This week, the Guardian interviews author and artist Douglas Coupland about his upcoming new novel, Generation A. Read the interview HERE.

Douglas Coupland, Talking Sticks, 2009. Image: coupland.com

As the article notes, Coupland’s real passion is his artistic practice. He shows with the Clark Faria Gallery in Toronto and Monte Clark Gallery in Vancouver. His work is brightly coloured, very well made, it’s Pop and it’s kitsch. It’s admirable in many ways….but a little too fun for VoCA’s taste.

In the same way that not every writer can ‘write funny’, not every artist can pull off funny art. Some artists are able to create work that is humorous and at the same time very serious – John Baldessari, Maurizio Cattelan, Bruce Nauman and William Wegman come to mind – but with other artists, the work stays on one level, like much design or decoration. Coupland is one of the latter.

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled, 2000. Image: artnet.com

William Wegman, Still from Deodorant, 1972. Image: hammer.ucla.edu

That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for fun art. Coupland is working on a number of public art projects, for instance, that Peter Goddard writes about in the Toronto Star – HERE.

Douglas Coupland’s newly restored Vancouver home. Image: nytimes.com

And the work that he displays in his own home, shown HERE in the New York Times spread, certainly looks good. This new house is one that he restored directly behind his actual house, in Vancouver, primarily to house his growing art collection.

Click HERE for Coupland’s excellent website.