cultural intersections — part of a broader series of DiverseCity exhibitions with the Japanese, Lao, Malaysian, and Tamil cultural communities.

Stronger Together

Co-founded this coalition of organizations formed to address the rise in hate-motivated incidents against racialized and faith-based communities in Toronto, including the Jewish community.

Jewish Music Week

Curated a multi-year series of group exhibitions on the theme of Jewish music, presented at the Carrier Gallery, the Columbus Centre, and other venues.

HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS & PHILANTHROPY

Healthcare & Education Installations

Leventhal’s philanthropic work has brought colourful, site-specific art to hospitals and schools across Canada and Israel. He served as patron artist for the Heart and Stroke Foundation in 1998, the same year he created the signature painting marking the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel’s founding.

Treasures of Baycrest — 2005

Inducted into this honorary exhibition recognizing his contribution to beautifying the environments of Baycrest, with artwork on view in the outdoor courtyards of the Apotex and Minnie Wagman Centres. In 2006, Leventhal designed the Baycrest Museum exhibition Get Back: The Boomer Experience, on growing up Jewish in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s.

Ian Leventhal

Creates