I came across a funny, smart article called “A guide to the market oligopoly system”, which is a piece by Felix Salmon that uses a drawing by the artist William Powhida to deconstruct the complexities of the American art market.

William Powhida, A Guide to the Market Oligopoly System. Image: reuters.com

It makes interesting reading, particularly the part of the pyramid where locales are listed on a scale from Topeka to New York, where he notes “the value of a work of art is to a very large degree a function of the city where it’s being sold. New York’s at the top of the heap (or, to be precise, Manhattan); Berlin punches well above its weight; Paris, the erstwhile center of the art world, is conspicuous by its absence.”

It suggests that Toronto, which I would put on par with Philadelphia or Seattle at the lower end of the scale, is a small market that determines the fate of its artists. It’s a bit of a double-edge sword for artists: Do they wallow in relative obscurity in a small going-nowhere market like Toronto (or all of Canada, for that matter), but where they can teach and have the support of government grants and artist-run centres and have a decent quality of life, or do they dive into the overpopulated, over-competitive waters in New York or London, where they also risk obscurity (and, likely, poverty)?

I’m thankful for the excellent, world-class artists who have decided to remain in Canada. Though they may never achieve super-star status, we need and appreciate them.

Read the full article, HERE.

Oh, and Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

Art makes a great gift. People don’t always realize how inexpensive some books and multiples are, and isn’t it better to support local art scenes than buy from major corporations? I think so.

Here are my top picks for Canada’s best art shopping:

1. ART METROPOLE. Started by General Idea in 1974, Art Met continues to specialize in the sale of artist multiple, artist books, video and more. Much of it is very affordable and rather unusual. Gold-plated replica of Peaches’ teeth on a chain, anyone?

Peaches. Image: robotdancemusic.com

Peaches’ teeth, on a chain. Image: artmetropole.com

Check out the comprehensive website, HERE. It’s fun to browse.

2. CANADIAN MAGAZINES.

Support Magenta, a newish online publication, or buy a subscription to the excellent Vancouver journal Fillip, or to Toronto’s artist-run magazine Hunter & Cook.

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I was impressed by the Vancouver architect Bing Thom, who I heard speak last week at the Sustainable Suburbs conference in Toronto.

Vancouver architect Bing Thom. Image: vancouverism.ca

Thom’s Arena Stage at the Mead Centre for American Theatre. Image: archdaily.com

Not only has Thom just designed an improbably well-received Arena Stage at the Mead Centre for American Theatre in Washington D.C., which encases the original brutalist architecture very elegantly, he has just received a commission from Miami mega-collectors Don and Mera Rubell.

The new gallery and mixed-use development is to be set on the site of an abandoned school, and will presumably house part of the 1500-piece Rubell Family Collection.

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Over the past few years, I’ve often mentioned, and championed, regional art galleries in Ontario and Canada.

Artist Luke Painter and one of his works. Image: blogto.com

CAFKA (Contemporary Art Forum, Kitchener and Area) is a regional not-for-profit arts organization whose mission it is to “present innovative art within a public space.” It has evolved from a small, regional festival in 1996 to an organization that offers year-round programming, featuring international and national artists.

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There’s an interesting exhibition on at Toronto’s Christopher Cutts Gallery, of works by the late, famously prolific Harold Town.

Town was a member of Canada’s Painters Eleven (more HERE), Canada’s best known group of abstract painters – circa 1953.

The exhibition is of Town’s Snap paintings from the 1970s. The works definitely have that 70s vibe, with textured earth tones in oil with Lucite on canvas and were made by snapping a string that had been drenched in paint, onto a canvas.

Many of them are, to my eye, quite unattractive, but here are some of the better ones:

Harold Town, In Memory of Emilio del Junco. Image: Cuttsgallery.com

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Douglas Coupland’s Digital Orca in Vancouver. Image: jaunted.com

This Thursday, I’ll be at the Sustainable Suburbs conference in Toronto. While it’s not about art, it will feature many architects and urban planners discussing the future of our communities, which has an impact on art.

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There’s a lot of movement in the Canadian art scene, with galleries opening (and closing) regularly in Toronto alone, so here are three from across Canada that I think are worth a visit.

One of Nicholas Galanin’s book sculptures. Image: nippertown.com

1. In Vancouver, Trench Gallery has recently opened – in the former Helen Pitt Gallery space – with a small, eclectic roster of artists: Jen Aitken, Nicholas Galanin, Dougal Graham (whose work I remember from Artcore in the early 2000s), Amy Mukai, Sara Robichaud, the late Vancouver painter Ron Stonier, Carrie Walker and Max Wyse.

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