THE ARMORY SHOW was in a smaller, more convenient location at Pier 94 at 55th street this year.

Young men and women in skinny trousers and pointy shoes – slightly disheveled – (artists?) were milling around outside on Friday just after noon.

Painting of a young artist. Image: telegraph.co.uk Continue reading →

…next week: A report from New York

Image: new-york-travel-services.com

-Loved and Loathed
-The Armory Show
-Scope Art Fair
-DiVA Digital and video art fair
-Brooklyn galleries

and more…

…Auction madness continues unabated in London…Warhol would’ve loved this!

Image: usatoday.com

Notes from a story in the Observer, published Sunday February 11, 2007
By Carole Cadwalldr

Please note, the images in this article are not necessarily the exact works referred to.

First, some facts. Every February Sotheby’s, Christie’s and, to a
lesser extent, Phillips, hold art sales. New York is the centre of
the art world and traditionally the London sales are where the houses
sell fewer works of inferior quality to smaller numbers of people.
But no more. This week they broke all records, selling more paintings
at higher prices to more people than ever before.
Continue reading →

VANCOUVER

Upgrade! Vancouver is launching a series of outdoor art video screenings. The videos will be local and international – and will “appropriate the functional model of online videosharing sites”. The event will be promoted through flyers at each screening, encouraging word of mouth promotion.

Upgrade! is an international network that collaborates to produce publications, exhibitions, happenings at the intersection of art and technology. There is also Upgrade! Montreal, but sadly, those are the only ones in Canada.

CALGARY

Keep your eye out for Curtis Cutshaw, who will present new photographic work at Skew Gallery in May. Cutshaw developed his practice at the Alberta College of Art and Design, at NASCAD - the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design’s New York residency and at the Skowhegan School in Maine.

Curtis Cutshaw, Bloom Version 2, 2006. Image: Skew Gallery Continue reading →

LOVED:

VoCA hasn’t seen anything really mind-blowing lately, but then we still haven’t been to see the David Altmejd show at Oakville Galleries. Until we manage to get there, we recommend checking it out.

David Altmejd, The Academy (birds), 2005. Image: artnet.com

We did really like Shary Boyle’s sculpture at Jessica Bradley Art & Projects in Toronto. Her figurines and her watercolours are best. We love the detail, the consideration, the care that she puts into these precious objects. We have loved small, sculptural objects for a while now, and these are exemplary.

Shary Boyle, Untitled, 2005. Image: harbourfrontcentre.com Continue reading →

Image: John Reeves. Canadacouncil.ca

“It is now appreciated that one can live in Canada and still be on the world’s stage, one can finally function from here. I think it is important to add to the fabric of the art world, expanding its realm, to radiate from the historical global centres. It is this that I have chosen to do.” - Ydessa Hendeles, March 2004

Is this a sign of things to come?

Image: rsb.info.nih.gov

Will the unveiling of the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Frank Gehry renovation recharge the gallery’s fussy, staid, out-of-touch reputation? It seems that it might.

Last night, at a champagne reception, the AGO announced, that together with (thanks to?) partner Aeroplan, they will be launching The Grange Prize, a $50,000 annual award recognizing the work of Canadian and international contemporary photographers. Continue reading →

Image: rockstacker.com

Dear Young Artist,

You may have heard that Painting is Dead.

Blake Gopnik, chief art critic at the Washington Post, is well known for his belief that painting is dead. It’s an attention-getting statement that is brought up by an art critic every few years. Gopnik’s quote - from a talk he gave at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington in 2004, I believe, has been discussed, repeated and argued over in art blogs and interviews all over the internet. Many of his detractors, though, missed the context in which he spoke. He followed that claim by saying – and this is the crucial point for you, as a young artist – “There will always be talented artists who can overcome the difficulties that painting faces.” Continue reading →