Art Installations and Sculptures in Toronto's High Park
Explore the stories and creative vision behind the various iconic art installations and sculptures that call High Park home.
High Park is home to a variety of unique art installations and sculptures that spark curiosity and invite exploration. From the trio of bright yellow discs overlooking OURSpace just south of the Forest School to the much‑loved labyrinth etched into a concrete base on the tableland savannah north of the Grenadier Restaurant, each piece carries its own interesting story about how it became a part of the High Park landscape.
High Park Labyrinth
Tucked into a quiet grove just north of the Grenadier Restaurant and west of the Dog Off‑Leash Area, the High Park Labyrinth is one of the park’s most cherished contemplative spaces. It was installed in 2000 by a dedicated group of volunteers working in partnership with the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation Department. It continues to be maintained by volunteers who regularly repaint and care for it.
The labyrinth itself is an 11‑circuit design, inspired by the famous 13th‑century labyrinth found in Chartres Cathedral in France. Labyrinths of this kind have been used around the world for hundreds of years in places like England, Sweden, India, and throughout Europe as symbols of meditation, healing, and spiritual journeying. Rather than a maze with dead ends, a labyrinth follows one continuous, winding path that leads inward and back out again, encouraging walkers to slow down, breathe deeply, and focus their thoughts.
The circular concrete base on which the labyrinth sits is a remnant of the original High Park Restaurant built in the 1920s. When a fire destroyed the building in 1956, only parts of the foundation and concrete remained. For decades the site served as a simple picnic area until local labyrinth enthusiasts recognized its potential and transformed it into the meditative and community gathering space seen today.
Since its creation, the labyrinth has been enjoyed by thousands of visitors and is now officially listed on local and global labyrinth networks. Children often experience it as a playful, winding maze, while adults use it for reflection, mindfulness, processing grief, healing, and quiet walks. Teachers, camp leaders, wellness groups, and people recovering from illness or personal challenges all make use of the labyrinth as a gentle, grounding activity in a peaceful space surrounded by nature.
Symposium Sculptures in High Park
High Park is home to an intriguing collection of outdoor sculptures that spark curiosity among visitors, especially around the High Park Forest School building where several of the artworks are concentrated.
The story behind these pieces begins in 1967, Canada’s Centennial Year, when Toronto hosted an International Sculpture Symposium with High Park chosen as the venue. Interest was solicited from around the world, and ultimately twelve artists were selected, including four from Canada. They worked on site throughout the summer, using the Forest School building to store their tools and gear.
By the end of the symposium, ten sculptures had been completed. Three were later moved to major art galleries around Ontario — the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, and the Art Gallery of Ontario — while the remaining works stayed in High Park. Today, these pieces now are woven into High Park’s landscape, each with its own unique story from over half a century ago.
Three Discs
Situated just south of the High Park Forest School and rising prominently over the OURSpace teaching and learning garden, Three Discs, by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman, stands as one of the park’s most striking and instantly recognizable artworks. The sculpture features three large, cantilevered metal discs arranged at an angle and painted in a vivid yellow that contrasts dramatically with the surrounding woodland. This installation also has an unpainted twin located in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square.
November's Pyramid
November’s Pyramid by German‑born British artist Bernard Schottlander is one of the most distinctive geometric works from the symposium. Known for its industrial metallic aesthetic, Schottlander built the sculpture from painted steel plates arranged in an offset, stepped formation. It is located near one of High Park’s busy off‑leash dog trails and attracts many visitors. Before fencing was added to protect the surrounding ecosystem, it was once a favourite climbing spot for children. The sculpture has on occasion been subject to unsolicited creativity, including once when it was painted a vivid blue. Park staff swiftly restored it to its intended neutral dull‑brown finish.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
This sculptural installation by Dutch artist Wessel Couzijn sits just down the hill southeast of the High Park Forest School, blending seamlessly into the surrounding forest. Named after the popular Shakespearean play, the work features two large, abstract concrete forms positioned closely together, their contours subtly suggesting reclined and intertwined human figures. People exploring the trails enjoyed climbing and walking across the sculpture during their hikes. Today, the installation is enclosed within fencing to protect the fragile ecosystem around it from human trampling.
The Temple
The Temple, created by British artist Hubert Dalwood, stands just north of the High Park Forest School. It is composed of tall, vertical stainless‑steel columns arranged in a tight square. Surrounded by woodlands, the installation creates a striking contrast between industrial material and natural landscape. Its open design has long sparked curiosity and play, especially among children who enjoy weaving through the shining metal pillars.
The Hippy
by William Koochin
Created by Vancouver sculptor William Koochin, The Hippy stands west of the Forest School. Carved from a single block of granite, the figure — complete with a sixties‑style haircut, beard, sunglasses, and a jacket with a small lapel button that reads “Love” — captures the spirit of the decade that inspired it. Koochin drew on his experiences teaching art in the 1960s, where students with long hair, nonconformist fashion, and countercultural ideals shaped his sense of the era’s cultural shift. During its creation in High Park, the sculpture attracted visitors from all walks of life, sparking curiosity, debate, and lively public engagement. Today, the figure stands quietly facing the Forest School, a granite tribute to the social movements and cultural energy that defined the era.
The Unfinished Sculpture
by Irving Burman
Further north of the Forest School sits a striking but unfinished sculpture started by Toronto artist Irving Burman. He had two blocks of granite delivered to the site, but stepped away from the project due to mental health reasons and was never able to complete the work. No one, including Burman himself, knew what the final sculpture was meant to become. The City later prepared a base and mounted the two granite pieces in an arbitrary orientation. Although unfinished, the sculpture has become a beloved climbing spot for children and a source of curiosity for visitors imagining what it might have been.
Other Sculptures
As part of the symposium, High Park was also home to several additional artworks that have since been removed or were never completed. Among the most notable were two sculptures also named after the sixties counterculture movement by American artist Mark di Suvero. His piece, No Shoes, is composed of orange‑painted steel I‑beams that originally featured four freely swinging wooden logs. Over time, the logs were removed for safety reasons, and the remaining structure was fenced off. Di Suvero’s second work, Flower Power, consists of two interlocking steel triangles, the upper one inverted and piece held together by tensioned cables. Both sculptures remained in High Park until 2008 before being removed, restored by the artist, and reinstalled elsewhere in Toronto. No Shoes now stands at Corktown Common near the mouth of the Don River, while Flower Power is installed at CityPlace, overlooking the rail corridor and greeting travellers arriving at Union Station from the west.
Other completed pieces that now sit at museums and art galleries in Ontario include Relief of Man Behind a Desk and another sculpture of a female standing figure by American artist Frank Gallo, the Polar Bear sculptures by Inuk artist Pauta Saila, and Hubcap Columns by Jason Seley. Montreal artist Armand Vaillancourt created his own on-location foundry for his scrap metal and steel structure called Druid Temple that was never completed due to rising costs. New Zealand–born American artist Len Lye was dissatisfied with his creation Swing Wand which was dismantled under unclear circumstances.
Special thanks to Ron Allen, whose articles for the quarterly newsletter, High Park News, provide the foundation for much of the content on this webpage.
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