I love this proposal by German artist Katharina Fritsch for London’s Fourth Plinth. I love that it appears to be in International Klein Blue, which I blogged about a while ago.

Katharina Fritsch, Hahn / Cock. Image: london.gov.uk

As you probably know, the empty plinth has been a site for artistic proposals over the past few years, including Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley and one of my favorite artists, Thomas Schütte.

Originally designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 to display an equestrian statue which was never completed, the empty plinth became a site for contemporary art in 1998.

Six proposals - all very good - by Allora & Calzadilla, Elmgreen & Dragset, Katharina Fritsch, Brian Griffiths, Hew Locke, and Mariele Neudecker can be seen at DeZeen, HERE.

Read more about the Fourth Plinth program HERE.

Since I haven’t been away - yet - this summer, my favorite summer show is in Toronto, at one of my favorite galleries.

Flavio Trevisan, The Three Dales, 2010. Image: flaviotrevisan.com

With the mayoral debate gearing up and the fact that Torontonians seem obsessed with urban issues and how to evolve our ward-centric patchwork quilt of a city, this show is particularly relevant.

Flavio Trevisan: Studies of a New Past
Diaz Contemporary
Through August 14, 2010

Hurry - don’t miss it, it’s definitely worth seeing in person.

Continue reading →

His highness the Aga Khan, with his Order of Canada. Image: archive.gg.ca

1. His Highness the Aga Khan will participate in the Foundation Ceremony to mark the beginning of the development of the Ismaili Centre, the first-ever Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and their Park, in Toronto’s Don Mills area.

Read more HERE.

Continue reading →

Vote now for your favorite - or least favorite - buildings in Toronto!

The Toronto skyline. Image: flickr.com

The Pug Awards, the people’s choice awards for architecture, celebrate the best in Toronto architecture and planning.

Register and then decide what you love, like or hate.

Right HERE.

There’s so much happening in the Canadian art world, it can be difficult to keep up with it all. Here’s a reminder of some places you can hear excellent talks, watch videos and read thoughtful commentary.

On OCAD’s website, check out videos from their excellent speaker series, including talks by the critic Hal Foster, Jamelie Hassan and Vandana Shiva.

Jamelie Hassan, Wall with Door, 1977. Image: canadianart.ca

Also, Filip, the Vancouver-based art publication, has some excellent podcasts, including THIS one from last year by the writer Diedrich Diederichsen on Judgment, Objecthood, Temporality.

Continue reading →

There’s a brou-ha-ha brewing in Vancouver over the Vancouver Art Gallery’s proposed move. Some Vancouverites have suggested that the VAG should not move, but instead remain - with an expansion - in its downtown location.

The VAG. Image: bcheritage.ca

Earlier this month, the Vancouver Sun posted an article written by the late Abraham Rogatnick, a professor at the school of architecture at UBC and interim director of the VAG in 1971-72, when he advised on the move from its old quarters on Georgia Street to the refurbished courthouse. He wrote it last summer, shortly before he passed away.

Read a synopsis of the debate in THIS Globe and Mail article.

In reply to some of these naysayers, Vancouver artist Roy Arden has circulated his thoughts, which he sent to the Sun as a letter to the editor, only to see them rudely edited down. He has asked for his thoughts to be republished in full, so VoCA has obliged.

Here is the gist:

“When the VAG moved from its former site to the courthouse, it signalled a new era and was a huge boost for the role of visual arts in Vancouver.

Vancouver is ready for, and needs a stand-alone, purpose-built facility.

Continue reading →

The pavilion, which will sit on the lawn of London’s Serpentine Gallery from 5 July – 20 October 2010, is to be designed by world-renowned French architect Jean Nouvel. The pavilion will bright red!

Jean Nouvel and his work. Image: defpoints.com

The building consists of bold geometric forms, large retractable awnings and a freestanding wall that climbs 12m above the lawn, sloping at a gravity defying angle. It experiments with the idea of play in its incorporation of the French tradition of outdoor table-tennis. Striking glass, polycarbonate and fabric structures create a versatile system of interior and exterior spaces. The flexible auditoria will accommodate the Serpentine Gallery Park Nights and Marathon and the changing summer weather.

Continue reading →

In recent years, among Torontonians, there seems to have been increased interest and passion for the city.

I heart Toronto. Image: igougo.com

Spacing magazine, Yonge Street, Blog TO, Torontoist, Murmur, the ROM and the AGO, Waterfront Toronto’s plans for the city (heavily covered by the Globe and Mail’s Lisa Rochon), they all speak to wanting to better our urban environment.

A recent article in the Toronto Star says:

“For decades, there has been talk of an actual, physical museum, where Torontonians could learn about the history of this piece of land from the post-ice age era through our ongoing waves of immigration.

As recently as 2007, the museum project was (to be) built inside the old Canada Malting silos on Queens Quay. But then came the recession,…and the funding and political will fell through (again).”

Continue reading →

Here are some photos take this past weekend in Edmonton by friend-of-VoCA, Qasim Virjee of Design Guru. For info on the gallery, including The Murder of Crows by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller as well as Francisco Goya’s infamous print suites: Los Caprichos (1799) and The Disasters of War (1810-1820), which traveled from the National Gallery of Canada, please click HERE.

And for more on the gallery architecture, by Randall Stout Architects, please click HERE.

Continue reading →

“To build this house is to build my soul.” – Herman Wallace

Herman Wallace. Image: blacktalkradio.com

Last night we went to hear Jackie Sumell talk at Prefix ICA. Introduced by Kenneth Montague of Wedge Curatorial Projects, Sumell spoke about her fascinating art project, The House that Herman Built. For a number of years, Sumell, a Brooklyn-born, New Orleans-based artist has been corresponding with Herman Wallace, an inmate – in solitary confinement – in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for over 36 years.

Solitary confinement at the prison consists of spending a minimum of 23 hours a day in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell.

Herman Wallace is one of the Angola Three, along with Robert King and Albert Woodfox, members of the Black Panther Party who organized a prison chapter of the party in order to desegregate the prison, and organized strikes for improved conditions.

Artist and activist Jackie Sumell. Image: grassroots.org

Continue reading →